Pre-Game Lowdown: A Coastal Battle
After a much deserved break over the past couple of days, the New Jersey Devils are back in action tonight as they face off against the Vancouver Canucks at seven o’clock in Newark. The Devils have won their last three and are currently enjoying some winning success on home ice that they hope to continue tonight. While things have been looking up for the Devils, the Canucks have endured a roller coaster season so far, as they currently stand eleventh in the conference and split their last ten games at five apiece. Nonetheless, tonight is going to be a unique test for the Devils as they’ll face a team that isn’t native to the usual squads they’ve encountered this year. It’s been about a year since these two teams last met, so it might be a little difficult to determine what the Devils should expect from Vancouver or how to play them for that matter.
Some believe tonight is more than just a simple match up between two teams with vague familiarity of each other. It’s no new news that we’ll see two of the league’s elite goaltenders, Martin Brodeur and Roberto Luongo manning the nets for their respective teams tonight, both of which are the top two most viable candidates to become the starting goaltender for Team Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver this year. Coming from a Devils fan, I believe Luongo has rightfully claimed the title as the best goaltender in the game right now and think it would be in Team Canada’s best interest to give Luongo the nod. Not only is Luongo younger and more agile than Brodeur, but Marty has provided evidence he’s incapable of doing it all like he used to and should salvage as many opportunities to rest in anticipation for the playoffs. Brodeur’s had his time, won his gold medal, and should be willing and able to pass the torch down to a capable Roberto Luongo, who shouldn’t have anything more to prove. The only thing that may guarantee Marty winning the position is who he is and as long as he’s around, he’ll get what he wants.
Anyways, back to the game. Aside from expecting an elite display of goaltending on both ends of the ice, we may be in for an offensive showdown too. Although the Canucks are struggling in the standings, offensive production has not been a problem for the club, having scored eighty goals so far and have averaged over three goals per in their last ten games. In their last match up against the Islanders, the Devils had a season high output of six goals and have averaged identical offensive numbers to Vancouver’s in their past ten games as well. While the Canucks have been more consistent and balanced with their scoring throughout the season, it appears to have taken a little more time for the Devils to get their act together. Tonight will be a good indicator if the Devils are able to continue and stay consistent with their recent offensive patterns.
On a positive note, the fallen are rising! Tonight, center Rob Niedermayer, who’s been absent from the Devils lineup the past few weeks after suffering an upper body injury will play tonight, while left wing Jay Pandolfo, who has been out with a dislocated right shoulder and defenseman Johnny Oduya (lower body) have been practicing with the team but aren’t quite ready to return. There were concerns that right wing Jamie Langenbrunner, who has been playing through what he calls upper body injuries, would be unable to play tonight after he quickly stepped off the ice during practice, who is alright and will play in tonight’s game. In addition, the Devils currently have three regulars on the IR: Paul Martin (Arm), Danius Zubrus (Leg), and David Clarkson (Ankle) that will be out for an extended and undetermined period of time. Assuming the injury bug has moved on from the Devil’s locker room, expect to see a fully healthy squad around the middle of January.
Center Tim Sestito returned to Lowell today when Niedermayer was cleared to play. Sestito played nine games for the Devils, where he had one assist and was a minus-2 with two penalty minutes. Rod Pelley will be a healthy scratch tonight and will likely be one of two as that leaves the Devils with thirteen forwards (the second scratch will most likely be between Andrew Peters, Ilkka Pikkarainen, and Vladimir Zharkov).
