Ups and Downs
Not that I like to use excuses, but a combination of a turbulent series of events in school, the Thanksgiving holiday, some incidental occurrences with friends, and me being a little under the weather a few times have kept me from posting my usual write ups as of late. I’ll post my quarterly review after the team plays is twenty-fifth game and we’ll take it from there. The Devils have been playing some solid hockey lately, enjoying a lengthy winning streak that propelled them from the middle of the pack to the top of the conference for a brief period of time, before the Philadelphia Flyers sent them back to Earth and started an unsettling, but expected three-game slide. Recent wins against the Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins currently leaves the Devils second in the division behind the Pittsburgh Penguins and fourth in the conference.
As of late, two major highlights have been featured in the Devil’s play. The first is the eight-game winning streak I previously mentioned, the second is the injury bug’s return to the Devil’s locker room. Both have told us many things about this team such as what they’re capable of, where they need improvement, and what we can expect from here on out.
From October 29th to November 14th, the Devils won eight consecutive games, where they scored twenty-four goals, averaging three goals a game, and only gave up 11, but that’s old news. During that time, the Devils played some considerably adversarial teams such as the Penguins, the Capitals (twice), and the Bruins (before they got hot). While some critics might say the Devils had an “easy schedule”, playing low quality teams and teams that sustained significant injuries, such as playing the Ovechkinless Capitals, it wasn’t like the Devils were dealing with their own lineup issues, such as the absence of their top two defensemen (who weren’t doing much to begin with). Overall, what could this hope instilling winning streak indicate, if anything at all? Have the Devils still yet to abandon their regular season winning trends? Did the Devils just get “hot”, or am I just looking into things too much? You can say the Devils proved they can still play with the NHL’s top teams, can put the puck in the net, and they seem to be gelling nicely. Now that the Devils went out of maximum overdrive and seem to be over their winning streak hangover, we’ll see where the Devils go from there.
The outbreak of the injury bug this season is like a horror movie sequel when you recall its impact on last year’s team. While the Devils lost the likes of Brian Rolston, Bobby Holik, Martin Brodeur, and Paul Martin, just to mention a few last year, the Devils have seen their top two defensemen Paul Martin, Johnny Oduya, Jay Pandolfo, Rob Niedermayer, and Danius Zubrus fall to injury, and don’t appear to be returning anytime soon, this year. On paper, the Devils appeared to have lost two of three regular third line players, and a capable and flexible top nine forward along with their top two defensemen. At first it seemed like gloom and doom but when I at least looked at the big picture, Martin and Oduya had little involvement in any success the Devils amounted when they were healthy, while Pandolfo and Niedermayer, whose play was solid until he was sidelined, are relinquishing two replaceable roles during their absence. Danius Zubrus didn’t get on the score sheet much, but came into the season with a more confident and up tempo style to his game, which got him a lot of notice.
Nevertheless, those that have fantasized about Zubrus getting shipped out of Newark will be entertained by the scenario while he’s sidelined, which will determine what sort of effect he’s had on the team thus far. Overall, what I’m trying to clarify is like losing Madden and Gionta, the Devils have mostly lost a couple faces rather than actual skill, along with losing players with replaceable roles.
