SB Nation - Patrik Elias

New Jersey Devils Manage to Hold on to Victory and Defeat Carolina Hurricanes, 4-2

John Fischer — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 04:44:07 -0000

More photos » by Rich Schultz - AP

This shot of celebration came in the first period, after Patrik Elias scored. Unfortunately, there wasn't much to celebrate after that first period aside from a goal and the eventual win. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz)

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hile the big story may be that Martin Brodeur didn't get his 104th career shutout, I think the team's performance is worthy of more attention. Were I to be simplistic, I could say the New Jersey Devils went up 3-0 on the Carolina Hurricanes, conceded two in the second period, but managed to hold on and snag an empty net goal to win 4-2. Not completely unlike what the Hurricanes did to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Monday night.

However, that wouldn't be honest with what happened on the ice. The Devils looked great in the first period, playing as if they were still in Buffalo. But the team declined in the second and third period, only waking up near the end to shut the door on Carolina's hopes of an equalizer. I hate to sound like someone with high expectations or a sore winner, but like the recent wins over Tampa Bay and Detroit, the 4-2 win over Carolina wasn't a great one for New Jersey. Sure, I'm glad they got the result without a shootout or a late tip-in goal; but I can't get past how the game actually went or how the Devils nearly gave up a 3 goal lead. One thing is for sure, Carolina certainly didn't play the whole game like the last place team in the NHL.

NHL.com has their recap up complete with links to the boxscore and other stats. For the opposition's perspective, check out Canes Country later for their recap. Read on for further thoughts about tonight's game.

First, for those who want a visual set of highlights of tonight's game, NHL.com has a video of that:

Now, let's start with the first period. Pay no mind to the 10-7 shot differential between the two teams, tonight was a game where what the boxscore says isn't necessarily indicative of the flow of the game. The Devils were very strong in the first, battling Canes for pucks, applying a deep forecheck, and constant stick-checking whenever a Devil was in range of the opposing puck carrier. The stick-check is a fairly basic defensive move, but the Devils were very effective with it in the neutral zone and on defense to prevent Carolina from really getting some sustained offense going.

Those loose pucks were quickly moved up ice for the Devils' own offense. While some of the passes were off, the Devils did manage to beat Cam Ward twice - one with a bit of a fluke (Patrik Elias' goal) and one great slapshot from the high slot (Andy Greene's first goal). The Devils were playing like this all the way through the period, ending with Brian Rolston keeping a Cane holding onto the puck in the corner of his own zone in the dying seconds. I took at as proof that the Devils weren't looking past the Canes, that they had the right attitude for this game, and that they're going to keep up the effort and put this game out of doubt in the second.

I was definitely wrong on the last point.

For the next 40 minutes, the Devils' team effort declined. From the start of the second period onward, much of the stick-checking and defensive work in the neutral zone that the Devils used to so much success wasn't utilized. That was a mistake and I'm amazed that it even continued into the third period. As a result, Carolina saw that they had space to go forward on offense and did just that. They started to cycle and the Devils' defense started making some bad decisions, some poor clearances, and take some bad calls. It wasn't Carolina's first goal that got the Canes going in that period, it came right from Mike Mottau's trip of Jussi Jokinen (I thought it was a dive in the heat of the moment, in retrospect, I was wrong). Sure, they didn't score on that power play, but they were far more competitive. From then on, Carolina started building confidence, gaining momentum, and pinning the Devils back more and more - all the way through the third period. It became a game again, unofficially, from that power play onward.

Officially, it became again when Brandon Sutter took a shot that took a deflection off Mark Fraser's stick and then his body, which fooled Martin Brodeur. The crowd hated this goal as it ruined the shutout. I can't blame Fraser because he was in the right position; upon looking at the goal, I wonder whether Brodeur should have had that. They were shocked by Tuomo Ruutu's shot on the power play nearly 2 minutes later (P.S. the hook by Rob Niedermayer was the only big mistake he made all night). That was just a well-placed shot, credit Ruutu for that. Still, in mere minutes, the Devils went from being up by 3 to scrambling to make sure they don't give up a third goal against. Definitely not worthy of praise.

Oddly enough, the Devils' offense was actually quite good in the first half of the second period. They put 13 shots on Cam Ward in the second period; they were able to get the puck up ice; and they scored on the first power play they got (Greene's second goal). Then again, Brian Rolston threw a bad cross-ice pass at the point that Brandon Sutter took down ice and got lucky with a deflection to score; and the power play wasted two man advantages later in the period. The Devils remained in this lull on offense for the first 8 to 11 minutes (depends on who you ask). A re-tooled line of Patrik Elias, Jamie Langenbrunner, and Brian Rolston finally had a strong shift (you see some of that in the video), and a late power play nearly gave the Devils that fourth goal, but Ward somehow stopped Langenbrunner on a rebound (also in the video). I mean, I saw it live and I'm not quite sure how he did it, but he did.

So why did the Devils end up outshooting the Canes 31-23? Well, Carolina got blocked 13 times in the game (Johnny Oduya led with 4 blocks) so their shooting wasn't exactly proficient. I also think they took too much time on offense to get a good shot. I fully understand the concept of setting up an offense. I fully understand why teams do this, but given that Carolina was giving the Devils' defense the run around for most of the post-first period game, they really should have tried firing away more often. Martin Brodeur played well, but he wasn't necessarily dominating tonight.

In contrast, the Devils offense had the game plan of getting Cam Ward moving as much as he could. Not a bad idea for most goalies, especially ones returning from a leg laceration. Especially on the power play, the Devils attempted a number of cross-ice and cross-crease passes. Again, I fully understand why a team would want to do this. If the pass hits it's target, the target can have a great chance to score. However, while the theory makes sense, the execution wasn't and so a lot of shots from sharp angles and glancing shots and those cross-slot passes weren't so effective. A lot of the attempts got on net, the Devils weren't blocked much or missed much; but there was more than a few times where you'd watch the play develop and just go "OH!" when that final pass didn't hit home.

At first, I thought Ward looked rusty; but by the end, I felt he played well in his return from injury. The goals that beat him were a deflection off Aaron Ward, a shot in the slot behind a screen, and a cross-crease pass that actually hit Andy Greene in the right spot for a goal. Not exactly shots most goaltenders could stop. That said, I wish the Devils mixed it up and tried firing more low, hard shots on Ward as he was giving up some choice rebounds. There were plenty tonight for the Devils as-is, but if they kept at it, then maybe a Devil beats the Carolina defense to one of them for the big score.

In terms of who I felt had a good night, well, Andy Greene and Zach Parise stick out as the most logical choices. Parise had 5 shots on net and 2 assists, and Greene looked fairly decent playing 24:56 and putting in 2 goals. They got stars of the game and deservedly so. Rob Niedermayer actually rates right up there too. He played fairly solid on defense, put 3 shots on net, screened Ward on Andy Greene's first goal, played 19:37, iced the game with a shorthanded empty net goal, and most impressively went 18 for 23 on faceoffs. That's just fantastic work at the dot. When Bryce Salvador took a cross checking call at the end of the game, I noticed Niedermayer was right there for the faceoff. Good thing, as he won yet another one and it allowed the Devils to kill off the game. Without Niedermayer's work, I don't think the Devils don't hold on to win tonight. He did very well - aside from the dumb hooking infraction he committed, of course.

I would also like to highlight Bryce Salvador, who took a nasty hit from Erik Cole, left the game, but managed to come back and play defense for the Devils later on. He didn't get up immediately after the hit and many in the arena were concerned. It was a scary moment, but the fans applauded when he got up after a few minutes with the trainer. I was very glad to see him return to the game and contribute 14:10 total of work on the blueline. This post-game post from Tom Gulitti covers what Salvador was thinking and how he returned from what maybe was an injury. I recommend reading it and I hope he did not sustain an injury by coming back into tonight's game.

Yet, that the Devils had to hold on to win tonight is what many of the Devils fans who left tonight game weren't happy about. That the Devils managed to get 3 goals up on the worst team in the NHL, and it nearly was given away. Why couldn't the Devils respond to those two goals with getting one more past Ward? Why couldn't they hit home on the three power plays beyond the 30 minute mark of the game? Why were the Devils being pinned back by Carolina so much in the second and third periods? Most of all, why did we see such a great first period by the Devils followed up by a poor second and third periods?

I'm hoping Jacques Lemaire will ask the players these same questions because tonight could have easily ended up as an embarrassing night if a few things went a bit differently. Carolina played well after the first period and didn't give up on the game after Greene's second goal. They didn't look like the worst team in the NHL tonight and it only goes to prove my earlier point that looking past this team or letting up on them is a big mistake. While the Devils didn't look past them, it cannot be argued that they let the proverbial foot off the proverbial pedal on defense despite allowing 23 shots on net.

There is a cliche that good teams know how to win games where maybe they shouldn't. There is another one about how sometimes a team just has to win ugly. I'm glad the Devils won their last four games. Again, this is a results-oriented business and no Devils fan can complain about the results. I'm not. But I can't help but think that they should be doing a better job in these games. Especially after playing so well against Buffalo on Monday night, one wonders what happened to that kind of effort and performance. I will say this win was better than the recent wins over Tampa Bay and Detroit because the offense was actually involved for a part of this game and the team's first period performance. However, I don't think that is saying much. I think the Devils need to get back to playing strong hockey for all 60 minutes (or even 40-50) if they want to continue their winning streak.

No matter, the Devils move on with four straight wins and have a back-to-back set against Florida and Philadelphia. Thank you all for reading and commenting about tonight's game. Please leave your thoughts and feelings about tonight's game in the comments.

Reviewing My 2009-10 Expectations for New Jersey Devils Forwards

John Fischer — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:07:06 -0000

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

Can you believe I actually wrote that I'd expect a drop off in production from Zach Parise back in August? Can you believe he's on pace for 94 points - again? (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

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This could have easily been titled, "Look at how wrong I was back in August!"

Back in August, I wrote a series of posts basically coming up with expectations for each Devil on the roster. Not all of them were statisically based, a lot of them came arbitrarily. Still, I felt it was better to state what I wanted to see out of each player prior to the season. Now that the Devils have played a third of the NHL season, it's a good time as any to see how my expectations are bearing out. Today, I will focus on the forwards with the defensemen and goaltenders coming on either Thursday or Saturday.

Before jumping into exposing how right or wrong my August thoughts hold up, I have to note that this doesn't cover the current roster. At the time, Nicklas Bergfors, Rob Niedermayer, Tim Sestito, Andrew Peters, Dean McAmmond, Matt Halischuk, and Vladimir Zharkov were not on the roster nor did I assume that they would make the team. I will say that I have been pleased with them how they have played with the exception of Peters - who has done very little this season. Were I to place them in order from most impressed to least, I'd go with Bergfors, McAmmond, Niedermayer, Sestito, Zharkov, Halischuk, and Peters.

Also, while I had a set of expectations for Brendan Shanahan, his retirement makes following up on that pointless. So we're down to 11 here.

One more note, I'm using "current pace" for scoring but I'd take such projections with a grain of salt. While, say, Jamie Langenbrunner is over a point per game pace, don't be shocked if he hits a slow patch later on. I'm just using it to illustrate how right and how wrong my earlier expectations have shown.

Lastly, I will say this prior to the jump. Please leave your thoughts on how the Devils forwards have been playing so far in the comments, as well as any criticism for stupid-in-hindsight expectations or what I say below.

Zach Parise, What I said then:

Ultimately, Parise reached such great heights in terms of production and on-ice contributions that I am hestitant to say, "Well, Zach, time to do it again." I think he can do it and he may very well do it, but to me, it's unfair to say he would have had a disappointing season if he doesn't put up 94 or more points. Not that I'll be satisfied with only 25 goals and 60 points from Parise. No, that would truly be disappointing. Parise is so talented and has such a strong work ethic that he should be expected to lead the Devils' offense. I expect him to be the team's leading scorer in 2009-10 unless Elias has a monster season not seen from him since the second half of 2005-06. And to that end, if Parise finishes with about 35 goals and 80 to 85 points, I would be pleased - and so that is what I'm expecting. Lower production from 2008-09, but not a big drop as I believe he is truly an elite forward. (And, of course, if he scores more than that, then great.)

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Zach Parise	28	15	17	32	18	8	2	1	1	0	125	12.0

What he has done so far:

Parise is currently on pace for 44 goals and 94 points! Which is just about the same production he had last season (one fewer goal, one more assist). Talk about being proven wrong. Parise is the unquestioned leader of the offense and one of the top shooters (125 currently leads the league, though that won't last) and scorers in the league. In short, he's been exceeding my expectations.

Travis Zajac, What I said then:

I'm expecting Zajac to continue to grow as player, and so I want to see him win at least 52% of his faceoffs, use his size a little better in traffic, shoot at least 180 shots on net, and put up about 25 goals and 70 points. Given his expected linemates and where he is at his career, I think that would be "the next step" in his progression.

What he has done so far:

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Travis Zajac	28	9	16	25	15	10	3	0	0	0	72	12.5

While he has shifted a little bit, he's currently in line to just go over most of those expectations. Zajac has looked stronger on and off the puck, he's been the definitive #1 center on the team, and he's on pace for 26 goals and 73 points along with 211 shots on net. Just what I was looking for, with the exception of faceoffs as Zajac has only won 51.6% of his draws. Still, I can't complain as he's meeting my expectations.

Jamie Langenbrunner, What I said then:

That said, I still expect him to line up with Parise and Zajac as the Devils' first scoring line. I still expect him to be responsible defensively while going forward, as that has been his game for his career. I still expect him to lead. I still expect him to unload some big shots. And he'll do all of that and do it well, I'm sure. But what I don't expect is 29 goals and 69 points. I can't help but think just out of sheer likelihood that his 2009-10 numbers will go down to more in line with the rest of his career. If Langenbrunner can contribute about 20 goals and about 50 points along what he normally brings to the team, then I'd say I'll be pleased with his production. With respect to overall offense, I don't think it's unfair to expect about 9 more goals from the rest of the team to make up the difference.

What he has done so far:

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Jamie Langenbrunner	28	7	19	26	10	10	1	1	2	0	72	9.7

Can you believe it, he's on pace to have his best offensive season of his career! At age 34! The current pace calls for 26 goals and 79 points and that would be simply fantastic. Even if he slips a little bit in scoring, he'd still likely be on his way to surpassing my expectations. This is more impressive when you consider that Lemaire has shifted Langenbrunner up and down at right wing across three lines through this whole season. That Langenbrunner keeps getting points despite the changing linemates is a testament to how well he's been play. Clearly, he is exceeding my expectations.

Patrik Elias, What I said then:

Ultimately, I expect Elias to still play like he has been for his entire career. As far as what type of production to expect, I feel that if Elias can put up about 70 points next season, that would be more than fine. 65 points wouldn't be too bad, but I expect Elias to keep up his point per game rate close to 1 based on what he can do and the other factors in play. Could he repeat his 2008-09 performance? Sure! My expectations are only a little less than that.

What he has done so far:

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Patrik Elias	14	3	8	11	2	8	1	0	1	0	29	10.3

Elias missed training camp, preseason, October, and some of November as he was recovering from surgery that removed scar tissue from his groin. Back in August, no fan saw this coming. So keep that in mind as well as the fact that Elias has come back in the middle of the season and play his way back into shape. Elias is currently producing at a rate of .785 points per game. Is this good enough considering the circumstances? I'm inclined to say yes. Elias is currently on pace to put up 15 goals and 54 points, but I'd like to think he'll manage to get more goals than that - his shot isn't bad at all. Moreover, if he catches on fire, then he's got an outside shot at hitting 60-65 points. I'd say in all things considered, Elias is meeting my expectations in spite of the injury.

Brian Rolston, What I said then:

He knows his teammates much better after a season in New Jersey. The new head coach knows him well and will certainly use him more to Rolston's liking. Brian Gionta is now signed with Montreal, so his former spot is really Rolston's for the taking: a right wing position on an actual scoring line, with the wondefully talented Patrik Elias. Add his own personal desire to improve, and this is an excellent situation for Rolston. If he avoids injury and meshes well with Elias and Zubrus, then a big improvement shouldn't surprise anyone. Therefore, I think it's fair to expect a big improvement. I would like Rolston to score at least 25 goals and put up at least 60 points.

What he has done so far:

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Brian Rolston	27	10	6	16	0	6	5	0	3	0	92	10.9

This is curious. Rolston hasn't exactly been consistent in terms of his performances, yet here he stands as the second most prolific shooter on the team and currently on pace to put up 30 goals and 48 points. Yes, that works out to 18 assists and I doubt Rolston will finish with that few. Though I doubt many would complain if he does, in fact, put up 30 goals. He has avoided injury, he's (mostly) been on a scoring line, and he does look very good as Patrik Elias' winger in recent games. I would really like to see him put up more confident efforts more often, though. If he does, he could hit 60 points as well as 25 goals. To that end, I'd say Rolston has been exceeding my expectations for goals, but slightly below other expectations. (Yes, I'm hedging here, so what, they're my expectations, I can do that.)

Dainius Zubrus, What I said then:

So what to expect? If Zubrus does stay on at center on the second line, then I would like to see him win at least 51% of his faceoffs to start. In terms of points, this is tricky as those two seasons right after the lockout are the only times Zubrus has had more than 20 goals and 55 points in a season. All the same, I would like to see him improve over his production from last season. So I'm expecting about 17 goals and about 30 assists. Truth be told, I'd want him to break 50 points, I want him to score 20 goals, but I'm not really seeing any reason to believe that he will next season.

What he has done so far:

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Dainius Zubrus	20	2	5	7	-1	10	0	0	2	0	33	6.1

The recent injury to Zubrus really hinders what he could be doing throughout the season. That just adds to the confusion surrounding Big Z. Has he been useful in the run of play? Yes. Has he shown a little versatility playing among the various non-first lines? Sure. But is he meeting my expectations of him in terms of points? No. Again, the injury leaves Zubrus out for likely all of December and some of January, so he's going to miss 15-20 more games on top of the 8 he's already missed. That alone will hurt his chances of hitting 17 goals and 30 assists. Yet, at his current pace, he wouldn't come close to those values. He wasn't even winning 50% of his faceoffs (he's at 49.2%). I don't like writing this because I really do think he brings value to the team, but Zubrus was playing below my stated expectations so far prior to injury.

David Clarkson, What I said then:

Since I hope and expect Clarkson to cut down on his penalties in minutes and improve his defense, I think Lemaire will be forced to give him more ice time based on his performances alone. I would think that if Lemaire can utilize Clarkson for 14-15 minutes a night, then that alone should see his point totals rise.

According to HockeyDB, it took Randy McKay 10 full seasons of pro hockey before he exceeding 20 goals and 40 points (24 goals, 48 points in 1996-97). I honestly think that Clarkson can raise his game to do that next season - his fifth in pro hockey. Given what I've stated so far, I expect Clarkson to finish with about 20 goals and 40 points in 2009-10.

What he has done so far:

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - David Clarkson	23	7	8	15	1	39	3	0	2	0	65	10.8

I really wish he wasn't injured because that just stunts his production. Prior to the injury, I would have said that Clarkson has been playing well above expectations. He's been shuttled between the second, third, and fourth lines, and yet he provides solid production along with toughness (read: hits, PIMs) and all on an average of 15:08 per game. He's been getting the minutes I hoped Lemaire would give him and he hasn't disappointed. It'll be interesting to see how he and Zubrus play after their injuries. Zubrus wasn't on pace for my expectations, whereas Clarkson was on pace for 25 goals and 28 assists prior to his injury. Clarkson was exceeding my expectations then, and I certainly hope he can return to this form when he does recover.

Rod Pelley, What I said then:

Despite the spot he's going to fill in [third line center], I don't think it's fair to really expect a lot from him this season and so I won't. While he's not technically a rookie, he's still relatively new to the NHL and he's coming up after a full season spent in Lowell. It's like he is a rookie, in my view. He's a defensive forward so he isn't going to score a lot - that has to be considered as well. In terms of the latter, I would be more than pleased with any contribution he gives - perhaps 10 goals and 20 points at the most. On the defensive side, I'd like to see Pelley win close to half of his faceoffs, avoid taking penalties (less than 60, he had 78 with Lowell last season), and keep up with the opposition. It doesn't sound like much, but again, I'm keeping the expectations low since there isn't much to go on with Pelley. One thing is for sure, I certainly don't expect him to be the next Madden - it really is a lot to ask of a young player.

What he has done so far:

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Rod Pelley	25	0	2	2	-6	16	0	0	0	0	27	0.0

The Devils never placed Pelley as the team's third line center. Right before the season started, the Devils signed Rob Niedermayer to a deal and gave him the spot. During the season, the Devils signed Dean McAmmond as additional depth (which was an important move in retrospect) and called up Tim Sestito, who actually played ahead of Pelley or in place of Pelley. Not only was a he a fourth line center, but he was scratched for a few games. Since being scratched, Pelley has played with a lot more vigor recently (now has 35 hits, 7:30 ice time) and without taking too many penalty minutes (currently on pace for 50 or so). However, he's not going to hit these expected numbers on his current line. He's just not producing, though that may change if the recent fourth line play keeps up their good work. I think this is fine considering the circumstances, but I misplaced my expectations on Pelley since I assumed back in August that he would be replacing John Madden's spot on the third line.

Jay Pandolfo, What I said then:

Let's be frank here, Pandolfo is not and will not be an offensive force. He's not going to be significant producer of points, he never has been, and it's foolish to expect him to do so now. If he can contribute 10 goals and 10 assists, great. If not, fine. In any case, his defensive work is his "bread and butter" and he has to do better in that department. I expect him to finish with a better goals for/against difference on the ice; contribute to a penalty kill that didn't do all that well last season (79.9% success rate, 20th best in the league); and earn his way back to 15-17 minutes on average on the third line. Basically, he needs to be a solid, competant checking forward once again.

What he has done so far:

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Jay Pandolfo	11	1	2	3	-1	2	0	0	0	0	17	5.9

Like other Devils forwards, the injuries hurt his production. However, we are talking about Jay Pandolfo and his current production pace (I believe it is about 6 goals and 12 assists) is perfectly acceptable considering his offensive skills. Moreover, Pandolfo has averaged 15:10 over the whole season while playing on the third line and has averaged 2:23 on a penalty killing unit that is currently ranked tied for 10th in the league. Of course, Pandolfo didn't play on said unit for 17 games, but he is back on PK duty. In fact, he immediately returned from injury to playing his normal (and expected) workload. When Pandolfo is on the ice in even strength situations, per Behind the Net, the shots against per 60 shows no change (stays at 25.1) and the goals against per 60 does increase from 1.57 to 2.64. However, Pandolfo is playing against a positive quality of competition and the lack of games does skew these numbers from Behind the Net. Still, I would say that Pandolfo is meeting my expectations so far and I'm glad to see that after such a poor 2008-09 season from the checking left winger.

Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond, What I said then:

Leblond is an OK skater, he can bring "energy" into a lethargic game, and he likes to be physical and aggressive. He's also not a scorer by any means and so all we can really expect from the player is hits and plenty of penalty minutes. Since I want - and expect - David Clarkson to fight less, Leblond should be more than able to replace him in that role. That is, when he actually plays. Given that Leblond is not going to develop into an offensive or defensive contributor, there's going to be some games where the Devils really don't need an enforcer to play 4-7 minutes and/or spend 5 minutes in a box.

What he has done so far:

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond	7	0	0	0	-3	0	0	0	0	0	2	0.0

What has Leblond done so far this season? Not much of anything really. When Andrew Peters has been getting more games than you, it's a sign that the season isn't going so well. Though to be fair, I'll say that while Leblond has not met my expectations, he has not earned a chance to stay on the roster.

Ilkka Pikkarainen, What I said then (thanks to HIFK supporter Patrik Sjögren):

So what to expect? Well, from what I read, it's a real mixed bag here. Physical/agitating play, a hard shot, and damaging on-ice discipline issues really seem to be the traits that stick out from what Patrik has seen in 3 years of the player. Hopefully, only those first two traits stick out in preseason as he competes for a spot. Even then, I would still pencil him in only for a fourth line position. But I'm a little less enthused about him, to say the least! Still, let's see what he does in preseason before bemoaning the signing.

What he has done so far:

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Ilkka Pikkarainen	18	0	1	1	-4	8	0	0	0	0	11	0.0

Pikkarainen was known for being an agitator and has he done that? Well, not quite. He was the right wing for an ineffective fourth line and wasn't doing much like Peters and Pelley. It wasn't until recently where something must have clicked in Pikkarainen's head. Maybe it was the injury to Clarkson, leading him to think he needs to step up with the grit? Maybe the coaching staff had a talk with him? Maybe something else? Whatever it is, he's been playing more like a physical fourth liner recently along with Pelley. Not as much as an agitator, as I'm pretty sure he drew exactly one call this season. There's more energy in his gliding, he's stepped up his hitting (now at 30), and he has been good about staying out the box/keeping "Evil Ilkka" from showing himself. If he keeps this up, then I'd be fine with the way he plays. But overall, I must say that Pikkarainen has not met my expectations for a physical/agitating fourth liner until recently.

Overall

I must say, even with my arbitrarily defined expectations, a good number of the Devils forwards are either meeting them or exceeding them. Most importantly, those who are doing that are the top forwards on the team: Parise, Zajac, Langenbrunner, Elias, Clarkson (pre-injury), and Rolston (in goals only). I'm very glad to be wrong on my expectations for Parise and Langenbrunner, in particular. They are having just excellent seasons. I'd like to see the bottom 6 do a bit more (as well as Zubrus), but their chances are limited mainly due to the fine play of the additional forwards that made the team after these expectation posts were written.

Let me know what you think of all of this in the comments. Thursday or Saturday, I'll go through the defensemen and goaltenders (hint: Martin Brodeur still rules, but only meets my expectations since I expected him to be great.)

Martin Brodeur Earns 103rd Career Shutout as New Jersey Devils Beat Buffalo Sabres, 3-0

John Fischer — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 03:13:44 -0000

More photos » by David Duprey - AP

Martin Brodeur earned his 103rd career shutout. Here is one of the 22 saves he made. This puck went on to be picked up by a Devil and then pushed up ice on a breakout. (AP Photo/ David Duprey)

Browse more photos »

Sing with me now!

There's only one Martin Brodeur! There's only one Martin Brodeur! There's only one Maaaaaar-tin Brodeur!

Martin Brodeur didn't have to make many big saves or pull out any highlight-reel worthy moves to stop the Buffalo Sabres. He did his job, he did it well, he was solid with his stick, and he controlled all the rebounds to places where his teammates can clean it up. Martin Brodeur earned his 103rd career shutout, tying him with the all-time leader, the legendary Terry Sawchuk. If 4 Vezinas, 3 Cups, and well over 552 career wins weren't enough to convince you of his greatness, then this should clue you in. If not, I have no words for you. Congratulations to Martin Brodeur.

That said, the 3-0 victory was also an excellent team win. While the first 15 minutes or so weren't great, the New Jersey Devils went on to apply - get this - consistent offensive pressure and just out-worked the Sabres for much of the game. The Devils had sequences where shift after shift just kept going after the Sabres. Most of the second period was an exercise of this domination, and even late in the game the Devils made a point of it to get the puck forward and put shots on Ryan Miller. It was what I wanted to see, it was what I think the team needed to do after two lackluster performances on offense, and it was glorious. NHL.com has their recap up of the Devils' victory, complete with links to the boxscore and other stats.

For the Buffalo perspective, read on at Die by the Blade later on for their recap. I would expect frustration to be the theme, but that's just me. The Buffalo faithful really let their displeasure known in the second and third periods and honestly, I don't blame them for booing. Their team just fell flat after the first period and deserves criticism for it. Read on for my further thoughts on tonight's win.

As the schedule turned out, this would be the only Devils road game between the beginning of the month and December 19 (where they travel to Atlanta). I figured the opposition would be tough and at first, it was a close game. I felt Buffalo were a bit better in the run of play for most of the first period. The Devils didn't look as sharp with their passes, they were a bit too passive on defense, and didn't get much sustained pressure going.

Fortunately, late in the period, they didn't need to do that as Brian Rolston and later Travis Zajac scored off the rush. They were well set up plays, truth be told. Vladimir Zharkov cut outside, fed it down low to Patrik Elias, who put it right on Brian Rolston's stick for the far-post shot that slid in. Well done. Shortly thereafter, the Devils hit back on a long breakout created by Colin White, Zach Parise dished it off to Zajac who ripped one through Ryan Miller. The Devils didn't look all that great, yet led after the period 2-0.

Then the domination began. When you're down 2-0, don't take a holding call to start a period! Apparently, Clarke MacArthur forgot that and he regretted his infraction. Nicklas Bergfors used Parise well on a screen to beat Miller and put the Devils up 3-0. And then the pressure came. The forechecks surprised Buffalo's defense. The neutral zone play was solid. And in the rare chance that Buffalo actually had the puck in a position to do something on offense, the defense either negated it, the Sabres either lost it while trying to set up a "good shot," or Martin Brodeur made an easy save. Only once did the Sabres get the puck in close on Brodeur, literally in the dying seconds of the second period - and the goaltender made sure he smothered it.

I cannot praise the offensive pressure enough, the Devils didn't hold onto their lead and they were really unfortunate (largely thanks to Ryan Miller) to not blow the game completely wide open. I wanted to see an aggressive offense from New Jersey's forwards and I saw it tonight and it was great. The second period was just fantastic hockey by the Devils. On this note, enjoy tonight's highlights from the game with this embedded video from NHL.com.

Jacques Lemaire rolled four lines, all of whom were effective, throughout the second and even all the way into the third period. As the forwards pushed forward, this gave less opportunity for Buffalo to attack. And when they did, the defense and backcheckers did a great job making it difficult with 20 blocked shots and only 22 allowed on net. Excellent work at both ends, in my view. When you see the fourth line of Rod Pelley-Dean McAmmond-Ilkka Pikkarainen out for a shift late in the third period - like with 100 seconds to go - that's a sign that the entire team has played very well that night.

Praise is definitely deserved for Brodeur. But nearly everyone had a good game tonight! Zach Parise roared with 7 shots on goal and an assist. Nicklas Bergfors had 6 shots and a power play goal. Travis Zajac (seriously, that line was cooking) had 4 shots, a goal, and went 7 for 11 on faceoffs. Brian Rolston had 4 shots and a goal. Patrik Elias had 3 shots and went 4 for 8 (good for him at least). Vladimir Zharkov didn't get a shot on net, but he did set up a goal, so that's definitely good - 3 assists in his last 3 games. Rob Niedermayer was solid on the penalty kill, leading that effort on special teams. Even the fourth line had a presence, Dean McAmmond stood out the most as he hit the post in the second, and got his two shots in the third: first by taking a long shot and his second was his own rebound. (Buffalo defense, you got burned by Dean McAmmond). The team as a whole blocked 20 Buffalo shots while only allowing 22 to go at Brodeur. Bryce Salvador and Mark Fraser each had 4, and Jay Pandolfo was close behind with 3. Johnny Oduya skated his socks off with a 26:13 effort; Andy Greene and Colin White rarely made a wrong move; and even Matt Corrente looked good in limited minutes (9:03, only one to play less than 10 minutes). Mike Mottau has played well for New Jersey, but he really wasn't needed all that much. I honestly can't say that any Devil had a bad game. Lemaire got the team fired up after a mediocre first period (despite scoring 2 goals at the end) and it clearly showed on the ice.

The Devils went on to outshoot the Sabres 37-22 (led after 2 periods 25-11, mind you), win more faceoffs (23-16 NJ), and nearly had 3 more goals. Dean McAmmond went high on a low Ryan Miller and only got post in the second period, Travis Zajac's shot while streaking to the net hit the far post on a feed from Parise, and Parise had a goal waived off when the video replay saw a kicking motion on the puck late in the game.

The only faults I could think of the team's performance had to do with discipline and special teams. During a power play, Brian Rolston, rushing back to prevent a shorthanded scoring chance, tripped up a Sabre - which wiped out the Devils' man advantage. In terms of straight-up minors, Bergfors took a late hooking call in the second and Fraser hit a Sabre with a high stick in front of the crease in the third period. Sure, the Devils (with some help with the Sabres) killed these penalties; but they could have been avoided altogether. On the flip side, the Devils' power play wasn't so great. Out of 4 opportunities (well, 3 minus Rolston wiping out the Devils' second power play of the second period), the Devils managed to only get 5 shots on net. They didn't do anything on the first power play of the game or the one they had in the third period. Of course, they did score a power play goal and for the Devils, that's perfectly fine.

And really, those faults are really small blips in comparison to the excellence of the (eventual) overall team effort, the coaching adjustments, Martin Brodeur, the effectiveness of the defense, and the play from all 12 forwards. If this is what the Devils look like now, just wait until the Devils get Paul Martin, Dainius Zubrus, and David Clarkson back from injury.

This was a great win for the Devils and I hope this inspires them to continue what they did in Buffalo tonight at the Rock. Once again, congratulations to the New Jersey Devils for a quality win and congratulations to Martin Brodeur for his 103rd career shutout.

Thanks to all who have commented and/or read the GameThread, thanks to Steve for making the GameThread, and thanks to you for reading this. Please leave all your thoughts about tonight's game in the comments.

New Jersey Devils Morning News, Dec 7

TibbsBeastoftheEast — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 13:14:22 -0000

Devils up next: Sabres and Ryan Miller - (The Bergen Record)
Devils face America's best - (The Bergen Record)

Patrik Elias, Devils shoot down Red Wings - (The Bergen Record)
Devils defenders have a long chat; Two-man advantage adjustments - (Fire & Ice)
Elias explains quick departure; Brodeur believes Miller will be U.S. starter - (Fire & Ice)
Terreri filling in as second goalie as Brodeur gets afternoon off - (Fire & Ice)
Pandolfo and Oduya return to help Devils win - (Fire & Ice)
Devils turn back the clock to 1995 - (Fire & Ice)
Patrik Elias scores winner and then leaves building - (Fire & Ice)
Live post: Devils win 4-3 in a shootout - (Fire & Ice)
Lemaire recalls happy faces of 1995 Stanley Cup - (Fire & Ice)
White will play vs. Red Wings; Sending Halischuk down was difficult decision - (Fire & Ice)
Remembering the 1995 Stanley Cup team; Danis still waiting - (Fire & Ice)
NJ Devils coach Jacques Lemaire tweaks 5-on-3 power-play unit - (The Star Ledger)
NJ Devils post-practice report - (The Star Ledger)
NJ Devils early practice report: Martin Brodeur not practicing - (The Star Ledger)
Jacques Lemaire enjoyed seeing '95 NJ Devils and return of injured players - (The Star Ledger)
Patrik Elias wins shootout for NJ Devils and then leaves hurriedly - (The Star Ledger)
NJ Devils rally for 4-3 shootout victory over Detroit Red Wings - (The Star Ledger)
NJ Devils GM Lou Lamoriello makes 'tough decision' to send rookie winger Matt Halischuk to minors - (The Star Ledger)
NJ Devils-Detroit Red Wings: As they played - (The Star Ledger)
Colin White in NJ Devils lineup; Matt Corrente will sit - (The Star Ledger)
Is former NJ Devils defenseman Brian Rafalski a future Hall of Famer? - (The Star Ledger)
Back injury will keep Brian Rafalski from facing NJ Devils - (The Star Ledger)
NJ Devils send Matt Halischuk to Lowell (AHL); Johnny Oduya and Jay Pandolfo activated - (The Star Ledger)
No roster move yet for NJ Devils - (The Star Ledger)
Healthy Devils best Detroit in shootout - (The New York Daily News)
Brodeur: Sabres' Miller 'no doubt' top U.S. goalie - (The New York Post)
Brodeur steals shootout win over Red Wings after Devils lapse - (The New York Post)
As Devils' vets return, decisions to be made - (The New York Post)
Watch Postgame Reaction - (Msgnetwork)
Devils 4, Red Wings 3 (SO) - (NewJerseyDevils.com)
Devils honor '95 champs before facing Wings - (NewJerseyDevils.com)
Pandolfo, Oduya activated; Halischuk to Lowell - (NewJerseyDevils.com)
Devils-Sabres Preview - (FOXSports.com)
Devils honor '95 champs before facing Wings - (NHL.com)
NHL Standings - (Yahoo NHL)
Devils' players stats - (Yahoo NHL)
Devils Team Report - (Yahoo NHL)
Red Wings' Tomas Holmstrom proud of reaching 200-goal mark - (Flint Township/Swartz Creek Advance)
Red Wings-Devils wrap-up: mental mistakes cost Wings more points - (MLive.com)
Sabres ranks among NHL's top 7 in PPG - (Buffalo Business First)
Devils face Sabres - (hockeybuzz.com)
Devils vs. Red Wings, 12/5/09: A Documentary Feature About Boomer’s First Trip To The Rawk - (Interchangeable Parts)
Devils vs LightningBOLTS!, 12/4/09 - (Interchangeable Parts)

LOWELL DEVILS
Devils Shocked by Monarchs, 6-5 - (LowellDevilsHockey.com)
Devils iced in a thriller - (The Lowell Sun)
Palmieri leads Devils to a win - (The Lowell Sun)

TRENTON DEVILS
Devils Force OT, But Royals Win Again, 4-3 - (TrentonDevils.com)
Devils Comeback Falls Short - (TrentonDevils.com)
Reading Wins Back and Forth Match 5-4 - (TrentonDevils.com)
Reading vexes T-Devils in OT - (The Trentonian)
Justin Coutu Returned To Trenton Devils - (MLN - The Raw Feed)

MISCELLANEOUS
Ross gets a Devils' rush - (Denver Post)
DiNardo memorial hockey game to benefit their kids - (The Jersey Journal)
Spitfires skate to easy 9-5 win vs. Petes - (Windsor Star ); Adam Henrique

NHL players on Twitter

James Mirtle — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 16:14:00 -0000

More photos » by Tom Gannam - AP

Browse more photos »

I've been meaning to write something on NHLers and Twitter for a few weeks now, an article that finally came together this weekend for The Globe. For whatever reason, hockey players are miles behind some of the stars in other sports when it comes to social networking, but there have been some gains the past few months and it looks like that's something we'll continue to see.

Leading the way on that front has been agent Allan Walsh, who has started many of his clients — including Martin Havlat, Patrik Elias and David Perron — on Twitter.

Perron, the 21-year-old winger from the Blues, is the player I focused on because he's easily been one of the most prolific players on there, answering hundreds of questions from fans since the season started. Here's a Q&A I did with him last week.

And, finally, here's the list of NHL players and personnel I came up with. If there are others I missed, let me know:

NHLers on Twitter: Colby Armstrong, Dan Boyle, Donald Brashear, Mike Commodore, Riley Cote, Patrik Elias, Dan Ellis, Eric Fehr, Bruno Gervais, Mike Green, Martin Havlat, Alex Ovechkin, David Perron, Alexander Steen, Steve Sullivan, Maxime Talbot, Brad Winchester, Brendan Witt

Retired players on Twitter: Matt Barnaby, Valeri Bure, Tom Chorske, Wendel Clark, Tie Domi, Bret Hedican, Kelly Hrudey, Trevor Linden, Troy Murray, Mark Smith, Bryan Trottier, Kevin Weekes

NHL staff on Twitter: Gary Bettman, Mike DiLorenzo

Agents on Twitter: Jay Grossman, Ben Hankinson, Chris McAlpine, Allan Walsh

New Jersey Devils Give Up 2 Goal Lead, Pull Out Win over Detroit Red Wings in Shootout

John Fischer — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 05:09:07 -0000

More photos » by Bill Kostroun - AP

Patrik Elias showed up in the shootout and scored the shootout winning goal to give the New Jersey Devils the win. Chris Osgood is frozen at this point in time. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

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Last Saturday, the New Jersey Devils snowballed their way to a huge 6-1 win over the New York Islanders. As the game went on, the Devils played better and went on to dominate on the ice and on the scoreboard. Tonight, the opposite happened as the Devils hosted the Detroit Red Wings. The Devils started off great, slowed down a bit in the second period, and then reverted to how they looked last night in the third period. In the process, the Devils conceded a two goal lead and the game was forced into overtime and followed by a shootout. The Devils won there, the final became 4-3, and so NHL.com has your recap complete with the relevant stats.

The Devils prevailed there, but I can't honestly say I'm pleased with the performance. I know, I know, it's a results-oriented business and the Devils just picked up 4 points in 48 hours. Fine. But the Devils could have and should have done better tonight, especially because they played so well and worked so hard in the first period. Credit the Detroit Red Wings for responding after being beaten on first twenty minutes, they eventually took the game over and made it a game.

Winging it in Motown has their recap up and joehass wonders why Patrick Eaves wasn't used in the shootout for Detroit given that he had a goal and an assist. Read on my extended thoughts on tonight's game.

Let's talk about the goaltenders first. Martin Brodeur and Chris Osgood, I felt, played well. Both goaltenders had to come up huge at various points. Brodeur bailed the Devils out of the third period, whereas Chris Osgood robbed the Devils a few times earlier - most notably Ilkka Pikkarainen's backhand. A bit odd to say given that both gave up 3 goals each. However, only one of the six goals scored in regulation was really a soft - Johnny Oduya's individual effort sliding right through Osgood's legs. The other goals were off rebounds where the goaltender had no chance on (Jamie Langenbrunner, and one deflection by Patrick Eaves. Here's a video of the game's highlights from NHL.com. See for yourself:

Now, you can see where the momentum lied in the shots by period. The Devils' first period was very strong. They bossed the Detroit skaters around, they moved the puck up ice at will, they owned the neutral zone, and outshot the Wings 11-7. They were doing what I said I wanted them to do in the game preview - be aggressive on offense. If you had seen that period, then you became increasingly amazed at how the Devils took their foot off the proverbial pedal. In the second period, Detroit pulled one back (Kris Draper on a rebound), the Devils responded with a goal of their own (Rob Niedermayer on a rebound created by Vladimir Zharkov), and then Detroit capitalized on a power play near the end of the period (Thomas Holmstrom on a tip). Sure, the Devils were leading after the period, 3-2; but the Red Wings clearly made adjustments that the Devils didn't have many answers for and so outshot the Devils 11-9. No longer was Detroit being outworked, no longer was Detroit constantly giving away the puck in the neutral zone.

And then the third period came and it reminded me so much of last night, it was sick in retrospect. It started off well enough. Jay Pandolfo nearly had a goal when his shot from the high slot was stopped by Chris Osgood. The puck bounced up, over Osgood, and was about to slide in only for Brad Stuart to swoop in and clear it off the line. From that point on, Detroit took over in pinning the Devils back, forcing them to clear the puck right back to Detroit, and repeat. Patrick Eaves got the equalizer off a deflection and Martin Brodeur should be thanked for keeping the score tied. After all, the Devils only put 3 shots on Osgood in the third (11-3 Detroit in terms of shots). Where were the Devils of the first period? Where was the aggressive offense? Truthfully, the Devils escaped the third period and were fortunate to earn a point with that kind of "offense."

Overtime saw the Devils actually make an effort to score a goal and came close when a deflected shot by Travis Zajac beat Osgood, but was denied by the post. Alas, this game needed a shootout and the Devils pull out a win. The fans (it was a very good and loud crowd at the Rock) were real happy with the win, nearly everyone standing for every shot and Devils attempt. Exciting stuff, but I can't help but think that most would have liked to have seen the Devils continue to do what they did in the first period and put the game out of doubt. But Detroit responded real well and the Devils wilted. I also can't help but think of the following cliche: good teams know how to win games that they perhaps shouldn't have. The Devils did just that in the last two games. So I guess they are a good team.

A few Devils stuck out tonight, in my opinion. I felt Jay Pandolfo (17:58, 1 A, 2 SOG) and Johnny Oduya (21:01, 1 G, 3 hits) had good games. I was a bit concerned with how they would look after not playing for at least a month, and my concerns were quickly erased. Both hustled pretty well and didn't make too many noticeable mistakes as they played significant minutes. Well, Oduya did jump up on offense, got caught, and didn't really recover well as Darren Helm unloaded a shot that Kris Draper eventually knocked in. But Oduya was just a part of that, the other Devils should have helped out in recovery; so I wouldn't kill him for that one. Rob Niedermayer had a good game, he had 3 shots on net and went right to the net at the right time for the Devils' third goal. He played just over 19 minutes (19:17) and statistically I can only fault him for going 5 for 13 on faceoffs. I also felt Colin White (21:00) and Mike Mottau (24:57) had a solid game on defense. This is especially good news for White as he left Friday's game early due to "lower body soreness." Tonight, he stayed in and feels pretty good afterward according to Gulitti's postgame report.

In terms of Devils who stuck out for not being noticeable (this makes sense, hear me out), I'd have to point the finger to Patrik Elias and Brian Rolston. Last week, they were a dynamite duo. Tonight, they weren't really there. Rolston had 3 shots on net and played 14:57. None of those shots were of particular importance and he managed to get blocked twice and miss the net three times. I didn't think he had an impact. Elias got the win-clinching goal in the shootout, but he did little else in the game. He also played far less than I thought, only 14:05, put 1 shot on net, and was thoroughly beaten at the faceoff dot (3 for 11). The offense has a whole suffered as the game went on, and these two really do need to take more initiative to prevent this from happening in future games.

I do have to credit Detroit's defense in part of stifling New Jersey's offense. Nicklas Lidstrom is an absolute joy to watch on the blueline. He knows where to position himself, when to step up on a player, when to drop back, and he is so slick with the puck. A few times in the game, a Devil forward would have the puck and carry it over the blueline only to just dump it away because he knows he can't beat Lidstrom in a one-on-one battle. It's no wonder he's known as a dominant defenseman. Naturally, he played 30:48 for Detroit because he really is that important. Jonathan Ericsson also came back from injury and put in a good (not perfect, but good) effort in playing 28:24 (!!), often along side Lidstrom. Overall, the Red Wings' D cleaned up a lot of rebounds and Lidstrom alone made things difficult for the Devils' offense after the first period. Not that the Devils' offense was particularly interested in attacking them by the third period.

So what's next? The Devils have four games in the coming week and they really need to be more consistently positive on offense. That means putting shots on net through all three periods. That means not allowing the opposition to dictate the play when up with a lead. That means not giving up a two goal lead in a game. I think it'll get better, hopefully by Monday when they go up to Buffalo. Thanks to Steve and commenters in the GameThread, as well as all of the readers. Feel free to leave your thoughts, questions, complaints, stats I missed, and anything else you feel about tonight's shootout win in the comments.

New Jersey Devils Morning News, Dec 3

TibbsBeastoftheEast — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 13:36:30 -0000

Devils notes: Scare for Patrik Elias - (The Bergen Record)
Canucks beat Devils, 5-2 - (The Bergen Record)

Elias OK after getting skate tangled up with Kesler in second period; More 5-on-3 trouble - (Fire & Ice)*
Lemaire: Devils need a good practice after tonight’s 5-2 loss to Vancouver - (Fire & Ice)
Live post: Hansen goal ups Canucks’ lead to 5-2 in third - (Fire & Ice)
Cormier, Henrique invited to Canadian junior camp; Wohlberg invited to U.S. camp - (Fire & Ice)
Lemaire chats with Yzerman about Canadian goalie situation - (Fire & Ice)
Niedermayer, Langenbrunner to play tonight; Pandolfo will wait - (Fire & Ice)
Langenbrunner on ice for morning skate; Sestito demoted; Looks like Pandolfo, Neidermayer will play - (Fire & Ice)
Two goalies weren't really factors in NJ Devils loss to Canucks - (The Star Ledger)
In loss to Canucks, NJ Devils avoid an injury to Patrik Elias - (The Star Ledger)
NJ Devils' home winning streak ends at six with 5-2 loss to Vancouver Canucks - (The Star Ledger)
NJ Devils-Vancouver Canucks: As they played - (The Star Ledger)
NJ Devils goalie Martin Brodeur: U.S. citizen, Canadian hero - (The Star Ledger)
NJ Devils winger Niclas Bergfors edged by James vanRiemsdyk as NHL Rookie of the Month - (The Star Ledger)
Jamie Langenbrunner, Rob Niedermayer in NJ Devils lineup; Jay Pandolfo not ready - (The Star Ledger)
Jamie Langenbrunner on ice for NJ Devils morning skate - (The Star Ledger)
Brodeur, Devils blasted by Canucks, 5-2 - (The New York Daily News)
Jacques irked after 'L' - (The New York Post)
Watch Postgame Reaction - (Msgnetwork)
Canucks 5, Devils 2 - (NewJerseyDevils.com)
Brodeur, Lemaire, Luongo talk Olympics - (NewJerseyDevils.com)
Niedermayer will play vs. Canucks - (NewJerseyDevils.com)
Devils' Lemaire: 'We were due' - (NHL.com)
Luongo, Canucks cruise past Devils - (NHL.com)
Brodeur now US citizen, but remains loyal to Canada - (NHL.com)
NHL Standings - (Yahoo NHL)
Devils' players stats - (Yahoo NHL)
Devils Team Report - (Yahoo NHL)
Brodeur has edge in Olympic goalie duel: HNIC's Take 5 - (CBC News)
One of Canada's likely goalies will be American - (Vancouver Sun)
Zach raises bar - (Faceoff.com)
Luongo finds game, Brodeur doesn't - (Faceoff.com)
Big December Starts Tonight For The New Jersey Devils - (Bleacher Report)
Devils vs. Canucks, 12/2/09 - (Interchangeable Parts)

LOWELL DEVILS
Devils Skate Past Phantoms, 5-3 - (LowellDevilsHockey.com)
Devils not caught short - (The Lowell Sun)

AROUND THE NHL
Power rankings, week 9 - (The Detroit News); Devils in 4th

VANCOUVER 2010
USA Olympic team prediction - (Bleacher Report)
Who should wear Maple Leaf in quest for hockey gold? - (Canada.com)

MISCELLANEOUS
Henrique gets call to world junior camp - (Brantford Expositor)
US juniors to get last chance to audition for WJC - (NHL.com); Wohlberg

* I haven't been able to access Fire & Ice blog from France lately. I received confirmation that they have a security issue and blocked any access from outside the US or North America. I was given a different way to access the blog before they fix that problem.

The New Jersey Devils Lose Ugly against Vancouver Canucks, 5-2

John Fischer — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 04:25:32 -0000

More photos » by Rich Schultz - AP

Hey look, it's Colin White standing by as Alexandre Burrows deflected a puck past Martin Brodeur while being right in front of him. This was the first goal of the game and the first of a bad first period. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz)

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Tonight was very disappointing.

The New Jersey Devils opened the month by hosting the Vancouver Canucks. The Devils were coming off 3 straight wins from the last week and won their last 6 home games. In my preview for the game, I raised the question that if the Canucks look good on paper, why are they 4-8-0 on the road? Needless to say, that record and New Jersey's streaks meant nothing tonight. The Devils looked very poor in both ends of the rink, and the Canucks took advantage in a big way to cleanly win 5-2. In a nutshell, that's what happened.

For the Canucks-based reaction to tonight's game, which must be a very positive one, Nucks Misconduct is where you should check out. If you want a straight overview of the game with boxscores and other stats, NHL.com has you covered with this recap. Read on for my further thoughts on the game.

First and foremost, here is a video of all the highlights from tonight's game from NHL.com, including all of the goals and big saves. That is, of course, you would like to see all of these over again, or even for the first time.

Where do I even begin with all of this? Martin Brodeur did not have a good night, period. I will say that up front. He's had better games, he's had games where he stops some of those goals against. This was definitely not a game that helped his stock for Team Canada. Not that Roberto Luongo was great; but Luongo made the game-shifting-in-hindsight saves that absolutely robbed Zach Parise at point blank in the second period (see 3:45 on the above video). Had Parise get one past Luongo - and maybe he should have done better - that would have been the equalizer and tonight could have been an entirely different game.

Of course that didn't happen, Luongo robbed him, and the Canucks maintained their lead through the second. However, Luongo had the help of his skaters playing fairly solid defensive hockey. The defensemen in front of him were generally first for rebounds. On defense, the Canucks broke up their fair share of Devils' passes and collected way more than a few bad Devils' passes and dumps.

That said, while I don't think he played well, Martin Brodeur cannot necessarily say the same of his defense (or backchecking forwards). Sure, Alexandre Burrows' deflection was point-blank and perfect; I get that one going in. While Alexander Edler's shot took a deflection off of Rob Niedermayer (who played tonight, no really, he did, I swear to you he did), the puck did go 5-hole on Brodeur. Regardless of Brian Rolston giving up the puck during a line change that led to the Vancouver attack, I feel that shot should have been stopped.

But the other ones, well, Brodeur can't say the guys in front of him helped him out on those. Not after Mike Mottau tipped in Sami Salo's shot for Vancouver's second goal; not after getting left hung out to dry on a bad line change leading to a goal by Daniel Sedin; and definitely, absolutely, positively not after Colin White made the boneheaded decision to go after a puck carrier on a two-on-one, leaving Jannik Hansen wide open for a beautiful goal against. I don't care if they only allowed Vancouver to 26 shots. When opportunities and deflections like those come a team's way and leads to 5 goals on the scoreboard, the number of shots on net isn't so important.

Really, Colin White? You have a legendary goaltender who can take on any shooter and instead of letting him challenge the shooter, you leave the other man open? Really? I thought that was textbook defending; and you managed to forget that basic . I know it ultimately didn't affect the outcome, the Devils were losing anyway; but the fifth goal against falls on you in my opinion.

This is not to say the Canucks were just fortunate. Oh, no. They played well. They were given opportunities to score and they came through big time. They looked more confident on the ice, they were calmer with the puck, and their passes weren't a mix of "good idea, poor execution" and simply duffing the pass. All traits the Devils did not really show for much of this game.

Thankfully, the Devils got lucky late in the first period and scored their only two goals of the game. Good heads up plays by Niclas Bergfors and Travis Zajac to finish off the opportunities. Good work by Andy Greene and Jamie Langenbrunner for making them happen. They made the game an actual "game." But they were really the benefits of good bounces going the Devils' way. Bounces that didn't come at all in the rest of the game. The Devils had a few more opportunities - Zach Parise being robbed in the second, a 5-on-3 power play where some bad bounces prevented some high quality scoring chances - but Luongo reacted very well to everything and the defense cleaned up the mess the Devils' offense made. What was notable was that Zajac had 8 shots on net, Parise had 5 on net, Patrik Elias looked vigorous but didn't get much for his efforts, and Brian Rolston looked nothing at all like he did in the previous two games and helped Vancouver get their offense going that led to Edler's game winning goal. Everyone else was sort of forgettable outside of the goals.

We may be able to take solace in the fact that in the long run, this game may not be so important. We know that the Devils can do better, we've seen them do better, and they will do better. Regardless, it really was a bad performance and a bad loss to take. It wasn't a failure for 60 minutes, I felt the game was very even in the second period - perhaps some edge to the Devils, but the Canucks clearly won the first and third periods and did so quite easily. But I'm getting the impression that this is leading to a blueprint on how to beat the Devils: Get a 3 goal lead, force New Jersey to keep turning over the puck via clearances or bad passes, keep attacking if they mount a comeback, and hold on. While the Devils have made comebacks from deficits, they have yet to win after going down 3 goals in a game. That appears to be the mark that opponents should be aiming for.

The fans, small crowd as it was due to it being a midweek game against Vancouver, were right to boo, sigh, get indiginant, and/or leave early. By mid-way through the third period, this game was pretty much in the bank for Vancouver. I can't blame them at all, the Devils played very sloppily - far and away different from what Devils fans saw on Saturday against the Islanders. The few Canucks fans in the crowd, as well as the thousands across the continent, have every right to be happy with their team's victory. Jacques Lemaire has already said that the team clearly needs a "good practice," as reported by Tom Gulitti.

Me, I just want to see the Devils I've seen in the past month at the Rock. To me, I was just waiting for the "real" Devils to show up. The Devils team that gave consistently strong shifts even if the situation wasn't in their favor. What I actually saw tonight was just an ugly performance that reminded me of a Buffalo game at the Rock from October 28. That too was a bad loss (4-1) and hard to watch. I don't think that is a coincidence.

Thanks to Steve for the GameThread, the commenters who joined in, and, of course, the readers. Please feel free to leave your thoughts, complaints (and I know you'll have a few), and other feelings about tonight's loss in the comments.

Game 25 Preview: New Jersey Devils vs. Vancouver Canucks - 12/2/2009

John Fischer — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 05:00:16 -0000

by Bill Kostroun - AP

New Jersey Devils' Patrik Elias and Brian Rolston had huge afternoons against the Islanders on Saturday, racking up 4 points each. What will they do tonight against the Canucks? (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

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The Time: 7 PM EST

The Broadcasting Info: MSG+ for the TV; 660 AM WFAN for the radio

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (17-6-1) vs. the Vancouver Canucks (14-12-0)

The Last Devils Game: Think of a snowball at the top of the mountain. Think of something - say a Richard Park slapshot - causing said snowball to start rolling. Think of the New York Islanders being in the way of that snowball. The Devils grew to dominate the game and blow out the Islanders 6-1 at the Rock, the biggest win of the season so far and their third straight win.

The Last Canucks Game: The Vancouver Canucks drew the league leaders, the San Jose Sharks, on the second half of a back-to-back set. It didn't end well. The Canucks kept it close until Manny Malhotra broke the deadlock late in the third period; and so the Canucks went onto lost 4-2. Sean Zanberg of Nucks Misconduct recapped the game, describing it as a "snoozfest" and the GM Place crowd as "lifeless."

The Goal: Discipline. Vancouver is a team that will make anyone pay for taking dumb calls. Sure, they didn't show that off against the San Jose Sharks. But they have the third best power play success rate at 24.3%, just behind Anaheim (24.5%) and Columbus (24.8%). While the Devils are disciplined in terms of penalties (9.6 PIM/G is third best in the league), I'm also referring to being disciplined on defense. The Canucks in general are a high scoring team, averaging 3 goals a game - the ninth highest average in the league. While Devils fans can be confident in new U.S. citizen Martin Brodeur between the pipes, leaving him out to dry or having him bombarded with high quality shots could lead to disaster against Vancouver.

For a Vancouver perspective on tonight's game, Nucks Misconduct is a good place to check on. Read on for my thoughts on tonight's game.

The big story in the run up to tonight's game is that New Jersey Devils are getting healthier. Rob Niedermayer, Jay Pandolfo, and Johnny Oduya all returned to practice earlier in the week. Per Tom Gulitti's reports, Oduya returned to practice on Tuesday whereas Niedermayer and Pandolfo came back on Monday. While a return to games hasn't been set in stone outside of Oduya not playing, Jacques Lemaire hopes to have Niedermayer back in the lineup for tonight's game against Vancouver. Actually, Gulitti reported that Lemaire thinks both Niedermayer and Pandolfo could be ready for Vancouver, but both players' comments suggest otherwise.

Of course, it's not all good news. No, apparently, Jamie Langenbrunner "tweaked" something and didn't practice on Tuesday. According to Gulitti, it's apparently something with his back - something that has long been suspected as a back injury. Now, he's presumably played with that nagging issue so far and he's done pretty well regardless.

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	GTG	SOG	PCT
2009 - Jamie Langenbrunner	24	5	17	22	8	6	1	1	1	0	68	7.4

It's not clear whether that will mean he can't play against the Canucks. After all, Langenbrunner had this to say to Gulitti:

"I’ll see how I feel when I wake up in the morning," he said. "I didn’t think it was going to be an issue today, so. I would assume that I’ll be bettter tomorrow., I worked with [team massage therapist] Tommy [Plasko] today and I feel better.

...

"I practiced yesterday and felt fine and felt fine all days yesterday," he said. "I woke up this morning and I didn’t feel so good and I wasn’t able to loosen up like I wanted to."

I think Chere summed it all best in his headline: Niedermayer and Pandolfo are probable, Langenbrunner is questionable, and Oduya is out. With respect to the roster size, the Devils can activate one of Niedermayer and Pandolfo without making any moves. Should Langenbrunner just get scratched and the Devils want both Pandolfo and Niedermayer active, someone has to go to Lowell. Most likely Vladimir Zharkov to start, as he can go freely between New Jersey and Lowell without waivers. So keep an eye on Chere and Gulitti during the day. If the Devils make a roster move, you can bet on both Niedermayer and Pandolfo returning.

As far as my guess for the lineup, I'm going to assume that those moves do happen and that Langenbrunner is good to go. I really hope he is, the Devils really can't afford more injuries to their top 6 forwards.

Zach Parise - Travis Zajac - Niclas Bergfors
Brian Rolston - Patrik Elias - Jamie Langenbrunner
Jay Pandolfo - Rob Niedermayer - Dean McAmmond
Andrew Peters - Rod Pelley - Matt Halischuk

Andy Greene - Bryce Salvador
Colin White - Mike Mottau
Mark Fraser - Matthew Corrente

Martin Brodeur
Yann Danis

If only Niedermayer is activated, expect Dean McAmmond to slide to that left wing position and either Zharkov, Ilkka Pikkarainen, or Eckford would be scratched. Likewise, if Pandolfo is only activated, McAmmond would likely center that third line and play with Halischuk on his right wing. Should Langenbrunner not play, I'd guess Zharkov would be back in the lineup in some way. Of course, these are all guesses and I will most likely be wrong in some way.

Either way, it'll be up to the top two forward lines to crack a pretty good Vancouver defense (28.7 shots against per game average, 11th in the league) and Roberto Luongo, the other high-profile goaltending candidate for Team Canada.

	GP	MIN	W	L	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2009 - Roberto Luongo	20	1124	10	9	48	2.56	531	483	.910	1

OK, they aren't great numbers, but he's very talented all the same. When he's on, he's frightfully Brodeurian in how difficult he is to beat. Sure, Brodeur and Lemaire says this game

Moreover, the Canucks don't have a big pairing to lead their defense. Kevin Bieksa (22:10), Willie Mitchell (22:04), Christian Ehrhoff (21:44), and Alexander Edler (21:31) have very similar time on ice averages, which suggests to me that Alain Vigenault doesn't like to have one pairing or one line carry a heavy workload. Looking at Behind the Net's even strength numbers notes that Willie Mitchell, far and away, faces the highest quality of competition. So I assume he's the "#1" on the blueline. That said, none of these four really stick out in shots against/60 differential when they are on and off the ice. The biggest positive is Edler with 1.1 less shots per 60. But all of Vancouver's defensemen have a shots against/60 of 27 or less when they are on the ice, which speaks to an overall good effort by the blueline.

Either way, the Devils forwards probably won't have a weak defensive pairing they can pounce on unless one of those four defensemen is having a bad night. On the flipside, Vancouver may need those four defensemen to have equally good nights due to the Devils' top 6. I think it's fair to say that Zach Parise and Travis Zajac will be big players on offense for the Devils, but I would pay additional attention to how Patrik Elias and Brian Rolston play tonight. Both enjoyed 4 point games against the Islanders and showed some real good chemistry between each other. If they can showcase some of that again, it won't be just useful (if not important) for tonight's game but further evidence that it wasn't some flash-in-the-pan, everything-just-clicked moment. Hopefully, they'll get some points and command attention.

With respect to offense, as mentioned prior to the jump, the Canucks power play is something I think the Devils should avoid as much as possible. Tempting the third best power play in the league is never a smart idea. Leading the forwards for Vancouver is Henrik Sedin and his 14 goals and 14 assists; with playmaking Ryan Kesler following close behind in points with 5 goals and 19 assists. The production, like New Jersey, is shared throughout much of the rest of the line up - namely by Mikael Samuelsson, Mason Raymond, and Alexandre Burrows. Actually, Vancouver's defensemen show up high on the scoring list as well: Ehrhoff has 17 points (tied with Raymond for fourth most on the team), Edler has 16 (tied with Burrows for sixth most on the team), and Bieksa has 11 points. So the attack seemingly can start at the point, or at least the defensemen usually has a hand in Vancouver's offensive successes.

Essentially, on paper, this is a pretty solid Vancouver team in my view. I'm not sure why they are 14-12-0 and stuck behind a 5 teams in the Western Conference (Prior to Tuesday's games, 5th place LA: 32 points. 10th place Columbus: 30 points). Perhaps they aren't very good on the road? A road record of 4-8-0, 29 road goals scored against 40 road goals given up indicates that, yes, they aren't good on the road. What does that mean for tonight? Who knows.

All of this speaks back to Devils needing to show discipline on the ice. They can't just float through tonight's game and hope Vancouver will do the same. They can't take stupid calls or make dumb errors and hope Vancouver won't take advantage. Ideally, the Devils would perform as well as they did on Saturday against the Islanders. I don't think the Devils will explode for 6 goals or dominate in possession by the the third period the way they did. I don't think Vancouver will break down like that, especially after keeping their last game close until the end, despite not looking so good overall. They'll at least want to give a better effort after that game. Maintaining a solid defensive game in their own end while striking ahead and staying out of the box will take discipline. I think if the Devils do that, then they got a good chance on stretching their winning streak to 4 games.

Steve will have the GameThread up later today. Check out Nucks Misconduct to learn more about tonight's opponent. Please feel free to share your thoughts on today's game, today's latest news relevant to tonight's game, and discuss the opposition in the comments. Go Devils!

The New Jersey Devils: November 2009 in Review

John Fischer — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 00:00:15 -0000

by Adrian Wyld - AP

New Jersey Devils left wing Zach Parise scoring one of his 9 November goals. This one came against Pascal Leclaire and the Ottawa Senators from November 7, 2009. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press,Adrian Wyld)

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In recent seasons, the month of November has been very kind to the New Jersey Devils. November 2009 proved to be no different. The New Jersey Devils finished the month with a 9-2-1 record. 9-2-1. Let that sink in for a moment. 19 points in 12 games and finishing only a point behind Pittsburgh with 3 games in hand is nothing to sneeze at. The Devils vastly improved their home record by going 6-0-0 at the Rock, compared with 1-4-0 last month. The road winning streak continued into the middle of the month, before a three game winless road trip, leaving the road record at only 3-2-1. I can't complain, as I felt only 14 points would have been expected back at the beginning of November.

To think, all of this has been done with more Devils seemingly getting injured. Jay Pandolfo, Paul Martin, and Johnny Oduya missed the entire month. During November, the list grew to include Rob Niedermayer, Dainius Zubrus, and most recently David Clarkson. The only Devil to really come back from injury was Patrik Elias, who ended the month showing off why he's still to be seen as an elite winger. Yet, the Devils kept on rolling to win games. It didn't matter if they gave up the first or second goal on most nights, they found a way to defeat (and in two cases, blow out) their opponent. Why? The Devils' top players are playing at a high level, the various called up players and those lower on the depth chart have taken the opportunities available to show off what they can do, and Jacques Lemaire and the coaching staff have done an excellent job of holding the team together.

We can only imagine how good this team will be at full health. A frightening prospect for the rest of the league because November proved that they are a very good team right now.

The Month in Review

The month of November couldn't have started any better for the Devils. Not that every game favored the Devils, but winning the month's first 6 games (an 8 game winning streak overall) was definitely a sign of a team doing something right. The Devils opened up the month by finally getting their then-second win at the Rock in a 3-2 defeat of the Washington Capitals. In every one of these wins, it seemed the Devils got it done in some different way. The Devils tried to crack Martin Biron; but it was long shots from Brian Rolston and Cory Murphy which got past him en route to a 2-1 win. The next night the Devils power play uncharacteristically carried the team to victory with 3 goals to defeat Ottawa 3-2. Against Anaheim, the Devils scored first and then responded to the equalizer with a two-goal lead to win 3-1 and take the home record to 4-4. The Devils looked poor to start in Pittsburgh, but then responded with 4 unanswered goals to win 4-1. The Devils allowed the first two goals against the Washington Capitals on their first two shots, and then dismantled them at the Rock to win 5-2. The Devils were hot and now the home record was finally above .500.

Things were great. Even when it looked bad, you knew that the Devils could pull out a win. Down by 1? Down by 2? Tie game? Someone or some unit will step up to shift momentum back to the Devils and then finish the necessary plays to take the game. Could the Devils make NHL history with 10 straight road wins? Could they extend their winning streak to 9 games or more?

In a word, no. In Philadelphia, the start of a three game road trip, the Flyers had all the answers to New Jersey's plans and generally outplayed them. The final score of 3-2 was close, but the action on the ice showed otherwise. The streaks were over, how would the Devils respond afterward? Not so well. They played an even game in Nashville, but fell to the Predators in their first shootout loss this season, 3-2. In Dallas, the Stars went up 3-1 after the first, Martin Brodeur replaced Yann Danis, and the Devils were able to claw back to 3-3 in the third period. It looked like the same magic seen earlier in the month was back. The Devils would come back from 2 down to win, a concept not at all foreign to the Devils or their fans. Unfortunately, the Stars had other ideas and the Devils gave up their momentum quickly to allow two third period goals. The Devils lost 5-3 to Dallas and were suddenly mired in a 3 game winless streak. Could it be, that after so many wins, the Devils were slumping? Did they come back to reality?

Thankfully, the Devils got it together with, what else, a close win over Ottawa. The Devils' all-time leading scorer tipped the puck off of Andy Greene's shot for the go-ahead goal, leading to a frustrated Senators team by the game's end. The Devils won 3-1 and the slump - short as it was - was snapped. Not that the Devils necessarily slept on it. In Boston, the Devils, somehow, managed to keep the score really close despite being dominated in terms of puck possession and scoring chances by the Bruins. Oh, wait, I know why - Martin Brodeur was massive (and set a new NHL mark for career minutes played). The Devils eventually prevailed in the shootout, winning 2-1. In the last game of the month, on the very next day, the Devils snowballed their way to a huge 6-1 win over the New York Islanders - led by the production of Brian Rolston and Patrik Elias. And so here we stand. A 3 game winning streak in response to a 3 game winless streak in the prior week.

Again, I cannot emphasize enough how the Devils succeeded in spite of losing players to injuries. Players like Dean McAmmond, Mark Fraser, and Tim Sestito have shown to be more than just "filler" players on a roster in the absence of regular Devils. All three can definitely play decent minutes at the NHL level. Young call ups like Tyler Eckford, Matthew Corrente, and most-recently Vladimir Zharkov got a taste of NHL hockey and showed promise in the limited minutes they got.

Of course, I cannot discount the return of Devils legend Patrik Elias. Finally returning from injury, he needed a few games to get back into his groove. It took him 4 games before getting any points and when he did, it was 2 assists against Philadelphia. By the end of the month, New Jersey fans are being delighted by seeing the old Patrik back. Elias now has 3 goals and 5 assists since opening his points account on November 16, most notably blowing up against the Islanders on November 28 for 2 goals and 2 assists. Glad to have you back and healthy, Patrik!

Yet, it was the top players on the team who led the way throughout the month. Where would the Devils be without the fine play of their top forwards, their top 4 defensemen, and Martin Brodeur? A place we really don't want to think about (namely, right next to the Rangers in the standings). When the team has gone 9-2-1 in a single month, lots of players look deserving for player of the month. Or at least some definite praise. Believe it or not, I think Martin Brodeur had a Devil of the Month worthy November. He went 8-2-1, gave up 18 goals in 11 games, and yielded a mind-boggling 93.9% save percentage. The NHL even named him the Second Star of the Week for giving up a mere 3 goals in the last 3 games. Yet, I think two Devils have impressed me more than that in the last month:

Devil of the Month Honorable Mention:

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	ATOI	SOG	PCT
November 2009 - Andy Greene	12	2	7	9	3	2	2	0	2	26:10	20	10.0

Prior to the season, I set my expectations low for Andy Greene. I figured he was going to have to fight for his spot on the team's #6 defenseman. In fact, he did, as Cory Murphy eventually started in his place. But since Murphy didn't do so well to start, Lemaire gave Greene a shot and rarely has he looked back. What's most impressive is that since the injuries to Paul Martin and Johnny Oduya, Jacques Lemaire has put his trust into Greene.

Greene's been productive while not slowing down with the ridiculous workload he's been getting. Seriously, unless I can't average time on ice, he's averaged 26 minutes a game this month. He's actually leading the blueline in Martin's absence. To think, he didn't even start the season on the team's top 6! Per the even strength numbers at Behind the Net, it's not all good with Greene - the team's shots against per 60 do rise from 24.7 to 29.5 when Greene gets on the ice. On the other hand, the goals against per 60 drop from 1.88 to 1.40 when he's on the ice; and he's the only active defenseman with a positive CORSI (1.1). So he's not shutting anyone down, but it's not But if you want an example of someone stepping up in place of injury to play out of their minds, Greene is a fantastic example. Seriously - 26 minutes on average a night in November, who DOES this?

While Greene has certainly impressed me, one player has not only been great, but consistently great for New Jersey in November. Zach Parise, you are the In Lou We Trust Devil of the Month for November 2009.

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	ATOI	SOG	PCT
November 2009 - Zach Parise	12	9	7	16	13	0	1	1	1	0	50	18.0

No, Parise didn't have a game where he exploded for 4 points like Elias and Rolston did against the Islanders. No, Parise didn't drop a hat trick on anyone. All Parise did in November was grabbing points. In fact, he had a point and at least 3 shots on net (at least 4 if you throw out the Nashville game) in every game in this past month with one exception - the Devils' 2-1 win on November 6 against the Islanders. That was the only game where Parise was held to very little. In every other game (11 out of 12, in case you forgot), Parise had a hand in the scoring, somehow and in someway.

In total, Parise managed to score 9 goals, 7 assists, put 50 shots on net (A shooting percentage of 18%!!), take exactly 0 penalty minutes (!!!), and played an average of 21:30. When I said the Devils keep on succeeding because their top players are playing at a high level, Parise's November is a good as example as you can find. He's expected to be the team's offensive leader. He's expected to produce on a regular basis. Parise is doing that and taking more minutes and showing no drop off to his game. He's hustling just as well with Travis Zajac as he does when double shifted to the fourth line. He's more than willing to jam pucks in front of the net to score as he is on breakaways like this one against Washington from November 14 (which turned out to be the game winner):

And I didn't even mention that he's got a point streak that's 10 games long and still going strong.

Zach Parise leads the Devils and all Americans in the NHL in the scoring with 15 goals and 15 assists; and it doesn't look like anything is going to stop him. Especially with the roster being in flux due to injuries, Parise's consistent scoring is even more valuable. More so, when you consider he can easily continue to play this well. For that, I feel he is more than deserving to be the In Lou We Trust Devil of the Month.

Zach Parise

#9 / Left Wing / New Jersey Devils

Height: 5-11

Weight: 190

Born: Jul 28, 1984

November 2009 Devil of the Month

Monthly Stats: 12 GP, 9 G, 7 A, +13, 0 PIM, 50 SOG