5 road wins in 6 games and a big win against Montreal at home has the Devils sitting atop the Atlantic Division after 5 straight wins, going into the All Star Break.
After dropping a Thursday night matchup at home against the Atlanta Thrashers, the devils seemed to be in an awful slump that was about to get worse. They had dropped 2 in a row; the first loss was a very flat performance against a middle-of-the-pack Carolina Hurricanes team which was followed by their third home shutout loss of the season against Atlanta, before embarking on a season long 6 game road trip.
In 10 days, the Devils would find themselves traveling across the country, into Canada, come back across the country, stop in Ohio, then Long Island, then close out the trip in Tennessee before returning to Newark to face the Canadians. Normally, one would expect mixed results with such an extensive trip over such a short period of times. But the Devils seemed to take the back to back losses as fuel for their opener in Los Angeles.
Kevin Weekes got the nod to open the road trip for the first time in 13 games. Play was about even throughout the first period, until the Devils broke through with a power play goal off the stick of Travis Zajac. Zajac would add a pair of assists before the night was out, Zach Parise added his 100th career goal and Derek Armstrong ruined Weekes’ shutout bit early in the 3rd period, as the Devils got their road trip off on the right foot with 5-1 victory.
Following the decisive victory over the Kings, The Devils suffered their only blemish of the road trip during their stopover in Anaheim. Facing a Ducks team who seemed to be weaker than ones in years past, the Devils jumped out to an early lead with a rare goal by Bobby Holik. Complacency cost them as the Ducks netted 2 goals before David Clarkson could muster up an answer. Chris Kunitz would give Anaheim all the offense they would need to ensure victory as the Devils were only able to get within one before the final horn. The 4-3 result felt eerily similar to the 3-2 loss to the Hurricanes nearly a week before.
One article of important news happened even before the opening faceoff as the Devils announced they had agreed to sign Brendan Shanahan for the remainder of the season. Shanahan indicated at this point in time that he was skating with the prospects at their practice facility in Newark’s Prudential Center and he had aspirations of joining the team while on the road trip.
Three losses in four games, and being 1 and 1 on a 6 game road trip could have indicated a start of a fall from grace, and an air of reality to a team who, by many opinions, had been over achieving following the loss of Martin Brodeur. Facing a potent offensive team in the Canucks did not make things any easier, however, they were without Roberto Luongo. The Devils did not hesitate to exploit that fact and took advantage of a flat start by the Canucks. Three first period goals helped the Devils hold off a late Vancouver flurry of goals as they won their only Canadian appearance on the trip, and their first win in Vancouver in over 10 years, 5-3.
A 2 of 3 start on a road trip suddenly had begun to erase the memory of losing 3 of 4 and further proved the old cliché of “what a difference a win can make.” The Devils’ next stop came in a bitterly cold Columbus on Friday night. The game took on a change of pace that the Devils as of late were not used to: a defensive struggle. In the previous three games, they had managed to net 13 goals, including 3 in the first period of the previous game against Vancouver alone. The Blue Jackets put on a display of trapping once they attained the lead in the 2nd period that would have made the Canadiens of the 1970’s proud. Steve Mason was working on his 6th shutout of the season until Travis Zajac intercepted a Columbus clearing pass before wiring it top shelf breaking the shutout and tying the game. Just over a minute later, John Madden added the game winner in controversial fashion. The net had been forced off its moorings as the puck crossed the goal line leading many, myself included, to believe that after review, the goal would not stand. It was upheld and the Devils escaped Ohio with another victory.
Last season, a trip to Long Island usually spelt a loss for the Devils. This season had been very different up to this point as the Devils were a perfect 2-0 against the Islanders. They arrived in Nassau winning 2 games in a row but facing a young goalie, the type of player this team typically struggles against. Yann Danis, however, showed his inexperience as Zajac and Parise teamed up to literally steal an early 1-0 lead while on the penalty kill. Zajac nearly added a second shorthanded goal moments later but was denied by Danis’ quick glove hand. Parise and Clarkson netted second period goals 3 minutes apart as they helped the Devils continue their hot streak winning 3-1, and their 4th game of the trip.
The final stop was Nashville against the 13th placed team from the Western Conference, the Predators. Shanahan donned a Devils jersey for the first time in over 17 years, starting on the 4th line along side Bobby Holik and Mike Rupp. It wasn’t until the 2nd period where Shanahan made his presence felt as he beat goalie Pekka Rinne low and to the glove side during a 5 on 3 power play. He nearly netted another power play goal moments later as he crashed the right side of the net, but Rinne was able to get part of his glove on it and turn the shot aside. Clarkson would score a goal moments later, and Parise would add an empty netter to clinch a 5 and 1 road trip for the Devils and a 3-1 victory in the Music City.
After a very successful 5 and 1 road trip, the Devils returned home for their final game before the All Star break. Their opponent, Canada’s pride and joy, the Montreal Canadiens. Midway through the first, after the Devils had just successfully killed their 20th out of 21 penalties, Partik Elias hit Paul Martin, who just left out of the penalty box, on a breakout pass as he deked Carey Price and scored on him 5 hole for the opening goal. Zajac, Oduya and Parise added goals while Elias got the empty netter as the Devils sealed off their hot streak going into the break. Carey Price, in his All Star game tune up, looked like a goalie who had been out of the game for a while.
The 5 wins in a row was the longest streak the Devils have had this season… Shanahan set an NHL record for the longest gap between regular-season games with one team. His last regular-season game with the Devils before tonight was 6,504 days ago [thank you Elias Sports Bureau and espn.com for that little tidbit]… Scott Clemmensen continues to build his resume for next summer’s free agency as he is finally been given the opportunity to showcase himself… Travis Zajac [35 points] continues to play completely out of his mind and just keeps making everyone scratch their head and wonder “where the hell was this last season but… oh wait, I don’t care because he’s completely dominating now.” Okay so maybe a slight exaggeration but it is phenomenal that he is producing at nearly as rapid of rate as team leaders Parise [53] and Elias [52]…At 29-15-3 the Devils enter the ASB in first place in the Atlantic Division and 3rd in the Eastern Conference… 145 goals for is tied for 7th in the NHL while their 118 goals against is 5th.
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