The Devils since the NHL trade deadline should have been a team gearing up for a serious run at the Stanley Cup.
With Martin Brodeur making his much anticipated return from a 4 month hiatus to recover from biceps surgery, the Devils should have erased Boston’s once insurmountable lead in the Eastern Conference.
Instead, after a very hot return which led to Brodeur easily catching and passing Patrick Roy for all time regular season wins, the Devils have looked very human, if not borderline feeble.
The offence that had produced over 200 goals before Brodeur returned to his all too familiar crease has significantly cooled off. Scoring over two goals only once, and that was a 5 goal effort to beat Tampa Bay in overtime.
The defense has been nothing short of atrocious, with the likes of Colin White and Paul Martin being the only air of consistency. Deadline acquisition Niclas Havelid has been a major disappointment as he struggles to find his groove in the new system. The defensive corps is constantly out of position or are guilty of making poor decisions while handling the puck.
Even the future hall of famer has had his share of disappointments during this stretch. It almost seems that since a court ruled in favor of his ex wife in a child support case in the amount of $500,000 per year until 2020, Marty has had his mind elsewhere. During the pregame ceremony honoring Brodeur before the Tampa Bay game, my friend Andy and I joked at the price values of the gifts he was receiving and how Melanie was probably sitting at home saying “I pretty much own all of those right now.”
Of all the gifts he received, none foreshadowed the poor run more than the gift he received from the captains: a 3 day 2 night trip to play at Jack Nicklaus’ private golf course. That night, the Devils seemingly put to bed talk of a losing streak by controlling the flow of play after being out hustled for most of the first period.
The next night, they traveled to Buffalo and again, put on a dominating performance, but for only 40 minutes. In the third period, they became complacient, and it nearly cost them a victory. Buffalo tallied two 3rd period goals and nearly completed the comeback after falling behind 3-0 midway in the 2nd.
The win was the 2nd in a row for the Devils and seemingly put one of the final nails in the coffin of Buffalo’s playoff hopes.
They had built up some momentum, all be it in sloppy fashion, and had the fan base believing the worst was behind them. But the Devils opened their game against Toronto in a lethargic attitude. Costly giveaways led to defensive miscues which then led to soft goals and the Devils found themselves on the wrong end of a 3-0 score. A power play goal by Jamie Langenbrunner could have been the spark they needed, but it was to no avail as the Leafs answered right back with a goal of their own.
Following their 3-2 shootout victory over the Senators in Ottawa last night, the Devils clinched their second Atlantic Division title in 3 years.
And while that feat is something for a team to be very proud of they must keep in mind a few grounding facts:
- The Devils have not beaten a playoff team since beating Chicago at home over a month ago.
- Their road record in their last 10 is beyond terrible, registering a mere 2 wins.
- Since win #552, [a total of 13 games] Brodeur has only 4 wins.
If the Devils have any illusions that the Stanley Cup playoffs will be a breeze, let the past month and change be a humble reminder nothing will be handed to them. They need to find the fighting attitude they had when Scott Clemmensen was filling in for the injured Brodeur. The attitude where just one goal would not cut it and they capitalized on nearly every legitimate scoring change they had.
Without Brodeur, this team was supposed to be dead in the water, destined for a lottery pick. But with him, they seem to be too complacent in relying on #30 to pitch a shutout game in and game out.
Hello New Jersey Devils, its playoff time, this is your wakeup call.
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