Sunday, November 11, 2007
Islanders 2 - Devils 1, Brodeur Still at 499
The New Jersey Devils played absolutely lethargic and was beaten by the Islanders 2-1 last night. Link goes to the recap at NHL.com. Martin Brodeur came to play; everyone else, uh, not such much.
I don't know what else you would like me to type here about the game. The Devils didn't play like they gave a semblance of a damn until the last 2 minutes of the game. I can't really elaborate on that. Don't tell me about the officiating; had the Devils actually worked hard and skated hard, it wouldn't have mattered. They didn't and so they let the Islanders dictate the entire game.
I will say that this is the source of the inconsistent play that has marred the Devils' season so far. Some nights, they look like garbage. It's not just Patrik Elias or Brian Gionta who looks bad but pretty much the entire team save for a few players (who is usually the goaltender). Other nights, they look like they could beat anybody in the world and do so decisively. As a result of this, the team can't get into any kind of groove, lines can't develop a lot of chemistry because they keep being changed, and the team ends back up almost where they started. I think Sutter alone can't fix this; the players themselves must motivate themselves to play well every night. You can yell at somebody all you want; but if their heart isn't in it, not much will happen. The players - all of them save for Brodeur and Weekes - need to get it together and get it together fast. The eventual return of Jamie Langenbrunner may spark this, but it really shouldn't come to that - it needs to happen regardless.
Labels: 2008 Postgame, Devils Issues
# posted by John Fischer @ 12:21 PM 0 comments 
