In Lou We Trust

My site is still being worked on at SBNation but it should be up soon. That said, I feel I have to give my standard, incredibly-detailed post-game analysis from last night's game where the Devils lost to the New York Rangers, 5-2.

Needless to say, I was unhappy with the performance after the first. As an aside, I was amazed that the Rangers fans, who claim to be so supportive, didn't make too much of a peep until they scored. I guess being on the road to support your team alone isn't enough - they have to do well to make noise. Contrast this with Devils fans (e.g. Section 232/233, 208, various parts of other sections) who kept cheering them on even when they were awful. If only the Blueshirt-clad fans had prawn sandwiches. Anyway, the only Devils who you could say had a solid game all around was Travis Zajac. But that's rather inconsequential when you embarrass yourself with such a putrid performance at home and the result of the game clearly reflects that. Fair play to the Rangers, they saw a team starting to flounder after a goal against and they pounced on it again and again and again.

I want this Devils team to turn it around ASAP, PDQ and they have a home-and-home with Washington to do it against. They need to shut down their top forwards (Alexander Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Nicklas Backstrom - on the same line). With Scott Clemmensen in net again, according to Gulitti, perhaps the rest of the Devils can get the message that Martin Brodeur isn't in net and therefore they need to raise their game instead of hoping Clemmensen raises his game to Brodeurian proportions. But I want to see some fire on the ice. I want to see a desire that screams, "Damn it, we are winning this game and there is nothing you foolish fools can foolishly do to stop us!" I want to see some hustle, smart play, and finish to go with that desire. I want to the see the Devils Hockey we have not seen in the past few weeks.

The news is out, still as a headline on ESPN this evening. Gulitti states in the very first sentence in this post that the idea of Brodeur being injured is still requiring some getting used to. At NHL.com, which still has their Brodeur Watch up, we learn that the Brodeur family is devastated by this. And it should be big, difficult, unsettling news. The last time Martin Brodeur hasn't played 67 or more games in a season was 1995-1996; and the two seasons prior to that featured the rise of Brodeur in his rookie season back in 1993-1994 and only a half of a regular season was played in 1994-1995. He's never been injured as a New Jersey Devil for longer than 10 games, if I recall correctly.

For Devils fans like me, who basically started following the team when Marty was a rookie, these are uncharted waters. An extended period of time where the Devils will play hockey without Martin Brodeur as goaltender is all new to fans like me. It's basically a taste of the inevitable occurring about 3-5 years from now. The simple fact that Martin Brodeur won't be the main goaltender for the New Jersey Devils. If you're not familiar with his importance to the team, then I don't think you really know anything about the Devils since 1994. He is an absolute cornerstone to the franchise in their past, present, and continued successes. And now he's going to be gone until March, assuming everything goes well. That's well over half of the season.

That's well over half of the season where Kevin Weekes will have to reprise his role as a starting goaltender. The last time he was the definitive #1 on a team, it was on Carolina in 2003-2004. Weekes is a talented keeper, but he's clearly a drop off from Martin Brodeur. He's not going to play every night, so expect and learn to hope Scott Clemmensen can play like a NHL goalie on the nights where he's playing. He's a butterfly goaltender, meaning that Weekes' needs to pay special attention as to when he drops into that position. He's not like Marty where Brodeur will tell defenders to let him see the open shot, the defense will have to be more willing to sacrifice their bodies and sticks for blocks. He's not as quick to smother up pucks or as talented to limit rebounds, so he needs to work on both while the defense needs to play with more awareness around the slot in front of Weekes. I'm not trying to pick on Weekes, but he's definitely a drop off from Brodeur in terms of quality in net. We, as a fanbase, need to accept this and support Weekes even when he's not at his best (like, say, last night). He has the unenviable position of having to pick up after one of the greatest goaltenders in the history of the NHL, a player that the Devils have built entire teams and seasons around, and keep some level of consistency in net. He doesn't need any additional pressure.

Let's focus on the other guys on the Devils. The defense has done a great job in terms of playing much better than they look individually on paper. Credit for that goes to the players and the coaching staff for figuring out what they are good at. Now more than ever, they will need to limit opposing offenses to fewer than 30 shots per game. They cannot afford to be as passive, they will have to be more willing to get into the other team's faces outside of the boards, keep them away from Weekes' field of vision, and pick up the flanking players. I do think they will play more aggressively to help Weekes' out in these terms, as well as putting them into more positions to block shots and force bad passes. Of course, this comes with a higher risk of being burned by more skilled players or being caught on crafty plays. In summary, they need to become stingy-er as well as more stable in their own end. Nights where they get rolled in a period or they spend much of their defensive game chasing people need to end for the Devils to remain successful.

And to be successful in hockey, you need to have goals scored. The Devils can't just score 1 or 2 goals, try to get more, but be able to ward off the other team with strong defense and excellent performances from Brodeur in case that they don't. Again, it is foolish to expect Weekes to play like Brodeur so it would be foolish if they played like Brodeur was in net. That extra level of comfort, confidence, whatever you call it isn't a constant anymore. The Devils skaters need to score more goals. It can come from guys who have been doing it (Zach Parise), guys who can do it but need to do it more (Patrik Elias, Brian Gionta), guys who have the potential of doing it (Travis Zajac, Dainius Zubrus), and guys whose role may not be scoring but can definitely provide help should they light the lamp more often (John Madden, Jamie Langenbrunner, David Clarkson, etc.) They need to take advantage of power plays - nights where they go 0 for 7 are inexcusable regardless of who is in net. They need demonstrate better discipline to stop committing as many penalties as they do to prevent the other team from scoring goals. And if the other team figures out a constant move when attacking - dumping it in the boards, looking for a man in the slot, etc. - the Devils (the coach or the players) need to realize this and adjust their tactics to keep the opposition honest.

As much as this has been despairing and lecturing and ranting and writing poor sentences, I honestly do believe the season is not lost. Nothing has been decided. Am I as confident in this team without Marty as I was when Marty was here? No. I don't think many fans are. But I sincerely think they have the talent to still be one of the best teams in the East. The Devils have skilled forwards up top such as Parise, Elias, Zajac, and Gionta. They have checking forwards who are a pain to play against from ace defenders John Madden and Jay Pandolfo to grinders like David Clarkson. They have forwards who do a bit of both in Jamie Langenbrunner and Dainius Zubrus. They even have some rookies with potential in Petr Vrana and Nicklas Bergfors. And when Brian Rolston and Bobby Holik come back, the group will be that much better. On defense, you may not think much of a unit featuring Paul Martin (get better soon, please), Colin White, Johnny Oduya, Anssi Salmela, Mike Mottau, and Sheldon Brookbank. But these guys got the job done last season with little fanfare and if they can at least do that, it should be enough. And, hey, Kevin Weekes is a pretty good goaltender. Don't forget that Brent Sutter is in control of this team and Lou Lamoriello is the best general manager in sports.

I'm not going to lie; the season just got a lot more difficult. But there is reason to be hopeful. Hopeful that this team can still win tough hockey games. Hopeful that this team can still keep up in a very tight Eastern Conference. Hopeful that when Marty does return, he doesn't have to put on a Superman cape and try to single-handedly carry the team to the playoffs. They have the players, they have done more with less in the past (thanks to Marty, admittedly); but the players, the coaches, the trainers, and the organization has to step it up and do more with what they have. I think they can still at least make the playoffs and cause a lot of other teams problems. I do not know whether the Devils think that, but it's what I think. But it will be far from easy.

Now, more than ever, we must support Jersey's team - we must support the Devils. I sincerely hope that Marty's surgery is successful and he makes a proper and complete recovery. But the sun will still come up, the night will still come upon us, and there are hockey games to play - and they can be won. Let's go, Devils.

ESPN has reported earlier today that legendary goaltender Martin Brodeur will be out for 3-4 months due to elbow surgery to fix a torn tendon. Gulitti has comments from Marty himself, stating that, well, even he's in shock about this.

The New Jersey Devils finally suffered their first shutout loss of the season at the hands of the Buffalo Sabres by the score of 2-0. Normally, I leave this until tomorrow, but there's only so much to say. In summary, as the fans chanted "Let's Go, Devils!" the team's efforts seemed to say, "Well, we're trying, but I think you're not going to see any of this 'Go' tonight."

Kevin Weekes played very well and it is an absolute shame that the Devils could not help him out as he helped them out in the first period. The Sabres, to their credit, absolutely rolled the Devils in that period. Thanks to Weekes and a defense that only became effective in the absolute clutch, the Devils were lucky to escape with only one goal against. But the Devils were terrible in these twenty minutes. For starters, the Sabres controlled the tempo from the start in what seemed to be the running theme of the night - the Sabres can complete passes, whereas the Devils cannot. Because they kept swarming the Devils' zone, all New Jersey could really do is clear. And as the Devils could not maintain possession, they could not generate offense; hence, the pathetic amount of 3 shots on net by the home team. The Devils took the awfulness to a new level by handing the Sabres 5 power plays in the same period. Amazingly, it was after they killed a 5-on-3 did Jason Pominville finally get a puck above Weekes' sliding legs (in a butterfly stance) to score. I emphasize the finally as the Sabres had 20 cracks at it all period. Outshot 20 to 3 and a magnificent effort from Weekes kept the score low. And Weekes' effort was the shining silver lining in a dark grey cloud of horribleness that was the rest of the Devils.

To be honest, I also saw some moments that show why Weekes isn't a starter. There were a number of plays where most goalies would smother a puck or ensure a rebound goes a little farther and into better locations for their own defense. Weekes didn't really do either in those cases; but thanks to an alert defense, it didn't cost New Jersey. Not to steal Weekes' thunder, he did truly play well, I'm just pointing out some miscues.

Now, in the second period and onward, the Devils defense finally got their minds right and started playing preventative defense. Such that they would stop the Sabres on offense before they could shoot. I know, a novel concept. This was aided by the fact that Lindy Ruff, coach of Buffalo, decided that the team should hang back. The second could have been the Devils' version of the first had they didn't spend most of the period giving away pucks. Seriously, forget what happened in the offensive zone. They couldn't make good passes in the neutral zone. When they finally did learn how to move the puck in there - using the tried and sometimes true method of dumping it in from last season - the Devils actually started generating some scoring chances. By the end of the second, I figured the Devils would continue the momentum and make Buffalo pay for sitting back.

But, oh, how was I wrong with the third period. The Devils made errant passes to waste opportunities, errant shots that would hit Sabres and not the net, and whereas the Devils were incredibly successful in burying loose pucks down low recently, they couldn't snag a clear shot off one at all. On a scale of 1 to 10, the Devils' offense was miserably awful. Fair play to Ryan Miller for making the saves he needed to; he did well. Also, credit must be given to the Sabres defenders who knew that if they collapsed in the slot, then they can stop the Devils from cleaning up loose pucks for goals. They also knew that if they challenged puckhandlers with aggressive positions, then they could either force a bad pass, block a shot, or force a Devil to miss the net. They did stand back, but the Sabres were ready for New Jersey. Again, by the third period, they knew about the dumped pucks, they responded well to them, and kept forcing the Devils to try and beat them. And they couldn't. While the Devils on defense did their job in limiting Buffalo to 5 shots; Patrick Kaleta's shot hit a Devil (I think) and it beat Weekes to ultimately seal the deal. The Devils offense was stopped stone dead.

What makes this loss so particularly frustrating was that the The Devils were handed opportunity after opportunity to get back into this game. The Sabres dropping into a shell since the start of the second period. The SEVEN power plays (seriously) the Devils had tonight (and some of them weren't bad, but they didn't build anything from them). Kevin Weekes' putting in a strong performance in their own end. But everyone on offense had a bad night, to say the least. Petr Vrana was miserable. Nicklas Bergfors played like he was in Lowell. Dainius Zubrus didn't really get going. Brian Gionta was inconsistent. Patrik Elias missed the net 6 times. Zach Parise couldn't get anything going and was ultimately ineffective despite his hustle; the same for Travis Zajac. John Madden couldn't muster any extra offense. Defensemen, namely Anssi Salmela (who was called up to fill in for Paul Martin, who had upper body soreness according to Gulitti), trying to power home loose pucks high from the point consistently missed. It wasn't like the Devils didn't try, what they tried didn't work and instead of adjusting and simplifying their game, they kept trying again. It's frustrating to watch and we can only hope they get it right for Wednesday's game against Tampa Bay. Especially on the power play.

As it's already old news, but the New Jersey Devils just stomped all over the Atlanta Thrashers to the tune of 6-1. The big story out of that one outside of the Devils rolling Atlanta up like a rug and threw it down the stairs in the second period was Martin Brodeur leaving the game due to injury. It was an elbow injury and Gulitti's already reporting that Marty's not playing tomorrow night. Those looking for Kevin Weekes to get some games, well, you got your wish - though something tells me that you probably didn't want it this way. Hopefully, Brodeur's injury will be minor and he'll be back in short order.

As far as the game itself, there are some nits to pick. Scott Mackie had some complaints about Nicklas Bergfors' and Petr Vrana's ice time at 2MA and colorful language aside, he's got a point. There was no real reason, that I could tell, that required Brent Sutter to shorten the bench. Amazingly, save for a few shifts, he kept the fourth line of Mike Rupp, Bergfors, and Vrana together instead of his usual mixing up of the lines. Anyway. It's a minor point for Vrana as he's going to continue to play in the foreseeable future. Hopefully Bergfors will continue to get time before his call-up ends. That Matt Halischuk was sent down to Lowell (as reported by Gulitti) is at least a sign that Bergfors will be at The Rock for a little while longer, I think. Speaking of nits to pick, can someone show Sheldon Brookbank how to defend a 2-on-1? I'm not a hockey player or a coach, but I'm pretty confident the right way is to not stay in the middle and lamely reach for a pass. Colby Armstrong found Slava Kozlov (the good Kozlov) with a pass and Kozlov was patient and cooly slid the puck off Weekes' sliding skate and into the net. The run-and-gun (because defense isn't something they are good at) Atlanta Thrashers upped the tempo as the Devils took their foot off the proverbial pedal in the third and it led to their only tally of the night. That's not to say the Devils took the third period off, but it was a bit sloppy and you could tell they were playing with a 5-6 goal lead. It's forgiveable because, well, it was a 5 goal lead and they kept it that way thanks to Kevin Weekes and a defense that bended a little but not too much.

And so the majority of the game is exactly what I expected to see before the game and from what I read afterwards at places like IPB. The Devils kicked the snot out of a terrible hockey team. The offense was clearly on point - more then they were back in mid-October - as Nicklas Bergfors got his first goal from the sideboards - and I think it definitely hit Johan Hedberg's blocker not Dainius Zubrus' stick so it was his goal. This was followed up in the second period when Patrik Elias threw a shot (or a pass to the slot?) from the sideboards with enough vigor that Mathieu Schneider and his stick helpfully deflected right past Hedberg. The remaining 4 goals all came from the slot. Zach Parise got his first off a rebound after Jamie Langenbrunner drove to the net; Parise got his second on the power play by burying an open net in the slot after great passes from Travis Zajac and Paul Martin. Brian Gionta scored just after a power play ended by burying a rebound off an Elias-tip of a Johnny Oduya shot. Jay Pandolfo got his first of the year by burying an Oduya - who was key on a lot of these plays with 3 assists - feed right in the slot.

Saturday's game clearly had this lesson demonstrated by the Devils: GO TO THE NET. It's where the goals have been coming from for New Jersey and with 21 goals being scored in the last 5 games, it's something I'm sure the coaching staff keeps emphasizing to the players. Particularly Brian Gionta, as both of his goals this season came from within 6 feet of the net. Perhaps they should also emphasize other players in joining Parise's Shot Club, as Chere reported on in the Star Ledger this morning. In all honesty, I regret not seeing this game as it was certainly an exciting blowout by the Devils. They did what good teams should do to poor teams - just outright beat them, and New Jersey clearly outclassed them that night. And, just like many things in life, the Devils really don't get to sit back and enjoy it as they will be without Brodeur against a good Buffalo Sabres squad on Monday night. The offense is clearly hot right now, hopefully they can keep the fire burning against the Sabres tomorrow.

First, the self-promotion! Slap Shot at the NY Times is doing their Hockey Night in Blogdom feature and I've answered a few questions from them. Check that out.

Now, for the actual content of this post: hits and shots. Specifically, how have the Devils been hitting and shooting now that Devils hockey is done for October. With only 9 games into the season, the low amount of games skews the results drastically in some regard. But the whole point of keeping track of the Devils' shots, their failed attempts at shooting, and how many times the scorer actually counts a bodycheck is to get an idea of how they are going. It's good to see any trends forming and perhaps find areas where the Devils can improve (or don't need to).

As always, my numbers come from the super stats reports found at NHL.com. I understand the NHL numbers can be biased by scorers being too generous or too picky. A great example is the second half of the home-and-home with Philadelphia last weekend. Amazingly, there were only 22 recorded hits combined in the second Philadelphia game; and that was a very physical and intense game. I really do think there were more than 22 hits in that game. Yet, they are the official numbers and so I will use them. Feel free to take all this with grains of salt.

First, let's look at hits. Over all 9 games, the Devils are barely outhitting opponents 166 to 163. Compared to the other team Their most physical game this month has been against the NY Rangers where the Devils outhit them 43 to 37, a total of 80 hits. The least physical game has been against Atlanta, wherein they were outhit 6 to 8, a total of 14. The Devils average approximately 17.25 hits at the Rock and 19.4 on the road; opponents are averaging 17 and 19, respectively. The differences in averages when the Devils win is +1 (17 to 16) and -0.5 when the Devils lose (20.25 to 20.50). Basically, it's pretty even. And games like the Rangers game as well as the Thrashers game does skew things. Here's an interesting fact: the Devils have been outhit in their last 4 games - all by 2 hits per game.

Based on this, it seems that the Devils do hit more on the road, but that is heavily skewed by the 43 they dropped on the Blueshirts (2nd highest total on the road is more than half that - 20 against Pittsburgh). While I have no issue with the Devils taking the body a bit more, it's too soon to really conclude that they do need to be more physical or not.

The shooting is a bit more complex. In total, the Devils have an overall efficiency of 56.54% and opponents have an efficiency of 56.65%. Devils have a higher total number of attempts on net (520 to 436); shots on net (294 to 247); and, unfortunately, shots blocked (137 to 93). But the Devils have missed fewer shots: 89 to 96, that's a bit new. However, I think their blistering 49-shot and 88 shot-attempt performance against Pittsburgh, I think, tends to skew the averages. Yet, the Devils remain with a total average of 32.667 shots per game and 57.778 attempts per game this month. Opponents this month have put on an average of 27.444 shots per game and 48.444 attempts per game. What surprised me is that the Devils actually miss close to one less shot per game on average than their opponents: 9.889 misses per game compared to opponents' 10.667 misses per game. Blocks are still in the opponents' favor by a huge margin: they have blocked 15.222 Devils' shots per game whereas the Devils only block 10.333 opponent shots per game this month. This is a combination of poor decision making by the Devils - seriously, shooters, stop trying to force shot through defender's legs, skates, sticks, and bodies - as well a conscious effort by opponents to make their shots count.

The most efficient game the Devils have had this month was their second game against Philadelphia, where the Devils put 31 of their 48 attempts on net, good for 64.58%. In contrast, their worst performance in this regard has been against the Rangers, where only 27 out of 58 attempts (46.55%) got to Henrik Lundqvist. The best opposition performance was by Philadelphia in their first game against New Jersey, they put up a rate of 68.29% - 28 out of 41 attempts. The worst opposition performance was Pittsburgh, who got a mere 15 shots on net out of 38 attempts (39.47%).

Differences between at home and on the road have been huge, as well as the differences in wins and losses. Again, small population sizes skew this heavily; but currently the Devils have been more accurate at shooting on the road than at home. They have had an average of 11.75 more attempts on net; 7.05 more shots; an improvement of .36% in efficiency; and 1.55 fewer missed shots. Only the average blocked Devils' shots are better at home by 3.30. For wins and losses, as one may expect, the winning team is more accurate and more proficient at shooting on net - be it the Devils or the opponents. The Devils difference in efficiency isn't large, only 1.22% greater in wins; but they have many more attempts on net (10.85 more average attempts) and shots on net (7.05 more shots on net). The efficiency is more dramatic among opponents: as their rate is a mere 52.53% when they lose; but it balloons to 61.06% when they win. That goes along with more attempts - 10.45 more attempts on average when they win and an average 10.45 more shots on net. Again, numbers are likely influenced heavily by the Pittsburgh and Toronto games, but the trend appears clear. Shoot more pucks and make more them go on net, and you may be more likely to win.

Of course, given that we're discussing the New Jersey Devils, we all know it's more than just shooting and hitting that causes teams to win hockey games. Still, it's interesting information to consider from the past month.

See, the fact that Brent Sutter claims that the Devils were lifeless is just not true. There was definitely some life on this team. We're talking about a night where the Devils scored 5 goals. The Devils just do not score 5 goals all that much. Colin White even had a bomb from the point that beat Vesa Toskala, and people, when Colin White scores, it's a rare occasion. The points came from all over the lines - David Clarkson, Dainius Zubrus, Jamie Langenbrunner, and Zach Parise all lit the lamp. Brian Gionta had a solid night with 2 assists. Matt Halischuk got his first NHL point on his debut - and looked OK overall. What's more is that even when they coughed up their initial 2 goal lead after the first and their 1 goal lead in the third, they came back with equalizers. While the power play didn't convert, they at least kept up pressure on Toronto and got some legit scoring chances in the process - which is the next best thing to scoring on a man advantage, I think. And, on a health note, Patrik Elias took a puck to the face but came back so he's not the next one on a growing list of injured Devils (h/t Gulitti).The offense last night was solid and the only time they really failed was in the shootout and has to do with the other end of the rink. Were they perfect? No. Were there confusing coaching decisions? Yes (e.g. Why was the bench shortened in the third?) But they put a Toronto defense to the sword, I can't fault a Devils offense wherein they did their job and earned 5 goals.

What I can fault - and agree with Sutter regarding the lack of mental focus and other criticisms - is the defense. The defense was absolutely pathetic. Not just the defensemen - while Mike Mottau and Andy Greene put up three points and White added a goal - but the entire Devils team was pitiful on defense. The Maple Leafs love to shoot; but 48 shots on net against is absolutely pathetic. Giving up 48 shots in 60 minutes is never acceptable. Yes, the Devils held Toronto to nothing in overtime; but that just emphasizes my point. The first period wasn't so bad; but from the second period on, they didn't even try to position themselves or take a stand. The Devils' idea of defense last night was to chase Toronto around and hope for a turnover that never came. It wasn't that Toronto took 48 shots, but most of them were high quality shots. It's no wonder they scored as much as they did. The defensive game by New Jersey was poor, I don't know why Sutter didn't try any adjustments. Then again, it really was one of those nights where they couldn't do much right on that end.

To be fair to Martin Brodeur, the first three goals came on deflections. Can't do much about those; though the second and third goals came on some very questionable power plays. I sat in Section 1 with Marty right in front of me and I didn't see him high-stick anyone. Maybe I missed it? Clearly, the ref thought otherwise. And the Zubrus penalty came when a Leaf just decided to pretend he was a soccer player and fall down when his stick was nearby. All I'm saying is that those calls were weak. Not as weak as the penalty killers or the defense for New Jersey was last night, but weak all the same. That all said, Brodeur really should have smothered up the puck before it led to Jamal Mayers dashing home a loose one (with a d-man right there NOT LIFTING HIS STICK COME ON DID THEY LEARN NOTHING FROM PHILADELPHIA) and he let a soft one go by for his fifth one against. Vesa Toskala had a bad night, as the Devils managed to put just as many past him on fewer shots.

All three of the linked articles of the beginning praised Toronto as being filled with life. To be honest, they didn't play all that well either. Their defense was just as leaky and Toskala was shaky all night except for the overtime and shootout. If I'm Ron Wilson, I've already got the videotape showing his team being particularly vulnerable down low and Toskala's having some additional words with their goalkeeping coach. I don't think either goalie or team was tired (Seriously, Internet, how is Marty tired after not playing for 3 days? In October?), for that matter. Toronto rode their offense to success as New Jersey did and they got it done in the shootout. That's how they got their 2 points - their offense produced and succeeded and everything else was below standard. If that's being filled with life or being the better team, OK, but I really can't agree with that sentiment.

The Devils got a point out of it to go with their now 3 game winless streak, but this one is frustrating because if the defense asserted itself last night or if Marty was sharper on a couple shots in the third period, then the Devils win this game. But life and hockey doesn't care about "ifs" and I'm sure Sutter would agree it isn't about "deserves" either. The Devils got a point and that's the result. From Gulitti, we learn the guys rode their bikes right after the game and Sutter discussed with them how it went down on video in today's practice. This is, I think, a fair way to go and we all hope to see a much better performance against Atlanta this Saturday. Especially on defense.

Well, well, well. After I made a big point of it for the Devils to call up Nicklas Bergfors yesterday, the Devils did as I thought they should and called him up. There's more to it than that, though. As Gulitti reports, Pierre-Luc Latourneau-Leblond cracked his orbital bone, and so the Devils called up Bergfors and Matthew Halischuk.

While they are clearly excited to play, especially Halischuk who will make his NHL debut tomorrow night, I do feel bad for Rod Pelley. He played 58 games with the team last season and showed signs of being a capable defensive center. Given that the more recently injured Devils are wingers (Leblond, Jamie Langenbrunner), it makes sense for wingers to be called right up. I have no problem with Halischuk being called up for a few games. Still, that he got passed over in spite having shown his talents with New Jersey as recently as last season is definitely not good news. Maybe if a center goes down, and I really hope not - I don't want to see any more injuries for a while, he'll get a call up. Regardless, I hope for the best for Bergfors and Halischuk tomorrow night.

Incidentally, Jared Ramsden at Hockey's Future just published a big update regarding who's who in the Devils' system of prospects. Petr Vrana, as well as Bergfors and Halischuk are rated highly as prospective forwards. It's quite an astute analysis as Vrana earned a spot on the NHL roster through training camp and the further call-ups now include Bergfors and Halischuk. It's very informative for those of you wondering how the young guys are doing and how things look for the future. It does look stronger than it was, say, back in 2005. The lack of a solid goaltending prospect in the system still remains, but that can be rectified in short order with a free agent signing or perhaps selecting one in the 2009 Entry Draft.

Not for nothing, but at the very least, the call-ups will drag the average age of the current Devils roster down a bit. James Mirtle found that the Devils are pretty old, with the third oldest team (based on average age) in the league. Only Anaheim and Detroit are ahead and break the 30 year plateau. That's actually not some bad company to keep with as both teams have been fairly successful in recent years. Also, based on what he found out today, that the Devils may stand to gain a few pounds, particularly on defense. OK, it doesn't have too much to do with Bergfors or Halischuk. It's just some interesting demographic information.

Tom Gulitti has reported that Bobby Holik and Brian Rolston are now officially on long term injured reserve. It's a sensible move as both players have already been out the minimum length to be on LTIR and it's going to be a while before either player returns to action. Might as well free up a little more cap space. Now, earlier in the day, Gulitti has made it clear that A) Jamie Langenbrunner's status is up in the air for Wednesday night against Toronto and B) it's not even clear if anyone will be called up. Sheldon Brookbank did play at forward on the fourth line on Saturday and contributed little - as did the fourth line as a whole, in the bigger scheme of the game.

I'd like to make the point that now is the perfect time to call up Nicklas Bergfors if Langenbrunner isn't going to be ready for the next game or even Saturday's game. While Brookbank didn't hurt the team's efforts; there is a reason he is better suited for defense. He's not soft, but he definitely stuck out on a line with Pierre-Luc Latourneau-Leblond and Mike Rupp. Sutter's lines against the Flyers on Saturday were odd and I think it helped work against the Devils at times. I mean, really, Patrik Elias playing on the off-wing? Come on. I think this set of forwards would be better off for Wednesday if Langenbrunner can't go:

Elias-Vrana-Zubrus
Parise-Zajac-Bergfors
Pandolfo-Madden-Gionta
Leblond-Rupp-Clarkson

In this set, you keep the tandems of players who have been playing well with each other: Elias and Zubrus, Parise and Zajac, and Madden and Pandolfo. Vrana has shown he can handle playing center in his set of games so far, so I see no reason to change that. Gionta finally potted one in on Saturday to show that he is, indeed, a scoring winger. However, for a few games, I think his speed will mesh much better with the quickness of John Madden than to have him play on the top line with either Elias or Zubrus handling duties at center or shoehorning in on what Zajac and Parise have got going. Also, I think Gionta - just on the basis that he's a Devil - can handle the defensive responsibilities that go with the third line. Besides, he'll make the counter attacks that Madden and Pandolfo generally force just a bit more threatening to the opposition. The fourth line is still a "banging" line and a better one than if Brookbank was in Clarkson's spot, so you got that going for you.

As far as Bergfors goes, we've seen that he has the skillset of a scoring forward and has been drafted as such. Now is a great chance to see that in action. He'll be pumped to be playing in New Jersey and I'm sure will at least give a good effort. Besides, if he doesn't do as well, it's not the end of the world - he can be sent down and someone else can be called up and I can admit that Bergfors didn't cut it in a short call-up. Regardless, I think the lines I came up with would be a better option for what the Devils can do now than what they did do on Saturday afternoon.

And in any case, if things don't work out in game, Brent Sutter will just mix up the lines like he usually does.

The title is straight forward. The New Jersey Devils soundly defeated the Dallas Stars to the wonderful and glorious score of 5-0. The Devils, outside of David Clarkson for a few shifts, didn't focus solely on Sean Avery. And they didn't need to as Avery played the best game possible. He couldn't make good passes. He couldn't time his own passes or drives into the zone, causing some offside calls. Despite 4 shots on net, none of them really challenged Martin Brodeur. He got hit plenty of times from various Devils and he even fell down once. The fans let him know that he sucks and tonight, he truly did. He didn't contribute much to the Dallas cause of winning hockey games tonight, that's for sure.

Unfortunately for Dallas, Brendan Morrow, Marty Turco, and the collective blueline of the Stars had worse nights. Morrow was clearly frustrated by the third period and he didn't do much of anything all night save for the odd shot or two. Marty Turco misplayed the puck four times and John Madden made him pay on the fourth one with a goal, leading to his eventual benching. The Stars defense had to get desperate at times and got away with making sure the Devils didn't pound home a number of rebounds, loose pucks, and one-timers-to-the-slot. Yet, they were beaten in a variety of fashions. Jamie Langenbrunner got off a short-side backhander early. John Madden split the defense - a phrase most don't get to type too often - to drive in on net and beat Turco for a goal. Funny thing on that play, it looked like the defensemen got frozen and didn't really react when Madden noticed he had a giant gaping hole to skate through to Turco. The defense didn't pick up Turco's mishandling of a clearance and didn't pick up a streaking Madden who nicely tucked in his second goal. The defense couldn't shut down Zach Parise putting home a tight rebound on Tobias Stephan. And the defense just let David Clarkson skate about at the top of the zone to let loose a bomb of a slapshot. To think, some think he only can do toe drags, NHL-09-like dekes, and wraparounds. The Dallas defense was poor, to say the least.

Now, there is some criticism to be had on the Devils' side. First, they took 6 penalties total - with Dainius Zubrus getting caught three times. One of them was holding as Nicklas Grossman got caught holding as well. It was on the far end of the rink, did they hold each other? Anyway, taking a call when the other team is taking one is poor. So, the Devils still need to curb the discipline issues. The penalty kill was on point tonight so it didn't matter. Second, related to special teams, the Devils didn't get a power play goal despite 4 opportunities. Third, and this has nothing to do with the team, but some rowdy people up in sections 132 and 133 just loved yelling anti-gay slurs about Mark Messier and Avery. I have no issue heckling Messier or Avery or most other Rangers, but that's going over the line. It's classless, it's bigoted, it's stupid and it should have no place at Devils games. The Devils can't do anything about that, so that's more of a personal complaint. (And speaking of, Greenman, wear something underneath your bodysuit, please.)

That all aside, the Devils played great. The offense was clearly successful with 5 even strength goals. Madden earned his brace. Langenbrunner, Parise, and Clarkson got on the board - showing that 3 of the 4 lines got points tonight. Only the first line of Patrik Elias, Petr Vrana, and Zubrus was held pointless; but they played very well. Elias put 8 on Turco/Stephan and with a little more luck, someone on that line would have lit that lamp. Even Pierre-Luc Latourneau-Leblond got his first NHL point on an assist, so congratulations to him. And he wasn't only out there to goon it up; he looked decent enough in his 8:41 of ice time. Other players stuck out as well: Travis Zajac got 2 assists as the whole Parise-Zajac-Langenbrunner did very well. Brian Gionta looked good at wing with Jay Pandolfo (who had a slapshot on net) and Madden. On defense, everyone played well except for a few brain-fart giveaways by Colin White (other than those, White was fine). Andy Greene, in particular, looked very good by driving to the net which led to Parise's goal; and he got an assist on Clarkson's bomb from the point. Greene is making a great case for being a starter on this team in the games he's played in so far.

And then there was Marty. Brodeur only had a few scoring chances against him and he stopped them all with style. A beautiful kicksave off of a one-timer. Holding the puck in middle of a few scrums. The only time he was truly beat was when Stephane Robidas got the puck right in front of the slot and Marty already went low. Robidas, in hindsight summed up Dallas' night, roofed the puck well over the net on a one-timer. Brodeur stopped all the shots and climbs closer to the all-time wins and shutout records. He and the Devils earned their result tonight.

So, despite my nitpicking, this was an absolutely great game for the Devils. They scored plenty of goals of all kinds - from the opportunistic to the pretty to the powerful. The defense didn't allow a ton of scoring chances; and when the Stars got their few chances, Brodeur essentially told them, "No. Not tonight." Excellent job by New Jersey. Hopefully they can carry this momentum and confidence into beating Philadelphia on Friday. Given that the Flyers are still winless (and rivals to the Devils), we should see some desperate and aggressive hockey from them. For other thoughts from the game check out Scott Mackie's comments at 2MA (he was in section 209); Pookie's game woolgathering from Dallas at IPB; Jersey's thoughts at Imperfect Dynasty; and Gulitti ran a live blog at Fire & Ice.

From Gulitti, we learn of two rather important bits of news. First, Bobby Holik's pinkie finger was broken and he will be out for about 3 to 4 weeks. Above all, I hope his finger heals properly before he goes out there to play. His loss is particularly hurting because the line he centered, with wingers Mike Rupp and Dainius Zubrus, has been rather good at generating some energy while being able to play actual hockey. He's been a thorn in opponent's side and I think the Devils will miss that. The other teams won't, as they'll be annoyed a little less.

What I don't understand is the other bit from Gulitti: Pierre-Luc Latourneau-Leblond was called up from Lowell to fill in that roster spot. Why him? Why not Rod Pelley who has experience centering that fourth line? Why not Nicklas Bergfors so he can play up top on the wing and Vrana can play center if only so we can see how much Sergei Brylin he has in him? Don't get me wrong, Vrana did well in his first NHL game skating with Patrik Elias and Zubrus. Maybe the Devils should go fill some of that lost veteran presence with a veteran of the Devils-preseason process and call up Pascal Rheaume. I feel that any of those would be a better option than to call up, well, the next Rob Skrlac. I fear that Latourneau-Leblond will do all of the following against Dallas and/or Philly:

• Play 3-6 minutes on the ice and maybe get a hit or two.
• Fight someone (Sean Avery? Steve Ott? Someone else?)
• Force Sutter's hand to double shift a forward who can contribute more than just physical play and tire them out.

Yeah, I know, he's not a guy being called up because he's got an awesome triple deke. He's called up because he's a tough guy. Still. I'm not a fan of this move. I know it's been done before (like, well, Rob Skrlac), but I don't like it to be honest. Even from a physical perspective, I don't see how a rookie like Latourneau-Leblond is going to keep an experienced agitator (Ott) or an experienced jackass (Avery) in check.

I don't expect him to be called up for the entire 3-4 week period. Once the team sees how he does (or doesn't), I think the Devils will make some other moves to fill in that spot. With Rod Pelley, a center who has worked on that fourth line and can play some decent defensive hockey, available, I'd have to think he'll get his shot soon enough. I think he would contribute more than Latourneau-Leblond in general. That said, if Latourneau-Leblond plays well enough and contributes more than just his fists, then fair play to him - he should stay up and I'll be wrong. I just have my doubts about it.

The New Jersey Devils defeated the Washington Capitals in DC in a shootout, which ended a thrilling 65 minutes of hockey with the score of 4-3 in favor of the Devils. To be honest, I didn't see this game live on TV as I was at Giants Stadium supporting the NY Red Bulls in a must-win game for their own playoffs hopes and so I saw this live instead. Thoughts about the game have already been written at 2MA, IPB, and at Beast of the East (excellent summary of the first 5 games, Tibbs). So I look upon and add my late thoughts.

Generally, getting a win on the road is good and putting in three goals is good when the team hasn't been able to do that all season. That the Devils scored one off a deflection (Petr Vrana), one from down low on the power play (Zach Parise), and a bomb from the point (Andy Greene) are all very encouraging. I still think the Devils rely too much on the strategy of taking long shots and hoping for a rebound, but they were able to mix it up quite nicely. Congratulatons are in order for Vrana's deflection. It gave Patrik Elias the franchise lead in assists and it was Vrana's first NHL goal. Congratulations are in order for Greene as that goal will certainly give the team a reason to keep him on the ice rather than keeping him as a scratch.

The Devils kept pace with the Capitals - who were high flying enough as-is last night - and looked generally good. The top two lines for the Devils were solid, even though they had to be mixed up after Bobby Holik suffered an injured finger; a broken pinkie, as reported by Gulitti. The defense had it's moments of weakness, such as leaving Brodeur out to dry for Alexander Semin's rush in the first period that led to his goal. Also, I felt they allowed the Capitals to make a few too many of those cross-ice passes that opened lanes and holes for them to shoot at. Brodeur was generally solid in spite of what the scoreboard shows. Other than Semin's breakaway, Brodeur was beaten a rebound that he had no chance at on a 5-on-3 penalty kill, and Mike Mottau's unfortunate deflection off dumped puck by Semin. That last one was a fluke, folks. Still, the defense did come up big at times and force a good number of counter attacks the other way.

The penalty killing was strong and they had to be tonight. The Devils just took way too many penalties. Again, but tonight's game has been the biggest offender so far. The Capitals spent a total of 12:46 of the entire game with at least a one man advantage. That's well over a sixth of the whole game! New Jersey has had a reputation of staying rather disciplined as a team. So far this season, they haven't displayed that same kind of discipline. While they have only took two major penalties, they have taken 31 minors in 5 games. 8 of those minors came last night and each one of them resulted in a power play for the Capitals. They took 7 against the Islanders on opening night (8 if you include the penalty shot), 5 minors and 2 majors for fighting against the Penguins, 6 minors against the Rangers, and 5 against the Thrashers. This is simply too many. It's too many opportunities for the opposition to get some offensive momentum and to score goals. It's too much time spent in the game where the Devils have to focus solely on defense. And while some of the calls are soft, the Devils players have to do a better job understanding how the ref is calling the game. If he's calling it tight in the first period, that should be understood by the second and third periods - and definitely after taking some calls. As far as the calls itself go, they are all over the place. They include hooks, trips, holds, pucks going over the glass, interference calls, &c. A gamut of infractions, if you will.

It's not that the Devils are prone to one or two bad habits. It's not that only one or two Devils are the result of this - captain Jamie Langenbrunner leads the skaters with 10 minutes total and there are only five skaters haven't sat this season yet. A majority of the team has been punished for infractions so far in these five games. They are giving away power plays and keeping various players in a box instead of on the ice where they can contribute as a team. Brent Sutter and the coaching staff needs to get this team's mind right about keeping their sticks down, keeping their hands away from hugging an opposition player, and keeping their cool on the ice. The Devils' lack of discipline needs to be stopped now before we start seeing them lose hockey games because the other team dropped multiple goals on power plays against the Devils. They succeeded last night against a Capitals team that played fairly well, but it will not always be this way.

Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention other, rather important result from last night's road win over the Thrashers. Brian Rolston lost his edge and careened right into the corner boards feet first. To say it hurt was an understatement. Rolston had to be helped off the ice with his teammates, not even using his right foot at all. After the game, we learn that Rolston has a high ankle sprain (link is from Gulitti).

Gulitti points out the obvious: changes will have to be made and Sutter already has the quotes on it. He also points out a similar case: Sidney Crosby had a similar injury last season and missed more than a quarter of the season with 29 games. Jersey from Imperfect Dynasty puts it best as to why this is a big loss. He (Rolston, not Jersey) was the key signing for New Jersey this offseason, he's already right up there on the first line and getting significant power play minutes, and was expected to be a scorer. Hard to do any of that if you're out injured.

Jersey guessed last night that it could be Vrana's turn and he's right. Gulitti reports that Petr Vrana will get to start and he's already practiced with Patrik Elias and Dainius Zubrus. He was already up with the team, so it would be a real nasty message to send had the team called up, say, Nicklas Bergfors to play. Vrana isn't just getting some respect from Elias, though, he's getting an opportunity to play his way onto this team. The team clearly notes his versatility, now it's time to see if he's got the talent and the other stuff needed to stick in the NHL. He looked good in preseason, so I'm both confident and hopeful he'll make the most of this opportunity. If not, or if Vrana is found to be better suited on the lower two lines and this injury is prolonged, the Devils may want to consider Bergfors. Rolston's X-rays came up negative per Gulitti, yet it's not certain how long he'll be out. Personally, I don't think it's necessary to rush any recovery; I hope Rolston will make a full recovery before stepping on the ice - something Crosby didn't to last season. But if Rolston is still injured, say a month from now, and Vrana's not up in that spot, I'd have to think Sutter will make a call to Lowell and ask for Bergfors. It would be the chance Bergfors would need to show that drafting him in the first round back in 2005 was a good idea.

That all said, it's Vrana's chance now. I sincerely wish Vrana the best of luck tomorrow night and in the near future. It's your time to shine. (Hopefully, much more than Paul Rodgers.)

The New Jersey Devils suffered their first loss of the season to the team we all bitterly hate and despise losing to: the New York Rangers. The loss was a magnitude to 4-1, but even if it was a 1-0 shootout loss after a hard-fought game, losing to the Rangers is just plain disappointing. The Ookies were underwhelmed (to the say the least) at the effort, Josh at 2MA didn't bother with the third thanks to some requirements of sleep - but he didn't miss much, Colin Stephenson's column on the game from the Star Ledger is a good of a recap as any, and some fans may consider the performance to repeat of what we saw in the playoff loss of 2008.

They aren't wrong, in that the root causes was the same. The Devils, as a collective whole, did not play anything close to a complete game. I would argue they didn't even play a collective good 20 minutes. The start was OK, the second half of the second period was more of what we wanted to see from New Jersey: the defense stopping the Rangers stone dead, the forwards upping the tempo and getting more on Henrik Lundqvist, and a goal. But that's...17-18 minutes? The rest of the game was controlled by the Rangers. They performed much better on special teams, they controlled the puck better more often than not, they held off New Jersey from getting a shot for significant portions of time, and they even got some of the breaks as a result of their hard work and play on the ice. I hate typing this, but the Rangers were the better team last night and the game's final score reflects this.

It's not that Brodeur fumbled a Brandon Dubinsky shot or Aaron Voros was allowed to set up one too many times right in front. Yes, those were flaws and those need to be addressed. But the underlying cause is that pretty much the entire team didn't bring the effort they needed. Only the fourth line of Mike Rupp, Bobby Holik, and Dainius Zubrus was who I felt played consistently well - and a large part of that is because they sparked the Devils to play much better in the second period and get some momentum going. Even then, this wasn't a game that warrants high praise for anyone on this roster. It's not one player or one line, but the 19 guys (I can't really criticize Kevin Weekes, can I?) active in the game and the coaching staff lost this game.

They said the Devils were ready (h/t Gulitti). Yet, the penalty kill forgot that they can move Voros from the slot. The Rangers did it well on their penalty kills when Sutter tried to set up two people in front of Lundqvist in third; it is possible. However, until the Devils realize that they need to set the tone early, diversify their offense, tighten up their special teams play, and don't get discouraged when the Rangers have a few good shifts, we could see this repeat again. Next time it may not be Voros screening Brodeur; but maybe Nigel Dawes bombing up the wing to much success or the Rangers defense (who did a good job styming New Jersey's offense along with Lundqvist) just shutting the Devils down in the neutral zone. The particulars will change, but the root cause and general result may not.

Fortunately, the Devils don't get time to dwell on this and feel sorry for themselves. At least, I hope Brent Sutter won't let them get that down - they are looking to move on. They got the Thrashers in Atlanta on Thursday, followed by the Capitals in DC on Saturday. Changes are already afoot for the next game: Gulitti has reported that Anssi Salmela will be scratched in favor of Andy Greene and Brian Rolston won't be leading the power play. Most important and not mentioned is whether the team will put out a more complete and improved effort for all 3 periods for the next few games.

Let's sum this up real quick for the Devils; the previews all tend to agree on the following:

Where do they disagree? Easy - when it comes to figuring out how good the Devils are. Despite claims that they can't be counted out, some previews show them in the bottom end of the playoff seeding in the East. Maybe it's telling of how competitive the division, conference, and the league now are; but who knows. Others go in an opposite direction and think they can finish first in the whole conference, much less the division. From my point of view (and my count), the amount of optimistic and pessimistic is about even (with 2MA stuck in the middle!). OK, maybe there are other previews I missed - but from a sample of 15 from both print and the Internet of various areas (Devils fans, big hockey bloggers, etc.), this is what I found. Yes, there are more pessimistic predictions out there for the Devils and based on legitimate concerns. But, it isn't fair or true at all to say that mostly everyone in the hockey world doesn't respect the Devils or their chances. Only one preview comes right out and says they won't make the playoffs (and two are iffy), after all. We're going to see the postseason come to Newark again, the Devils should be that good. How well New Jersey will do - whether they will have home ice again or get in on the final days of April - is the sticking point.

I put all of my thoughts and the links (where possible) to each preview into the following table, so you can judge for yourself.

OK, with the season starting on Friday against the Islanders, it's about time I wrap up my little experiment of reviewing Devils previews. I'll try to summarize them all in a nice little table tomorrow. If you have any idea of more previews that I haven't covered - now is the time to bring them up. Otherwise, this set will be the last.

First off is a quick summary of The Hockey News' preview in their yearbook. I finally found a copy of it on a news stand in NY Penn Station and read through the Devils' section. I didn't purchase it because, well, I was only interested in what was written on two pages. So if I get something wrong, let me know and I'll correct it. I believe it was written by Rich Chere and I got the impression that everything didn't seem so bad in the preview. The offense was poor last year, but it should be better with the addition of Rolston and the hopes that the underachieving forwards will, well, achieve more. The weakness was a defense that wasn't spectacular, which is a bit odd considering they've done well in limiting shots against the Devils (27.5 shots against per game, 8th best in the league) and how rookies would take time acclimate themselves to the NHL (no big worry as the roster is loaded with veterans). You get the impression that the Devils could be solid enough. Then you read the final ranking and predicition: B- and 7th in the East. I guess it means the Devils will be good but not quite good enough in a competitive conference? I'm not sure? I get the feeling this was written way in advance of preseason and I'm sure a more recent preview would yield different results. I guess it's not all that positive ultimately.

On the other spectrum of positive is James Mirtle, who thinks the Devils could finish first in the conference. I don't know if I'd go that far, but he makes a concise and decent case. The Eastern Conference is volitile as a whole and it could be anybody's game (except you, Islanders) if events turn out favorably in various ways. The Devils did lead the conference at one point last season, they didn't change much except for adding a proven scorer (Rolston) which can only benefit the team, and the team did do really well once they got The Rock, Jamie Langenbrunner, and Colin White all in tow. Definitely positive, but again, I have my doubts as to the team finishing first overall. If the offense really does become more potent and productive, then sure, why not? Otherwise, I can see the team winning a lot but not enough to take that top spot if only because of the other teams who are better overall than New Jersey.

At ESPN, we see that Pierre LeBrun has written a team preview. You know, the same Lebrun who didn't think the Devils will make the playoffs. In his summation of the team, he writes: "Every season, the pundits predict the Devils will finally fold, only to be proven wrong." Wow. The irony. It's so real. Anyway, LeBrun really doesn't get much wrong here and doesn't repeat his playoff-less prediction. In fact, I don't see a prediction. The Devils need better results from Patrik Elias, Brian Gionta, and Langenbrunner, which is true. Tere's no reason to be surprised that the Devils as a top defensive team without a stud defender given how the unit did last season along with their excellent checking forwards, which is bolstered by Bobby Holik; which is true. What is nice are the features of their predicted Top Five - which is nearly right, but Bryce Salvador will likely start with Paul Martin and not White, as well as a blurb from Jay Feaster. However, what is annoying is that in three areas on the preview - LeBrun's section, Feaster's blurb, and a side text as their "key question" - they all discuss whether Martin Brodeur can play 70 or more games this season at such a high level. I'm sick of reading this in nearly every preview and I will have more to say on it on Thursday. But what really gets me is that they all come to the same conclusion. - that Marty's the man and sure, he can do it. Did they really need to highlight it in three areas? Especially with other potential questions they could ask, such as how might Brent Sutter approach this season now that he has four full lines of players? It's not bad and it's got some nice angles, I just wish there was more and an actual conclusion of the preview. Does LeBrun think New Jersey will make the playoffs or does his earlier opinion stand?

Lastly, we have the NHL FanHouse. First, let's look at those predictions - in which the whole panel at the FanHouse gives their thought as to who will win the division, the conference, and even the individual player trophies. Overall, it's not bad for the Devils even if the voting is off. Two of the six think the Devils could win the division, whereas others aren't as high - having them sit third in the division. Ahead of the Rangers, mind you. For the conference, the consensus sticks them in fourth, just outside of the division spots. I guess some of those other four people like New Jersey in second in the division if not at first. Lastly, two of them likes Brodeur winning his fifth Vezina trophy - which is very possible given that it is Martin Brodeur.

Now onto the team preview, which was written by Kevin Schultz. The big theme of his preview is that the Devils really haven't changed all that much and that could be an issue considering that they won't surprise anyone. And really, did they need to change all that much outside of signing Holik and Rolston? It's a great point, and absolutely true, that the Devils need to do better within inter-division games and he has the numbers to back it up. And at least he apologizes before mentioning that Marty is getting old yet he remains dominant. Still, he doesn't mince words in his prediction, stating that this team could win the division or even the conference - especially if a big team (Montreal? Philadelphia? Pittsburgh?) falters. I'd say that's positive, yet a bit more realistic than outright saying they could finish first in the conference.

Again, I plan on summarizing all of these tomorrow into a table or table-like format just to see what the general sentiment regarding this team prior to the start of the season. I must say, it seems that a lot of the previews agree with each other but not on what the final outcome could be.

With a questionably-working Internet and such in past days, I've got quite a bit to say. So I would like to continue discussing how the Devils can increase their appeal and "plant the seeds." To help illustrate my point, I'd like to share the following image from Friday's preseason game against the Islanders.

So I'm sitting in my seat prior to the game, waiting for warm-ups to begin. Then this piece of work walks through my section to get to his seat. Disgusting doesn't even begin to describe this guy. It's not that his hair looks like a ratty bird nest that seems to be impervious to combs, water, shampoo, and conditioner. It's not that his Islanders jersey - their newer, sleeker design - didn't cover his entire massive gut. No, what made this fellow special was that the belt on his cargo shorts was well undone and were slipping down as he waddled across two sections with his tickets to his seat. He stopped maybe once to pull them up approximately a half an inch, then figured it wasn't worth stopping to pull up his shorts, and proceeded to continue going on down while giving whoever around a good view of his crusty white briefs.

This got me thinking: Ew. Then it got me thinking that ultimately, how we carry ourselves does have an effect on our enjoyment of the game. I wrote this popular post (?) a while back about fan conduct sort of tongue in cheek. Some of them are good pieces of advice in general but I now regret not adding "make sure your jersey is big enough before wearing it in public" and "for the love of God, pull up your pants." This guy could have used it. But seriously. Consider that even if the Devils promote themselves real well, the team is playing excellently, and the arena is top-notch - if you're sitting around some people who can't conduct (or dress) themselves in a public setting, that's going to affect any one's enjoyment of the game. I haven't posted in the past few days and the first thing I'm writing about isn't the end of preseason, or some other content related to hockey. No, it's some guy looking brutal that I saw for about 2 minutes before the game. That stuck out from Friday's game among other things.

The Devils are aware of this. It's why there's (now) an announcement before the game to tell you to go to an usher if someone is being a nuisance. And therefore, it's critical that if anyone is being a nuisance, that it shouldn't be us - the Devils fans. If only to not get thrown out of the game, but to not make it harder for the Devils organization to bring in some new fans. If someone is talking trash and trying to start something, just let it go. There's no need at all to start a fight - only Paul Mara is an actual dog or cat, according to right-thinking people like Mike Rupp, you don't need to "defend your honor." Nobody cares about your honor - especially security as you're being escorted out. Let the security/ushers deal with an unruly fan of another team. You can even be snarky doing so: "Sir, this fellow of an inferior team who is currently being swamped by the glorious team in red is making it incredibly difficult to watch this beatdown of a hockey game. In addition to his team being poor and listless, he's being quite rude and classless because he can't handle how bad his team is sucking right now. Could you consider moving me to a different seat where I can enjoy the superior hockey team of New Jersey roll on to victory? Thank you."

But seriously, there's never any good reason to get involved at a fight in the game; there's never any good reason to being incredibly offensive by making comments about one's race or sexual orientation (I don't have to explain this one, thank you); there's never any good reason to be a jackass at a game; and there's never any good reason to wear clothes that won't fit (this is true in general). In addition to making yourself look terrible, it damages the overall atmosphere of the game. Instead of talking about how well/poorly the Devils did, people will talk about the jerk in section X and how he sucks.

We're all part of the experience at any sporting event. Given that we'd like more than just us to experience the Devils - who wouldn't want to be a Devils fan other than fans of other teams, we shouldn't actively try to make the experience worse for them. Making sure we don't display our thighty whities in the process shouldn't have be stated - but thanks to that Islander fan (note to other Islanders fans, I don't mean you - just those who can't/don't wear clothes properly), let's make sure that's under control before we head out.

With a season rapidly approaching, we got more season previews and we're going to see how some of them see the Devils for 2008-2009. Last time, I took a look at three preview magazines - all of which did not think very highly of the Devils. Today, let's look at some more from Devils fans, Devils fans who have to be more impartial, and from people who are not Devils fans but write about hockey all the same.

First, from anonymous in the comments from the last post, we have this Devils preview that's in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer of all places. Yes. It's called the Intelligencer. Anyway, it appears to be a syndicated article from "Sports Network" by Dan Di Sciullo. Di Sciullo's preview is pretty detailed and breaks down the team in each position while having an overall prediction in the end - a good format for a preview as any. He shows an understanding of the Devils organization by stating up front "Detractors will say that those moves show that the Devils are still living in the past, but it's never wise to doubt Lamoriello, after all, he is the man responsible for turning the swamps of Jersey into a frequent home for Lord Stanley." Well said.

Di Sciullo's analysis doesn't tell us much new in the big picture. But he correctly points out that signings of Brian Rolston and Bobby Holik will give the Devils good depth at center. However, he gets some things wrong in the process. Yes, Zach Parise, Brian Gionta, and Dainius Zubrus need to bounce back on the offense, and the signings could help them. But he bizarrely states that the signing of Rolston will free up Madden's role as a defensive center - a role that Madden still did last season and has been since he's been a Devil - and stated that Patrik Elias and Jamie Langenbrunner could play on Madden's line. Jamie, yes, I can see that and would like that. But, save for some bizarre Sutter line-mixing, Elias is not going to the checking line. Also, Travis Zajac is usually a center, but he should bounce back after a poor sophmore season. Regardless, he's got a good handle on the defense - bold idea predicting the 6 who will play - and the goaltending is straight forward. I see no issue with his prediction of the playoffs; but I don't think Brodeur's workload being lessened will mean a longer playoff run. The team will have to perform better and work harder as a whole in the postseason - it's not all on Brodeur. Still, it's a solid preview in a place I didn't expect it. Good job, anonymous.

By the by, anonymous (the same one? a different one? WHO KNOWS?) also points out the Devils got a mention in ESPN's 10 burning questions for the NHL Preseason. That's mention in the singular, as Pierre LeBrun just stated that they finally (aside: what's this 'finally' junk?) won't make the playoffs. It's not an actual preview, but just a thought. Here's my thought: Marc Lebrun will be proven wrong.

Let's go to the next preview, from a big name in the world of hockey blogging - Greg Wyshynski of Puck Daddy. In the past month, they've had a theme of high school yearbooks for their previews for every team in the season. They are detailed, cover all the bases, and are a little entertaining to boot. They even go ahead and note the bloggers and news sources online for each team. Here's his Devils preview which he gets through without being terribly biased.

He interestingly points out Elias as the player to "break out" this season; which makes some sense since he'll be on the same line as Brian Rolston. He's absolutely right in stating that how the offense does will make the difference between an early playoff exit and a run for the Cup; just look at 1995, 2000, 2001, and 2003 for success and the last few years for further, yet sad proof. I am disappointed he dragged out the same tired trope of the Devils not being excited in his coaching section - if you don't find the Devils exciting and state that more goals equals more filled seats, how come some teams who also play the same kind of defensive hockey and rely on a transition offense get those sellouts, like say, some group of blueshirted chumps across a river from Newark? Seriously. I am also questioning why he doesn't think Zubrus won't be better this season. Most of last season featured Zubrus working to get down low, doing all the little things right, do well enough along the boards, but he was unfortunate that he didn't have consistent linemates (but who did?) and that when he got a scoring chance, a defender/goaltender just got a piece of it at the last minute. Now that he's had a full season under Sutter, I think he'll blossom with a given role. Anyway, Greg thinks the Devils will make the playoffs and the only thing that could screw it all up is the only thing that could screw up New Jersey since 1997. It's a good read, like the other previews on the site, and it's not your standard, by-the-numbers preview. And I'm not just saying that because he mentions this blog.

Let's not talk about this recent preview Greg did with The Pensblog, something he doesn't sound particuarly proud of at Puck Daddy. I don't blame him, but not because of it's content. It's because it just plain sucks if only for further fueling the baseless criticism that the Devils are "boring."

So let's look at IPB. They've done something different for their preview, giving individual thoughts for each individual player and pointing out how they are trending. It's a good idea as it sticks out from the other previews. Some of them make sense, like their rationale for Zubrus and the utter confusion surrounding where Andy Greene's career is going (I couldn't tell you, to be honest, he's a firm tweener unless he shows more at this point). Others are a bit of a head scratcher. I agree that Travis Zajac should have a bounce back year, and Gionta in a contract year should provide a better year than expected, and the rest of the forwards should generally do better; but how can those statements be claimed after saying Elias is trending down? Why can't he bounce back as well when he had the same inconsistencies as everyone else, Ookies? Also, I get it, you don't care for Bobby Holik, but he's not going to Lowell - like getting cut in a knife fight, just expect it and accept it. Anyway, it's a good read, but it doesn't go far to say what they think the team will do. Given the general attitude of how they write about the Devils, I'm going to guess they'll be very pessimistic unless the Devils put together some amazing results. Still, it's a different take from other previews and you should read it for that. McKeen's is the only other one where they had something for every player, but that's fantasy-hockey related anyway. Incidentally, IPB did an even more, uh, different take on the team's trend a few days later. It's...a thing. And I have no comment on it.

IPB's Pookie also put together (or at least posted, maybe it was a collaborative work?) a short preview of the teams at ModFan. Literally short, just ten words at most for each team. A nitpick for the Devils, Pookie, Rolston and Holik were also on the 1995 team.

Fourthly, assuming that is a word, I found this through IPB as well, someone by the name of Pam did this preview at Melt Your Face-off. I know it's in the sidebar, but I don't follow the site; but it appears to be an opinion-based Deadspin-esque hockey blog by Deadspin commenters. Anyway, the preview isn't really much of one as 80% of it is about the horrible toss to the Rangers (true) and the saga of Bobby Holik leaving the team in 2000 to sign with the Rangers and how he wasn't fully missed due to John Madden. Needless to say, Pam isn't plussed with the signings. Anyway, the conclusion is an actual preview - rather a repeat of her short prediction last year - and Pam, who both hates and loves the Devils (in a word, what?) believes history will repeat itself. While I agree the team should be competitive, she doesn't offer much in as a reason as to why. Maybe her point is that not much has changed; but I don't see how signing a top six forward and a veteran center for the fourth line could not lead to any change?

Anyway, in the last seven previews I've read and discussed for far too long for little gain, six of them either have a pessimistic tone with the team or a pressimistic prediction. Originally, my point of doing all this was to get a handle of the general sentiment of what others think of this team. Almost all think the playoffs will happen for New Jersey, but few, if any, are confident in how they'll do. It's not that it's all baseless pessimism, most of it is reasoned out and based on actual results last season. I get that and understand it. Considering some of this pessimism comes from Devils fans, we just can't say "everyone else just doesn't respect New Jersey." The flipside to being a strong franchise is that expectations are high, and for some, the Devils just aren't meeting them by doing well in a tough division in a tighter-than-ever NHL. I don't know, maybe I'm missing something to all of this.

As usual, if you've gotten this far, thanks! And if you know of anymore Devils previews, let me know with a comment or an e-mail. Incidentally, I wrote a short one for another blog that should be up soon; but I don't think I'm in any place to critique or complain about my own work outside that it's likely too dang long.