The New Jersey Devils are not an elite team, they're about an average squad. Now that the NHL season has hit a break for All Star Game, the Devils are sitting in eighth in the East and are in a five-way tie in the NHL (13th through 17th) with 55 points. They've got more wins than losses and OT/SO losses; but it's not by much either overall (26-19-3), at home (12-9-2), or on the road (14-10-1). Devils fans want to know whether his team is really going to be pushing hard to stay atop of the playoff bubble from January 31 onward. The fear is that they'll struggle. I couldn't tell you; I don't know what the future will hold. Although, I doubt the Devils will be making a push for elite status any time in the near future.

The main reason I'm confident in my doubts is possession. The Devils have done a very good job preventing shots, but they don't generate a lot of them. According to Behind the Net's situational stats in 5-on-5 situations, their SA/60 rate is the third lowest rate in the league at 26.2; but their SF/60 rate is only a little better at 26.7 - the fourth lowest rate in the league. If the Devils want to get more wins and really help themselves out in their drive to make the playoffs, then the team would be wise to get the puck more and out-attempt teams more often. When a team controls the puck, it means the opposition isn't attacking and it's further opportunity to get on the board. It's no accident that the true elite teams in the league, like Detroit, Boston, and St. Louis, are ahead of a vast majority of the NHL when it comes to possession.

How can the Devils increase their ways? Well, we need to identify how the skaters are used by the coaches and how they're doing. Back in the middle of November, I took a look at how Peter DeBoer was utilizing the forwards and defensemen. With the data at Behind the Net, I charted their adjusted Corsi rates on an axis defined by their defensive zone start percentage and their quality of competition. The graphs showed who was taking on tougher competition, who got favorable zone starts, and how they were doing in those spots. That was after 17 games into the season. Now that the team is heading into the toughest part of the regular season, it's a good time as any to identify who's doing well and who needs help. The updated graphs and analysis are after the jump.

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Your links for today

Rich Chere looks at the Devils during the first half [NJ.com]

Lou Lamoriello sees room for improvement in the Devils 1st half [Fire and Ice]

Jacob Josefson and Matt Taormina have been temporarily assigned to Albany to play while the rest of the team rests up during the all-star break [Fire and Ice]

Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke talks about Lou [National Post]

Fenwick Rankings at the all-star break [Arctic Ice Hockey]

If you're going to the AHL All-Star Weekend in Atlantic City, here's a few good places to drink [NJ.com]

Looking at goal differentials by period- which is the most important? [Canucks Army]

More complaints about Brendan Shanahan [Days of Y'Orr]

Cam Charron on Scott Gomez- he can't score goals but he drives play [The Leafs Nation]

Sharks Forward Logan Couture was taken last in the All-Star Fantasy draft. Have fun pimping your new ride Logan (Insert Xzibit joke here) [Backhand Shelf]

The NHLPA teams up with RIM to take a look behind the scenes of some NHL stars. Does anyone else find it funny that NHL is teaming up with RIM? [NHLPA]

The Devils struggled into the All-Star weekend with a lack of scoring. While the NHL is on pause for some skills competition, Peter DeBoer has some thinking to do. He can start with questions like: How do we score power play goals? What happened to our penalty kill? And how can I get my top players to score more at even strength? The players should be able to recoup and refocus on hockey since there is not a single New Jersey Devil participating in this weekend's events. In my opinion, if the Devils are trying to ship out Parise for draft picks and what not, it would have been nice to have him show off in the all star game and hopefully whet the appetite for a few more GM's.

However, this post isn't to speculate on Parise, but to figure out where the Devil's scoring has went. In the last three games, the Devils have put up one goal each game. Now, three games isn't the end of the world for a scoring drought, but its concerning. After the jump I'll break down the scoring trends for our top five goal scorers and hopefully shed a little more light on the situation.

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Your Links for today...

Adam Larsson (wrist) and Adam Henrique (groin) will not go to All-Star Weekend [Fire and Ice]

Andy Greene will practise with the team on Monday [Fire and Ice]

Just like me, there are other Devils fans who have no clue of what direction the team is going [Puck Buddies]

Three Questions about the Devils at the All-Star Break [RWTD]

10 Storylines to watch during the 2nd half [PHT]

Even if the Flyers can put Chris Pronger on LTIR for the next 5 years, there's still some problems with that [Hockey Prospectus]

An Anonymous NHL Player on the failed Realignment scheme [Puck Daddy]

Is PK Save % an important part in predicting a goalie's future success? [Broad Street Hockey]

Mike Babcock likes doing what hockey fans doing after a tough loss- drinking [SBNation]

There's only one more game (tonight) until the All-Star break. The four-day event which contains a draft, a skills competition, and an exhibition is in Ottawa this year. No Devils will be there, as Adam Larrson and Adam Henrique will opt out due to minor injuries. This will be the Senators first time hosting the event. They get to remove themselves from a group of cities and teams that have yet to host NHL's second biggest regular season event (the Winter Classic being the other).

The Devils had the luxury of hosting an All-Star Game in 1984, only a couple years after their move to New Jersey. Two Devils were apart of that (defender Joe Cirella and Glen "Chico" Resch who we are all aware of). Here's the introduction of the Wales Conference. What I hate about this video is the announcer's tone when introducing Ranger players as it was held at the World's Most Overrated Arena which happens to contain asbestos. The two Devils heard cheers and boos as well.

Now, the Devils are in a new home. A home in the middle of it's 5th year of operation. Newark, NJ joins the list of six cities yet to hold the event. The Prudential Center joins of a longer list of new arenas yet to hold one. Only seven NHL arenas have opened since 2000. Of those seven arenas, only the Wild and Stars have held All-Star games. Will Newark get one? Will the Devils host one soon?

My guess is yes, but not for a few more years. With Pittsburgh's new arena and the Garden being renovated, these will most likely be on top of the NHL's list. They have not announced last year's yet, though rumors are it may be in Columbus or Anaheim. I remember hearing Devils Chairmen Jeff Vanderbeek mention during one of his Jersey Tours a couple summers back that the organization will apply to one. I don't know if they have or if they haven't.

I think the organization should get on this in the next few years. Why? Well a couple of reasons.

One is the exposure. It's already a top selling arena in the world. But more is always better. It would help local exposure in hockey as well. Fans from around North America would see the jerseys of all teams across the state. The local media would hopefully ride this and give exposure to the Devils.

Another is finances. A four day event can bring in some "mula". It could also increase season tickets sales (since it may be the only way to get tickets to the All-Sat game at a reasonable price). That would surely help the Devils finances problems if they are grave as the rumors (and they are rumors) suggest.

The City of Newark has been under a reconstruction itself. It's no longer the crime infested city in a toxic state. Laugh all you will outsiders, but I walk my 3 blocks from the light rail station to my car after every game at 10 p.m. every Devils home game. The restaurants around the arena are fun, the Gateway Center also has some quick bites, and transportation is never an issue. The biggest is the new Courtyard Marriott being built right next to the Rock.

I feel once the hotel is finished, and few more pre/post game spots open, the area around the arena will be ready for prime time.

So I ask you. Will the Devils get an All-Star Game soon? What do they need to do to get one? What does the Newark area need to do? In lieu of the weekend break coming up - I ask you: What do you think?

Your links for today (PS thank nyynygnjd for the inspiration for today's title)

Recaps of last night's game [Fire and Ice][NJ.com][RWTD][Devils]

Adam Henrique holds himself accountable and says that he hasn't been playing his best lately [NJ.com]

Alex Urbom will replace Matt Taormina at the AHL all-star game [Fire and Ice]

Roof Collapse in a Slovakian rink. Good thing no one was hurt [Puck Daddy]

ESPN cares more about Tim Tebow than about Hockey. Helps that they employ Burnside. [SBNation]

USHL GOALIE FIGHT! [Puck Daddy]

Last but not least, a website we will all enjoy [Greatest Site Ever, Or Greatest Site Ever]

Tonight's game could best be described in one word- unfortunate. The game itself wasn't unfortunate- rather incredibly boring (So much so that TG even had to say that it was terrible on twitter). What happened to the Devils was. The Devils outshot the Sabres. They had the better chances. They had a PPG. Yet all they managed was one goal and one point. The Sabres only goal came on an unfortunate bounce off a stanchion right to Jordan Leopold. Everything that could've went wrong went wrong for the Devils. And they lost to the worst team in the east. Going into the All-Star break, the Devils are in a 3 game losing streak, without their best defenseman. Who knows what's going to happen now?

More thoughts on tonight's game can be found after the jump, or over at Die By the Blade if you want a Sabres perspective.

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The Time: 7:00 PM EDT

The Broadcast: TV - MSG+; Radio - 660 AM WFAN

The Game: The New Jersey Devils (26-19-2) vs. the Buffalo Sabres (19-24-5)

The Previews: John has a preview up for tonight's game, which can be found here. While Die By the Blade doesn't have a preview up, they have a solid write up about the team's struggles.

A Song For Tonight: The opposition hails from Buffalo. I'm not too familiar with the Buffalo Metal scene, but a very notable band hails from nearby St. Catharines- Alexisonfire. Tonight's song, Waterwings (And Other Poolside Fashion Faux Pas) comes from their best album, their self-titled first Album.

Gameday Info: Devils Defenseman Peter Harrold is going to make his debut tonight as the 4th line winger (seriously, it beats Janssen there) and will wear #10. The Lines and pairings should be the same outside of that. As for the Sabres, Defenseman Christian Erhoff will return to the lineup tonight per John Vogl of Sabres' Edge. Additionally, Robyn Regehr will return tonight as well. Ryan Miller looks like he will be the starting goalie tonight for the Sabres.

Talking Red: In case you missed it, this week's episode features former Devil Bobby Holik talking about several different issues with the Devils, such as Zach Parise's contract as well as Ilya Kovalchuk and Jacques Lemaire.

As usual, you can use the comments in this post to discuss today's game before, during, and after it happens until the recap is up. Please remember the rules at all times. Namely: keep your comments clean, keep them on topic, and keep them legal (read: nothing about illegal streams - no links, no discussion, no requests). Go Devils!