The New Jersey Devils: February 2010 in Review

by John Fischer on Feb 15, 2010 3:30 PM EST in Devil of the Month

If January was a disappointing month for the New Jersey Devils, then the shortened February was just poor. Out of 7 games, the New Jersey Devils won only twice - and one of those was a miraculous third period comeback. Out of a possible 14 points, the Devils only earned 5 points with a record of 2-4-1. The slump that began in mid-January did not end, it only continued.

Not that the team just let it happen. Lou Lamoriello pulled off a huge trade on the evening February 4 sending defenseman Johnny Oduya, winger Niclas Bergfors, prospect center Patrice Cormier, a first round pick, and a second round pick to the Atlanta Thrashers for elite scoring winger Ilya Kovalchuk, defenseman Anssi Salmela, and a second round pick. At the time of the deal, I felt the Devils got the better of the deal and I still think the Devils came out better for it. Yet, the addition of a winger like Kovalchuk did not produce immediate results as the offense continues to be inconsistent, especially on the power play.

The Devils got a little healthier as Patrik Elias returned to the lineup from a concussion on February 6. While his excellent vision and playmaking skills are welcomed back, his return alone did not inspire the Devils snap out of it on offense. Would the return of David Clarkson and Paul Martin from injury really the ones to inspire the team? The only other injury of note (sorry, Mr. Leblond) that took place was Anssi Salmela being knocked out of the February 8 game against Philadelphia by a blindside, late hit by Jeff Carter; though Salmela returned on February 13 for the Carolina game.

Of course, with an inconsistent offense, that places further pressure on the defense - especially when the offense can't build. A defense that's prone to making a few big mistakes a night, leaving opposition forwards ready and able to screen Martin Brodeur, set up in the slot for deflections, and set up on Brodeur's flank. Yes, Brodeur's given up a lot of goals; but the majority of them wouldn't have happened with better play by both ends by the skaters. Better play by the skaters would have prevented some awful second period performances. Except for the Nashville game on February 12, the Devils have been outscored in the second period in every game this month. Awful.

Overall, the Devils have won only 8 games since January 8 and they haven't won two consecutive games since January 12. Fans like myself are running out of reasons to hope things will be quickly different for New Jersey. The Devils, like the rest of the NHL, are on a two week break and will place their next game in March. Will it help? Hopefully.

If not, the fans are left justifiably asking about the team's focus and heart that was ever-present in the 2009 part of this season. That directly ties into the team's leadership and coaches. Will there be a change there? Will there be another trade, possibly for a defender? Will the team being finally healthy be enough to get it sorted out? At this point, I think most Devils fans just want some wins more than anything else - as this month was inarguably bad for New Jersey.

February in Review

In retrospect, I feel this month, if nothing else, was educational. Consider:

The Toronto Maple Leafs made a big deal prior to the game against the Devils on February 2, acquiring Dion Phaneuf and Jean-Sebastian Giguere. The Leafs, in Toronto, played with energy and as if they were making a point. The Devils were coming off a heartbreaking choke-job against LA on January 31. With Yann Danis starting, the theory that the team may play better in front of the backup was quickly proven incorrect. The Devils didn't show up at all for the game, didn't really challenge the Leafs, and were soundly beaten all over the ice to a final 3-0 score.
The next game would be against Toronto, at the Rock this time, and it would have two brand new Devils in the lineup: Ilya Kovalchuk and Anssi Salmela. How did things go? Well, the Leafs outplayed the Devils for a majority of the game. We can quibble over whether it was for the whole game up until the final 3-4 minutes or whether it was from the start of a second period through the final 3-4 minutes. The fans, and the Leafs, learned that hockey is a 60 minute game as Dean McAmmond scored a lifeline of a goal late; Travis Zajac tied it up on a wicked one-timer on a power play; and Jay Pandolfo put home a rebound past Jonas Gustavsson in the game's dying seconds. The Devils won 4-3 despite a 3-1 deficit to start the third; they absolutely stole that game, their first of two wins this month.
The Devils would welcome the return of Patrik Elias against Our Hated Rivals at MSG. Elias played well, setting up the Devils' only goal of the night, scored by Dainius Zubrus. While the game featured another second period meltdown and another reason to dislike Mike Mottau, the real star of the game was Henrik Lundqvist. The Devils kept pounding him with shots from all over the place, only for the Rangers' netminder to rob them over and over and over. I feel the big takeaway is that an offense can only do so much against a hot goaltender. I kept highlighting Lundqvist as the only reason why the Rangers won the game, 3-1, as an early goal or a few goals late would have changed the whole situation. Of all of the Devils losses in this month, this one stings the least for that reason despite it being against Our Hated Rivals. The effort was there, the energy was there, but Lundqvist's glove was omnipresent.
The Devils went into Philadelphia on Monday, got a nice fluke of a power play goal, saw a beautiful shorthanded goal by Anssi Salmela scored before Jeff Carter drilled the back of his head with his shoulder (after the goal light went off), and then promptly did nothing with it. Despite getting 7 power plays, the Devils never really built on their two goal lead - not even challenging seriously for a third goal. This kept the door open for the Flyers, who battled back with a quickfire double late in the second period, and got an easy power play goal to win it in the third period. This game taught the Devils fans the importance of building on a lead, actually pressing the issue if not scoring goals, to keep the opposition honest. Instead, the Devils didn't, blew the lead, and suffered a punch to the gut with a 3-2 loss to Our Second Most Hated Rivals.
The Devils played the Flyers again on Wednesday in Newark during a snowstorm, which surely affected attendance. While both teams didn't play well, it was almost a repeat of Monday's game in terms of results. Devils score the first two, and then proceed to allow 3 unanswered. Sure, the Flyers answered one back in the first, got an equalizer in the second, and literally held on (the Devils offense showed up somewhat in the third period) until overtime to strike a shot through a screen to win it. Yes, the Devils got a point, but the result was once again a blown lead for a 3-2 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. The Devils fans learned that "those who do not remember history, are doomed to repeat it" is not just cliche, it can be a cold reality.
On Friday, the Devils played their last home game before the Olympic break against the Nashville Predators. Amazingly, they played well for the most part of the game. They looked strong early, looked strong late, and weren't totally bad in the second period. Ilya Kovalchuk scored his first goal as a Devil and it was the game winner, breaking a 2-2 deadlock in the third period. Zach Parise scored an intentional power play goal to add to that, and the Devils tacked on an empty net goal for a deserved 5-2 win over the Predators. The offense showed up and made it easy for the rest of the Devils to do a good job. I feel we learned how important it is for a team to not get discouraged when a lead is given up (Nashville did equalize in the first, went ahead early in the second) and to keep moving the puck well while attacking, as it opened up great chances for the Devils. More importantly, I think we learned how good it feels to see the Devils play well and win.
On Saturday, the Devils went into the Carolina Hurricanes, winners of their last four games. After a slow start, the Hurricanes capitalized on power plays and kept rushing forward to attack due to their superior passing/puck movement and the Devils terrible passing/puck movement leading to possession going back to the home team. Carolina picked apart the Devils for four straight goals, let up a bit, and didn't seem entirely concerned with a Devils team making a late effort at a comeback. Honestly, with how the game went for New Jersey, they were only consolation goals; the Carolina Hurricanes earned their 5-2 win going into the break. Fans learned the hard way that when the Devils struggle mightily with passing on offense, going into the offensive zone, and even the neutral zone, the game isn't going to go so well for New Jersey. It certainly didn't, making a big difference as to why Carolina looked superior on the ice.

A lot of lessons for the Devils to learn. They aren't really a young team so it's not as if most of the team hasn't been in these situations before. That concerns me as to whether they were trying to solve these problems or not. Imagine if they didn't concede leads against Philadelphia or actually showed up at the start in the first Toronto game and the Carolina game? Even if they lost those games, if the team was performing much better and just lost on a few breaks, then there wouldn't be all this cause for concern.

In the big picture, it's not all that bad, sure. As user richer44 pointed out in this FanPost, even the Devils teams that went on to win Stanley Cups went through similar struggles at some point in the season. Per this article by Rich Chere at NJ.com, the Devils are not far off from last season's pace. That and the team's current position - first place in the Atlantic by a point - mitigate concerns. If you told me that the Devils would be 37-21-3 at the break back in September, I would have said "Good."

Yet, the fact is that the Devils dropped a lot of points in this month, they literally limped into this break with a poor loss, and they're going to return with a road trip through San Jose (second best record in the NHL), Calgary (a team fighting for their playoff lives), and Edmonton (trap game). There's not a lot to feel good about given how the Devils went 2-4-1 in February. Which should surprise no one; this truly was a bad month for the Devils, plain and simple.

Devil of the Month

With how the Devils played for most of this month, it makes it difficult to really identify who did well. Almost everyone has had a bad or nondescript game at some point.

I can't honestly name Martin Brodeur. Sure, on most of the goals there was little he could about them short of a miracle, but I can't reward his performance anymore than I can reward the defense with recognition. Seriously, who on defense can honestly claim to have a good month? Andy Greene had bad luck and provided little on offense. Anssi Salmela hasn't done much, even though he scored a sweet shorthanded goal. Mike Mottau and Colin White aren't deserving of much praise for their February performances. Mark Fraser didn't play significant enough minutes. Bryce Salvador has been the steadiest in my opinion, but even he made a few errors that led to goals.

This leaves me back to the forward position. Surprisingly, the forward with the most points in February was Jamie Langenbrunner. There were only three games he got no points in, making him one of the more consistent producers for the Devils this month. I know that's not much, but again, it was a bad month for New Jersey. For this and largely this reason alone, I have to give him the honorable mention for Devil of the Month.

Devil of the Month Honorable Mention:

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	ATOI	SOG	PCT
February 2009 - Jamie Langenbrunner	7	1	6	7	-1	0	0	0	0	18:58	24	4.2

Why I'm not naming him Devil of the Month outright has to do with his role. He's the captain of the team and, well, look at the team's results and performances and tell me he's helping this team's focus and motivating them to play. A lot of the work a captain does is off the ice, not seen by the fans, and important in the locker room. Yet, we're not seeing this translate into good work on the ice. No, I don't want him stripped of the 'C,' I want him to get back to what he was doing back in October, November, and December. I'd like to think most Devils fans would want to see that as well.

Now, there was a Devil that one can argue as having a good February. The only thing he didn't do was consistently shoot the puck on net, and he's a forward who could and should shoot more often.

The In Lou We Trust Devil of the Month for February 2010, Travis Zajac.

	GP	G	A	P	+/-	PIM	PPG	SHG	GWG	ATOI	SOG	PCT
February 2009 - Travis Zajac	7	3	3	6	-2	0	1	0	0	20:54	10	30.0

Let's break it down: He only didn't get a point in only 2 games this month, and nearly matched Langenbrunner with points. Only he's scored more. Zajac had only one game this month where he didn't win more than 59% of his faceoffs, which is just impressive (the one game? Feb. 2nd against Toronto, only 44.4% won). Again, the only mark against him are his low shots on goal - he really should shoot more. Still, three goals ties him with Zach Parise in that mark; not to mention that his sole power play goal was an important (and well played) shot that made the win on February 5 possible. Defensively, his only error was coming off the ice on a 5-on-3 with the puck not in deep against Carolina, leading to Carolina's first power play goal of the second period. Still, other than that, he's been solid.

As a testament to how well he's been doing, I've noticed his excellent play twice now in naming him Devil of the Month: October 2009 and January 2010. Hopefully, he continues the good work in March and April. Hopefully the rest of the team can follow his example at least.

Travis Zajac

#19 / Center / New Jersey Devils

Height: 6-2

Weight: 200

Born: May 13, 1985

February 2010 Devil of the Month

GP: 7, 3 G, 3 A, -2, 0 PIM, 10 SOG

Please leave your thoughts about how February 2010 went for the New Jersey Devils, the Devil of the Month, and anything related to that in the comments.

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Comments

Thanks for the recap!

I agree that Travis was the best player in February as he seemed to be one of only a few players who actually came to play on a consistent basis. And that’s what’s been the problem with this team…the lack of passion, hunger and chemistry. With the sheer offensive talent on this team (arguably the best in Devils history), they should be dominating other teams offensively. That’s not happening because there seems to be no consistent evidence of hunger (except from a very few players) to win battles and, therefore, games. Is this due to a lack of passion? A lack of chemistry? Do they want to win the Cup or not? There mere possibility that this team could very well win the Cup should be enough to light a spark under them and ignite the fire needed to win. Clearly, it hasn’t. So, what will? Is it the captain’s job to do it? The coach’s job? I believe that management’s tried with the biggest trade this team has ever been involved in, but even having Kovy here hasn’t done it. And this is what’s so scary and frustrating. How do you give people the will to do something?

I realize that the Devils have far exceeded everyone “in the know’s” expectations so far this year. (They haven’t exceeded mine as I believed at the start of this season, like I do every season, that the Devils could win the Cup. Call me naive, but I’m a diehard who would never bet against the Devils, and I despise it whenever I hear the rest of hockey world degrade them and downplay their chances. What other team, besides Detroit, has so consisitently made the playoffs and lead their division within the past 15 years?). But I digress…

Even if the Devils have exceeded most expectations so far this year, the fact remains that they’ve showed us what they are capable of – even while being riddled by injuries and without Kovy on the team. We know what this team can do…and it’s far better than what they’ve been doing lately. That’s why i don’t subscribe to the suggestion that I should be rejoicing based on their overall standings and not be worried about their recent play. They already proved they can play like a machine, making all of those “in the know” people eat their words. You can’t ignore what happened and pretend they weren’t the best team in the Eastern Conference. Sure they’ve exceeded so many people’s expectations, but clearly those expectations were set too low. (Unless you think that the entire 2009 part of the season was a “fluke” for the Devils. I don’t believe that at all. I believe that the way they played then, as good as it was, wasn’t even the best this team is capable of).

And I know there are ups and downs in every season for every team, but they were playing too well for too long for it just to have been a “fluke”. Likewise, I think that now, they’ve been playing too badly for too long for it to be just a “slump”. I’m afraid there’s something more wrong with this team than can be fixed by adding players or moving them around. Like I said above, I think it has to do with a lack of passion and chemistry. And that’s why, for the first time in 15 years, I’m so scared and frustrated.

Thanks for providing me with a place to vent my frustrations. :-)

by Jezebel on Feb 15, 2010 4:33 PM EST reply actions

Travis Zajac

I think I’ve displayed enough of my my fan-ness (I’m sure I can claim that’s a proper word) towards Zajac. The guys amazing. Gets lost in the Parise hype, as the two are usually inseperable on the ice. If Zajac doesn’t end this season a finalist for the Selke, I’ll start a campaign to bring justice to the NHL.

As for the recap, great game-by-game breakdown. I wish the actual Devils players would hop on these forums and give these recaps/previews of yours a read.

by Jago on Feb 15, 2010 5:12 PM EST reply actions

Great month for Travis.

As for the Devils the olympics are finally taking place and after they are done the team can concentrate fully on the season again. I think that once we start up again as I have said before it will take a little while for the injured players to get back into the groove and Kovy still needs more time to learn his linemates. Then we should see what this team is going to be made of. The chemistry is lacking from the 2009 part of the season I believe the team needs to stick more with a consistent line base and have pretty much the same linemates play with each other so they can all get the chemistry back..

Donald Vasquez

by don_vas on Feb 15, 2010 5:43 PM EST reply actions

I agree. i wish Lemaire would stop changing the lines around so much and give the players a chance to get used to playing with each other. Maybe that will produce some chemistry.

by Jezebel on Feb 15, 2010 6:37 PM EST up reply actions

Also, I don’t give a crap what the players say, there is no way the pending Olympics haven’t affected their play. From the players who have been here for the majority of the slump, you have:

Elias – Captain of the Czech team
Langenbrunner – Captain of the USA team
Parise – a young kid who must be over the moon that he got called for his countries team
Brodeur – Imagine having to fight a guy like Luongo for the #1 spot in net

They can deny it all they want, but it must have affected their game, for better or for worse.

by Jago on Feb 15, 2010 6:23 PM EST reply actions

The best part of Zajac? He’s only 24 years old. Just think of the years he has ahead of him if he conitnues to improve upon his game year after year. And there is no doubt in my mind that he benefits tremendously from having a player like Parise at his disposal on the same line every night. Those two players have tremendous chemistry together, probably the best chemistry of two Devils together in a couple of years. Zajac has developed a rifle of a shot that has fooled goaltenders more than once throughout this season. It’s definitely cool seeing how he has begun to develop in the past two years.

The rest of February has been awful. We are lucky to have had such a big lead going into January, otherwise we would be sinking in the Eastern Conference right about now. I sincerely believe this Olympic Break had some sort of mental influence on the team in a negative way. Everyone was underperforming. I’m looking forward to a clean slate of sorts when March 1st rolls around. It’ll be here a lot quicker than you think.

"We aim above the mark to hit the mark." -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

by Tim G on Feb 15, 2010 6:38 PM EST reply actions

i think its ,mostly the weak powerplay not that the devils have been good anywhere latley.

i wonder if there is anyway to fill a assistant coach spot with a powerplay guru type,its just not possible to say the devils dont have the players to have a top notch powerplay at this point.is fetisov still trying to play cause he would be perfect as an assistant coach again.

by Imperator_Celtic on Feb 15, 2010 7:37 PM EST reply actions

Are the devils done making trades?

I know the first thing that comes to mind is, that yes the devils got their man in Kovalchuk, but with the poor play recently I’m not so sure Lou is done… Also people might be thinking well we’re gonna get Martin and Clarkson back but with just three days until the trade deadline after the Olympic break ends it will be hard to measure how they are playing with just 1 or 2 games under their belts… Just was wondering what anybody else thought…

by atlantic division on Feb 15, 2010 10:29 PM EST reply actions

Defensive woes

The Devils have never been an offensively dominating team, regardless of the talent that they have had up front. In their defense-first system, low-scoring games have always been the norm for the Devils, and it is has been pretty common for the Devils to win a lot of 1 goal games over the course of a season. This year, however, it seems that they have made offense a much bigger priority and have focused less on the defense. I feel this is a mistake, particularly with an aging Brodeur. Over the past few seasons, we have seen Brodeur fall off at the end. He turns 38 in a few months and cannot be expected to play the entire season. Especially this year, where the defense has been without Paul Martin since October and is thin to begin with, forcing Brodeur to essentially carry the team.

This is not the only problem though. The emergence of Andy Greene in the first half of the season was the real reason they could carry on without Martin. So was the play of Dean McAmmond and Rob Neidermayer, both older but seemingly reliable players. Recently, both have been showing their age, and Andy Greene, while still a quality defenseman, seems to have lost a lot of confidence. It seems almost inevitable that the Devils will need to look for help on the blueline before the deadline to snap out of this skid and get back into form for the rest of the season and ensuing playoffs.

Finally, I’m not sure why the Devils brought Corrente back down to Lowell. No, he didn’t play like Scott Neidermayer, but he did a fairly decent job, considering he hasn’t played that much at this level. While I have thought in the past that Mottau is a better defenseman than Colin White, White has played pretty well through the slump and Mottau has been awful. Would bringing up Corrente to replace Mottau really be a poor decision?

As a last thought, perhaps someone should post something on what it would take to get Scott Neidermayer back as a Devil from Anaheim, considering what the Devils have currently in their system and their remaining draft picks.

by NJPenguins08 on Feb 16, 2010 9:18 AM EST reply actions

Be careful when you use extreme terms like “never”… the Devils led the league in scoring in 00-01 ;)

I think the Corrente move might have had something to do with the roster freeze and the long break. If he’s down in Lowell, he can continue to play, whereas if he’s up with the big team he’s subject to the layoff. Or not… I might be wrong, but that’s my thinking about it.

Agree with your points about Greene, McAmmond and Niedermayer. They were good acquisitions. They didn’t just fulfill their roles, they overachieved. But now they’ve fallen back to being the mostly adequate role players they were expected to be and the team needs to address or adjust to that.

Well, Scotty has a NTC, if I’m not mistaken, so the first thing would be to get him to waive that. Anaheim currently sits 2 points out of the 8th playoff spot in the West, so it depends on whether they believe they’re buyers or sellers in the two or so days after the Olympics where teams can make trades before the final trade deadline. As far as personnel, I’m sure if they were going to trade Scotty, they’d be looking for some young defensive studs to fill in the loss of not only him, but also of Pronger last year.

Personally, I’d rather Lou not give up a guy like Fraser and whomever else is coming up just for 20+ games of an aging, though still largely effective, Scott Niedermayer.

by elesias on Feb 16, 2010 11:27 AM EST up reply actions

Defensemen and NTCs

I don’t think Scott Niedermayer has an official no-trade in his contract, but I doubt the Ducks would move him anywhere unless he gave his approval to be traded.

I also would hate to see someone like Fraser or Corrente moved. I would hope, that when Paul Martin gets back, he’d be paired with Fraser to take some of the extra minutes away from the other pairings.

My gut feeling is that Pandolfo (assuming of course he waives his NTC) and the last year at $2.5 mil on his deal would be someone Lou would like to move this summer to clear some cap space.

I’m sure he’d also like to make Rolston’s contract disappear, but with a $5 mil+ cap hit, NTC, and the “Over 35 rule” not lowering or eliminating his cap hit via buyout or demotion respectively, moving him seems impossible…

by HockeyWeasel on Feb 16, 2010 12:58 PM EST up reply actions

Comments on Scoring

Did my research for you: (Note that the year stated is the second year of the season so 98 is 1997-98)
Goals For / Against Rank
98: 9th / 1st (out of 26)
99: 2nd / 6th (out of 27)
00: 2nd / 7th (out of 28)
01: 1st / 5th (out of 30 from now on)
02: 21st / 3rd
03: 14th / 1st
04: 14th / 1st
06: 22nd / 9th
07: 27th / 4th
08: 27th / 5th
09: 15th / 4th
10: 21st / 2nd (through Olympic Break)

I think the point is made about whether or not the Devils focus on Offense or Defense first. I think Scotty does not have an NTC but you make a good point about where Anaheim sits. Still, if Anaheim is competing for a Cup run (after all, just making the playoffs is not the accomplishment a team is looking for) they need to upgrade their squad and being on the bubble, they may decide to let Neidermayer go if they can get something good in return. I think the Ducks are probably interested in Nick Palmieri (they drafted his brother), Zharkov (who has shown some promise), and either Fraser (can play now) or Corrente (better future potential than Fraser. That’s not a bad deal I don’t think. Perhaps adding a physical forward too like Leblond or something.

by NJPenguins08 on Feb 17, 2010 12:14 PM EST up reply actions

It was largely a tongue-in-cheek reference to people’s inclination to use definitive, all-encompassing terms like “never” and “always”. There were a few years there where the offense was pretty dominating, despite the team’s dedication to defense…

I’m assuming GM’s are talking now about things, but the thing to remember is that once the roster freeze lifts, there are only 2 or 3 days until the trade deadline, so there isn’t going to be a large window of opportunity for judging post-Olympic performances. A lot of decisions will need to be made and finalized in a very short time. I don’t know how Anaheim feels about their chances, but as everyone is quick to say, anything can happen in the playoffs, so if they’ve got a shot to get in, they might be happy with that (they made some noise as the 8 seed last season, taking Detroit to 7 games), and some personnel decisions might be influenced by performances at the Olympics.

by elesias on Feb 17, 2010 3:54 PM EST up reply actions

Here's the thing :

It WILL sort itself out in the end….Whether the Devils enter the Postseason as the Division Leaders or not, the fact is that they WILL be in the Postseason. We will find out THEN if all the problems they’re having right now will still be there.

There are 21 games remaining(I think) in the season…Let’s see how this team progresses.

by BNTHIS on Feb 16, 2010 10:48 AM EST reply actions