Sure, the Devils would love to win all the games on this trip to inject some positive energy into their team, but it will be difficult. I say if they can win at least 3 games on this trip, it would be a success and it should get things going for them. They are playing 3 games in California, 1 in Canada, and against defending champion Blackhawks.
I say that they at least would want to get a point in San Jose. It will be tough, but I think they can go into their building and win. The Devils have struggled in Anaheim in recent visits and have not won their since January 2003, but have had some success at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Vancouver has been extremely unfriendly to the Devils, though they did pull out a victory their in January 2009 and Marty would love to best his friend and rival Roberto Luongo. And then there is Chicago, the defending champions. Former Devils captain Scott Stevens always hated losing against the defending champions as he was when the Devils walked into Detroit in December 2002 and lost in overtime. Detroit won the Cup in June 2002, and Stevens was unsatisfying to leave Motown with a point, something most teams would be proud off. The Devils played better than the Red Wings in that game. So, Chicago is not any different. There is a lot of pressure on the Devils on this trip, but they know that the margin for error on this trip is zero to none.
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As I mentioned defenseman Anton Volchenkov will likely rejoin the team somewhere on the Western Trip, which will be a huge boost for the Devils since he is one of the best defensive defenseman in the game. Lou Lamoriello did say he will not play in San Jose tomorrow or Anaheim on Friday. This seems to be an indication that he will likely practice with the team on Thursday and Los Angeles is a possibility, but the likely target is Monday in Vancouver. It seems that John MacLean's job is not in jeopardy yet, but if the team continues to struggle by mid-late November, some jobs on the team will be in jeopardy.
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