After emotional few days, Devils set focus on Canadiens

It has been an emotional roller coaster for the Devils in the past 48-96 hours. On Saturday morning, Patrik Elias Welcomed a baby daughter named Sophia Gabriella. Following that, the Devils defeated the Flyers in the shootout. Yesterday the entire Devils organization attended the funeral for former coach Pat Burns in Montreal. In fact, most of the hockey world was at the funeral along with obviously his family. The NHL hierarchy was there with Commissioner Gary Bettman and Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly. Also on hand were Leafs GM Brian Burke, former Devils, Canadiens and current Bruins coach Claude Julien, former Habs coach Jacques Demers, former NHLers Luc Robitaille, Ray Bourque, Guy Carbonneau, Kirk Muller, Patrik Roy and current Habs and former Devils Brian Gionta and Scott Gomez. Scotty Bowman was there as well along with most of the Habs organization like owner Geoff Molson and Bob Gainey and Pierre Gauthier.

Now, the Devils must focus on continuing their turnaround this season, which they hoped started last week in which they went 3-1. The Devils face the Montreal Canadiens at Prudential Center on Thursday and then a rematch against the Flyers in Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon, so it is another two crucial games for the Devils. Next week, the Devils go to Pittsburgh on Monday and then a back to back in Ottawa next Friday and return home against Detroit on Saturday. So, it will be tough going for them.

Jamie Langenbrunner and Matt Corrente all practiced today with the Devils and both hope to play Thursday. Martin Brodeur (elbow), Jason Arnott (flu) and David Clarkson (Personal) did not practice. Brodeur will not play this week and its very likely he will return next Friday in Ottawa at the earliest.

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The Washington Capitals today acquired defenseman Scott Hannan from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for center Tomas Fleischman. It is a good trade for the Capitals, who need some veteran experience on defense. Fleischman was a healthy scratch a few times this year, but his skill should help the Avalanche in some ways.

Updated Standings Predictions (no Stanley Cup Prediction)

Now that we are at the 1/4th mark of the season, I thought I would predict the standings again. Here were my predictions back in September:

Eastern Conference:

1. Pittsburgh Penguins
2. Washington Capitals
3. Boston Bruins
4. Philadelphia Flyers
5. Ottawa Senators
6. New Jersey Devils
7. Atlanta Thrashers
8. Tampa Bay Lightning
9. Montreal Canadiens
10. Buffalo Sabres
11. New York Rangers
12. Carolina Hurricanes
13. Florida Panthers
14. Toronto Maple Leafs
15. New York Islanders

Western Conference:

1. Vancouver Canucks
2. San Jose Sharks
3. Detroit Red Wings
4. Chicago Blackhawks
5. Phoenix Coyotes
6. Colorado Avalanche
7. Calgary Flames
8. Los Angeles Kings
9. Minnesota Wild
10. Dallas Stars
11. St. Louis Blues
12. Nashville Predators
13. Anaheim Ducks
14. Columbus Blue Jackets
15. Edmonton Oilers


Here are the current standings:

Eastern Conference
Team GP Pts
1. * Washington 25 36
2. * Philadelphia 25 34
3. * Montreal 24 31
4. Pittsburgh 25 32
5. Tampa Bay 24 29
6. NY Rangers 25 29
7. Atlanta 24 27
8. Boston 22 26
9. Carolina 23 23
10. Ottawa 24 23
11. Buffalo 25 21
12. Florida 22 20
13. Toronto 22 19
14. New Jersey 24 18
15. NY Islanders 22 15
* = Division Leader

Western Conference
Team GP Pts
1. * Detroit 21 32
2. * Vancouver 22 27
3. * Dallas 22 27
4. Columbus 22 28
5. Chicago 26 28
6. Phoenix 22 27
7. St. Louis 22 27
8. Colorado 23 27
9. Los Angeles 22 26
10. San Jose 22 26
11. Anaheim 25 25
12. Minnesota 22 24
13. Nashville 22 23
14. Calgary 23 20
15. Edmonton 22 16
* = Division Leader

Here are my updated predictions

East:

1. Pittsburgh Penguins
2. Washington Capitals
3. Montreal Canadiens
4. Philadelphia Flyers
5. NY Rangers
6. Tampa Bay Lightning
7. New Jersey Devils
8. Boston Bruins
9. Atlanta Thrashers
10. Ottawa Senators
11. Carolina Hurricanes
12. Buffalo Sabres
13. Toronto Maple Leafs
14. Florida Panthers
15. NY Islanders

West:

1. Detroit Red Wings
2. Vancouver Canucks
3. San Jose Sharks
4. Los Angeles Kings
5. Colorado Avalanche
6. Chicago Blackhawks
7. Phoenix Coyotes
8. St. Louis Blues
9. Columbus Blue Jackets
10. Anaheim Ducks
11. Minnesota Wild
12. Dallas Stars
13. Nashville Predators
14. Calgary Flames
15. Edmonton Oilers

Notes: The west is tight and a toss up in my mind as spots 7-13 will be shuffled a lot between now and then. Should be a very interesting race, much more than the east. I will have my awards predictions tomorrow or Wednesday.

Devils starting to get healthy as they enter crucial month of December

In the past few years, the month of December has been easy for the Devils as they usually dominated the opposition and barely struggles through it. However, the case in the past usually attributes to fast starts by the Devils. Now, this is not the case for them as the Devils stand at 8-14-2 and eight points out of the final playoff spot in the east with 24 games played this year. They are facing roster problems with the salary cap and injuries and most importantly a terrible record. So, the month of December will be very instrumental to them and could decide the fate of their season.

Many hockey analysts usually predict a teams fate for the year once the calender strike January 1st of the new year. It is very safe to say as I have mentioned in my previous posts, that the Devils cannot afford more than 2-4 losses this month. They need to build a string of five to eight straight wins and this will likely get them out of their funk and get them back into being the team they are accustomed to being, which is playoff or even cup contender.

The turnaround, which the Devils and their fans hope finally began last week might be getting more sweeter this week when Jamie Langenbrunner is expected to return along with Martin Brodeur. Langenbrunner has skated on his own last week, but will practice tomorrow with the team. This could mean that someone is going back to Albany and it could be Vasyunov or Gionta. Brodeur is not expected to practice tomorrow, but Wednesday is a small possibility. He definitely likes to play against Montreal, but without practicing at least two days, Montreal might not be possible for him.

Bryce Salvador rode the stationary bike today, so its a small step for him in his recovery. He did not comment on any timetables for his return. Salvador as of two weeks ago was still not cleared to begin off-ice workouts or even lift any weights, so the bike might only be light workouts. It seems that his return is probably anywhere from mid January-late February. Mark Fraser is now in a small cast and hopes to begin skating this week on his own. Corrente had a sore neck and hopes to play on Thursday. Jacob Josefson and Zach Parise are still on a longer mend and Matt Taormina is week to week. So, we shall see what happens. The Devils are getting healthy, which is always good.

Devils taking baby steps to get back into playoff race

After an 0-3 road trip with all devastating losses, it seemed obvious that changes were coming and that possibly a coaching change would be made, but after a 3-1 record this past week, the Devils are finally taking baby steps to get back into the playoff race. December is usually not a month to start talking about playoffs, but for the Devils they need a good December and January in order to get back to being the playoff contender they are accustomed to being. They started by finishing November off on a high note with a 5-0 win over Washington and a couple of 2-1 shootout wins over the Flames and Flyers. There was that one blemish on Friday against the Islanders.

Now comes the do or die months of December and January, because simply put some of the upper echelon teams like the Capitals, Flyers and Penguins in the east and Red Wings, Sharks, Canucks and Hawks in the west will look to secure playoff births in those months. The Devils are so used to being included amongst those teams, but it might not be the case come March for them as they will likely be fighting for the final four spots in the eastern conference. After an 0-5-2 start at home this year, the Devils have now won 4 straight on home ice and with a win on Thursday against Montreal can get to the .500 mark at home. Now, they have to establish consistency on the road even though their next road game is against the explosive Flyers next Saturday at 1 PM ET.

The big key for the Devils now is to get Ilya Kovalchuk out of his slump. If they cannot with their current players, then Lou might have to try to get a center who can develop chemistry with him. So, we will see what the Devils are made off this month as they await the possible returns of Josefson, Salvador, Salmela and Langenbrunner and possibly Taormina from injury, which might force Lou to make some moves.

Entire Devils team will travel to Montreal Monday for Pat Burns funeral.

Although there are only 4 current Devils remaining from the 2003 team that won the Stanley Cup, Lou Lamoriello made it known today that the entire organization will travel to Montreal for his funeral. The funeral will begin at 2:30 PM ET at Montreal Cathedral. The team will practice at 9 AM ET and then travel for the Funeral Services, so it will likely be a brief practice with some fast drills.

It is definitely a nice gesture and shows how Pat Burns was a huge legend in the NHL and how he touched the sport of hockey. Patrik Elias, Martin Brodeur, Jamie Langenbrunner and Colin White are the only ones currently playing that were on the 2003 Stanley Cup team. Scott Stevens is also likely to go along with Ken Daneyko. There is no word on who else will be there though all the teams that Pat Burns has coached in the NHL have Monday off, so it seems like most or maybe the entire contingent of the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins will attend.

Joe Nieuwendyk, who is now the GM of the Dallas Stars has not yet announced whether he will attend. Nieuwendyk played on the Devils 03 team, but missed the finals with an injured oblique muscle. Jeff Friesen and Scott Niedermayer have also not announced. Niedermayer will likely attend since he was so valuable to the Devils and their 3 championships. Friesen is currently in Europe, so its highly unlikely he will make it although you never know. Mike Rupp, the 2003 hero will not be there since Pittsburgh plays the Rangers on Monday.

Hedberg leads Devils to shootout home win over explosive Flyers, Kovalchuk scoring drought continues, 4th line comes up big, Elias out

Whatever energy the Devils lacked yesterday on Long Island was there today against a highly octane explosive Flyers unit. Johan "Moose" Hedberg made 40 saves in the effort to lead the Devils to a shootout victory over the Flyers as the Devils for now avenged that playoff defeat. The Flyers outshot the Devils 41-25 in the game and 31-14 in the 2nd period though overtime including 14-5 in the 3rd period, but Hedberg stood tall.

Adam Mair gave the Devils a 1-0 lead 11:49 into the 1st period. However, Danny Briere connected on a power play goal at 8:38 in the 3rd period to tie the game at 1. The Flyers dominated the Devils in the third period, but the Devils kept competing and fighting something they did not do until the third period yesterday afternoon against the Islanders.

In the shootout, Kovalchuk and Tedenby missed their attempts for the Devils as did Claude Giroux, Danny Briere, and Mike Richards for the Flyers. Nikolai Zherdev scored the first shootout goal during the session for the Flyers, but Jason Arnott tied it up for the Devils and Mike Richards hit the left post. With the game on his stick, Travis Zajac scored to seal the win for the Devils and Johan Hedberg.

Ilya Kovalchuk played well today, but did not score. He had 8 shots on goal, but lost the puck in overtime, which could have been a goal had it stayed in his stick. Though, the Devils were 0-3 on the power play, it was very eventful as they had a bunch of chances. They had a very good first period with 11-10 shot advantage.

Patrik Elias was out today, because his wife is expected to give birth any moment right now, so hopefully after this, he can rekindle his scoring touch. Matt Taormina was placed in IR retroactive to 11/12 against Edmonton. Great win for Devils today.

Devils struggles at Nassau Colosseum continue as they are shutout by lowly Islanders, DiPietro earns 2nd straight Shutout against Devils

If there was one team the Islanders could beat at Nassau Colosseum and snap their 14 game losing streak, it would be the Devils. And, they managed to do exactly that Today with a 2-0 shutout win against the Devils. Joe Joensuu and Rob Schremp scored for the Islanders. The goose egg for the Devils is their 4th this season and their road power play struggles continued. It was also their third loss at Nassau Colosseum in their last four visits to Long Island, two of them were shutout loses. Last year DiPietro blanked the Devils 4-0 at Nassau, but today, he made 29 saves.

Matt Corrente missed today's game with an upper body injury and their was no word on his availability tomorrow. Olivier Magnan took his spot in the line-up and struggled as well as the Greene, Fayne pairing. The Devils only generated their best offense in the 3rd period out-shooting the Islanders 13-1 including having a 5 on 3, but failed to score any goals or generate much on it. This is not the loss to have these days especially with the surging Flyers coming in tomorrow to Prudential Center. After tomorrow, the Devils will have 4 days off before facing the Montreal Canadiens next Thursday. It seems that John MacLean's job is safe for now, or at least it is week to week. If the Devils continue struggling to score goals, trades or more call-ups could happen. Adam Henrique and Vladimir Zharkov could be up next for a call-up.

It seems highly unlikely Devils captain Jamie Langenbrunner would return tomorrow or Matt Taormina. Langenbrunner has been skating on his own and is on target for next Thursday's game against the Habs. Taormina has an ankle sprain he suffered in practice and is currently on IR.

Langenbrunner could become trade bait with sucess of Devils rookies.

While Jamie Langenbrunner is nursing a sore neck, the Devils youth is continuing to thrive with his absence. Most notably it is the play of Mattias Tedenby and Alexander Vasyunov. Both players are making strong cases to remain with the team for the entire season. The question now is, who goes back to Albany when the Devils finally receive some of their injured players back? Langenbrunner and Taormina are very likely to return the earliest, which could send Fayne and Magnan back to AHL. Fayne has played well in two games thus far. Following them it is Anssi Salmela, who could return next weekend from a knee injury. This could send Taormina or Corrente back to Albany. Then it is Brodeur, but McKenna will go back to the AHL. Now the question is, who will become trade bait when Parise, Salvador and Josefson are ready to return? Parise and Josefson could send players like Gionta and Vasyunov/Tedenby back to Albany.

The question is do the Devils want to get younger on defense, which could put Salvador and White on the trade block. Tedenby and Vasyunov would be easy to send to Albany since they are in year one of their deal. It seems obvious that the Devils would need to trade a big salary contract to clear up cap space since the team will need to sign Parise to a new contract. Brian Rolston and Colin White would be difficult to trade since they have hefty salaries and no movement clauses. Rolston would have a cap hit of $5.025 million, while White is at $3 million. Salvador is at $2.9 million and Langenbrunner is at $2.8 million, so they would be easier to move. Dainius Zubrus is also a possibility as well as David Clarkson or Travis Zajac. But, with the play of Josefson, when he was healthy and now Tedenby, Langenbrunner would be a good trade bait. He is in the final year of his deal and has a flexible no movement clause.

If Langenbrunner is dealt, it could pave the way for Parise to become the new captain of the New Jersey Devils. Or, Patrik Elias could regain that role. With Langenberunner hurt, Elias has become more vocal in the locker room. So, we should see what transpires between now and the NHL trade deadline, which will be sometime in late February, early March.

Devils spoil Sutter's return to NJ with 2-1 shootout win against Flames, finally win 2 in a row, complete Alberta sweep, Tedenby continues to shine

The Devils finally won two in a row for the first time this season by beating the Calgary Flames 2-1 in a shootout. This time Ilya Kovalchuk did not lose the puck and redeemed himself by scoring on Henrik Karlsson. He was the first shooter for the Devils. It was a nice move by John MacLean to let Kovalchuk participate in the shootout, so obviously it did not deflate his confidence. David Clarkson and Rene Bourque exchanged goals in regulation. Neither team clicked on the power play thought there was not many penalties in the game.

The Devils win also spoiled Brent Sutter's return to New Jersey as coach of the Flames. It was a match-up of similar struggling teams, who thus far have had trouble scoring goals. The Flames out shot the Devils 26-21 in the game, but Johan Hedberg continues to gain confidence as he shined again. Devils rookie Mattias Tedenby continues to do so as well. It was him who shot the puck which deflected of David Clarkson's foot and went in the net. He did lose control of the puck in the shootout, but was able to get the shot off and missed. Hedberg was stellar in the post overtime session by being a blockade for Flames shooters.

With the victory, the Devils not only won two in a row, but completed the Alberta sweep this season by beating both the Flames and the Oilers, but both needed extra time. Next for the Devils is at the Islanders on Friday followed by a rematch against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday at home. Both games will start at 1 PM. Two of the next four games for the Devils will be against the Flyers and both will be 1 PM starts, even next Saturday December 4th at Philadelphia. The Flyers will be a huge test for the Devils as they went 1-4-1 against them last regular season and were knocked out in five games by the Flyers in the playoffs 4-1. In fact some of the Devils worst games last year were against the Flyers and their only victory in the regular season came when the Flyers were hurt and having their struggles. So, we shall see what the Devils are made off this weekend.

Devils getting set to face former coach Brent Sutter and his Calgary Flames, Game 7 collapse/loss in 2009 Playoffs to Carolina still haunts Sutter

The Devils will use the same line-up tonight against the Calgary Flames as they did in their 5-0 win against Washington on Monday night. This means that Olivier Magnan will sit this one out again and Johan Hedberg will get the start in net. Henrik Karlsson will go for the Flames. Former Devils head coach Brent Sutter returns to Prudential Center tonight as coach of the Flames for the first time since the devastating 81 second collapse in Game 7 of the 1st round of the 2009 Playoffs against the Carolina Hurricanes. The Devils had a 3-2 lead lat in game 7 before Carolina scored two goals in the final two minutes of play to bounce the Devils out of the playoffs. That loss still haunts Sutter and probably some of the Devils have not yet recovered psychologically from it, which likely affected their performance against the Flyers in the 2010 playoffs.

Brent Sutter resigned as coach of the Devils in early June 2009, about two weeks before the draft to be closer to his family. Many thought he would take a year off from coaching to follow his daughter's athletic career, but a few days later he accepted his brothers offer to be the coach of the Flames surprising many Devils fans. Darryl Sutter is the GM Of the Flames. However, the Flames did the Devils good swapping first round picks, the Devils moved up to select Jacob Josefson in the 2009 draft.

Last season, Sutter's Flames beat the Devils 5-3 at the Saddledome in Calgary, so the Devils will look to avenge that loss. Sutter still talks to Lou Lamoriello as well as other Devils or former Devils. He also praised Lou for bringing in John MacLean as coach despite MacLean being on the hot seat. Finally, Sutter also acknowledged that he enjoyed his time with the Devils, but obviously he wanted to see his family more often and Calgary provides that flexibility.

Devils get revenge against Capitals in 5-0 rout, serve Burns proud, Tedenby making strong case to stay with Devils for year

The Devils finally started a winning streak, well a home winning streak as they now improve to 2-6-2 on home ice for the season by shutting out the explosive Washington offense 5-0. Back on October 9th, the Capitals won by 5 in a 7-2 rout which included a penalty shot goal by Alex Ovechkin and a near brawl in the end, but this one did not have the brawl aspect, but it also included a penalty shot. Patrik Elias scored on the power play to make it 1-0 and Jason Arnott later made it 2-0 with his first of two on the night. Mattias Tedenby made it 3-0 on a penalty shot goal which closed out the 1st period. Arnott made it 4-0 early in the 3rd and Dainius Zubrus made it 5-0 and the Devils never looked back.

Before the game the Devils honored Pat Burns, who passed away on Friday at the age of 58. So, the team made his spirit proud in the win and now hopefully they can finally start something good and build off tonights game. They wore PB patches on their right shoulder and will wear it for their next 4 home games and possibly the year. Mark Fayne became the 9th different Devil to make his NHL debut and played very well and was very mobile. Ilya Kovalchuk was effective, but was again left off the score sheet.

Mattias Tedenby is making a strong case for himself and if he continues to work hard and play well, it does not seem like he will see Albany again this season. Tedenby scored his 3rd goal of the year on a penalty shot with another nifty move. Despite his small frame, he always goes into danger zones and comes out unscaved even during a big hit. Vasyunov also played another strong game. Johan Hedberg made 30 saves in the shutout for his first full 60 minute win of the year. He got "Moose" chants throughout the game. He won his first game in a relief appearance against Chicago 5-3. Good to see him get back on track.

Devils to honor Burns before Washington game at Prudential Center, Fayne recalled

The Devils are beginning a string of 4 out of their next 5 games at home and look to finally establish consistency on home ice. The Devils are 1-6-2 on home ice this season, but cannot simply continue to free-fall. So, this week is the most important week for the team in terms of trying to finally establish a sense of urgency and begin to be effective offensively. It seems all but certain the Devils need to win 3 out of the 4 games this week in order to have any hope of getting back into the playoff race while its vaguely possible.

Much like the Canadiens, Leafs and Bruins did on Saturday night, the Devils will honor their former coach Pat Burns in a video tribute and a moment of silence before tonights game against Washington. Burns passed away on Friday night of cancer at the age of 58. Funeral Services will be held next Monday, November 29th. He led the Devils to their last Stanley Cup triumph in 2003 in his first year as the teams coach, but stepped aside from the job in 2004 after learning he had colon cancer. Burns beat colon cancer as well as liver cancer before being diagnosed with incurable lung cancer leading to his death.

Defenseman Mark Fayne was recalled by the Devils on emergency basis and it is possible the Devils could use 7 defensemen and 11 forwards tonight. All defense is healthy with the exception of Taormina, Salvador, Salmela and Fraser. Fayne is 6-3 so he should give the Devils some size. The Devils will try to avenge their 7-2 loss against the Capitals back on October 9th. Johan Hedberg will start in net for the Devils as he has also struggled this year especially at Prudential Center much like the Devils did. Again John MacLean is still fighting to keep his job.

MacLean's job is still up in the air as Lamoriello begins evaluation

With 20 games through what has been the worst season in recent Devils history, GM Lou Lamoriello must now figure out how to stop the bleeding. While John MacLean will coach the team against Washington, his job status is not week to week it seems. 48 hours is not enough time to make a trade, but that does not mean that Lou is not working on a few things and still evaluating John MacLean as the coach of the team.

Lamoriello believes certain players, not the coach have to step up, but if these players are not willing to get out of their funk, it usually falls back on the coach. Right now, this week will tell a lot about this Devils team. They play 4 games against Washington, Calgary, NY Islanders and Philadelphia. Calgary and the Islanders are winnable games, though the Devils could have a let down against them. The Devils sure would want to avenge their 7-2 loss in Washington back on October 9th, which had a nasty end to it. They would also like to get revenge against the Flyers, who eliminated the Devils in 5 games in the first round of the 2010 playoffs.

So, it seems that is the Devils do not win at least 3 out of their next 4, major changes will come and it could involve the coach. The Devils will have 4 days off after next Saturday's game against Philly before playing Montreal at home on December 2nd. So, that should give Lamoriello some leverage to finish his 20 game evaluation even though the Devils will have already played 24. The Devils will also have to eventually trade someone once more players start getting healthier to solve their salary cap woes which have definitely been a distraction this season and most definitely have factored into their struggles. If they win 3 out 4 this week, I think they could be on their way to turning things around.

If there is a minor change the Devils could make, it should be to fire Adam Oates

Adam Oates was brought to NJ to do only one things, improve a very disastrous and struggling power play, which has plagued the Devils late last season. But, instead, the power play has gotten worse and is becoming more uneventful each and every game. If Lou Lamoriello is not going to make any radical changes when he evaluates the team sometime between now and Monday's game against Washington, he should start by firing Adam Oates as assistant coach and maybe just leave MacLean and Robinson to do the job.

It seems unlikely that MacLean would be fired, just because it would not be fond of Lou to do so due to the death of Pat Burns, so his job is likely safe for the time being. But, Lou Lamoriello could still fire MacLean if the Devils do indeed continue their epic free fall with no hope or end of ending their slump. It looks like the Devils season has taken a turn for the worse, but like I have mentioned many times, the Devils might need to hit absolute rock bottom and maybe missing the playoffs is not a bad thing.

Losing trends continue for Devils as Blues spoil McKenna's debut

We are now 20 games though for the Devils in the 2010-2011 season and it appears as if the Devils are heading for their first non-playoff year since 1996. Tonight, the Devils showed desperation at times, but the offense continued to fire mostly blanks in a 3-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues. The Devils had a 1-0 lead on a Clarkson goal seconds into the game, but the Blues tied the game on an Alex Pietrangelo goal, which probably should have been whistled down, but the referee did not lose sight of the puck and the Blues stuffed the puck in. The Devils took a 2-1 lead on a Mattias Tedenby breakaway, but the Blues used the boards to their advantage as another weird goal but the Devils as it deflected off the end boards and hit McKenna's back and bounced into the net on an Eric Brewer goal. Brad Winchester's deflection sealed the game for the Blues 3-2.


Jaroslav Halak was shaky at times, but managed to make 35 saves as the Devils outshot the Blues 37-27, but yet could not get the bounces the Blues did. McKenna played well and his reflexes were good, but it was not enough for the Devils. The Blues had a very good defensive 3rd period and the Devils could not get anything generated. It was the Devils 3rd straight regulation loss and the trends seem to continue this year as it has been 1 win followed by 2-3 straight losses, so now the question is do the Devils panic and blow the roster apart and how safe is John MacLean? According to Mark Everson of the NY Post, Lou Lamoriello insists MacLean's job is safe for now, but thats only the NY Post reporting.

It will be interesting to see how Lamoriello will evaluate his team coupled with mourning the death of Pat Burns. Many Devils fans are calling on Lou to fire the coach and it might just happen, but the question in when? The Devils are now 5-13-2, probably their worst start in franchise history through 20 games. What a sad time to be a New Jersey Devils fan right now, but on the bright side you finish in the bottom 5 of the NHL, you get a lottery pick, which the Devils could use. It seems that for at least year one, the Kovalchuk contract is bad omen for the team, but Kovalchuk will explode in my mind, but the Devils do need to trade for a viable center to play alongside Kovy as Zubrus and Zajac are failing miserably.

Devils hoping to get a boost from Mike McKenna in net tonight, Brodeur to miss 10-14 days, Canadiens, Leafs to honor Burns tonight in a tribute

It was a world-wind 24 hours for the Devils as they learned of the passing of former coach Pat Burns, but the focus tonight is solely on the St. Louis Blues as the Devils hope to honor their former coach by trying to turn their disastrous start around and get back into being a perennial playoff contender. One person hoping to provide a spark is goaltender Mike McKenna, who was called up from Albany and will make his first start for the Devils in his hometown of St. Louis. Former Devil and fan favorite Cam Janssen will not play tonight though, but neither is Pierre-Luc LeBlond for the Devils. Both LeBlond and Janssen were involved in one of the longest fights last season at Prudential Center.

Martin Brodeur will not play at all this week after an MRI revealed a deep bruise in his right elbow. He has no structural damage, but was forced by doctor to rest his elbow for 5-10 days, so he will only miss maximum two weeks. His target to return will be Thursday December 2nd at home against Montreal.

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The Montreal Canadiens will honor Pat Burns along with the Toronto Maple Leafs tonight before their game at Bell Centre in Montreal. The Habs and the Leafs were Burns' first two head coaching jobs, so the tribute will happen in a form of a video montage and a moment of silence. It will be a perfect send off for him as the two original six teams face-off against each other. The Devils have not yet made any plans to wear a patch or initials anywhere on their uniforms or helmets in memory of Pat Burns, but its expected that they will at some point this season. Both the Devils and Bruins, his previous two head coaching jobs are also expected to honor Burns in the coming days. The Devils will likely do it on Monday before their game against Washington.

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The Funeral for Pat Burns will be held on Monday November 29th at Montreal Cathedral. The Devils have off on that day as well as the Bruins, Habs, and Leafs, so its likely everyone will attend his funeral, though Lou Lamoriello has not announced which Devils will attend. It is likely to be attended by hundreds or thousands.

Former Devils coach Pat Burns has passed away

It is with great sadness that today the hockey world has lost a legend. Former Devils, Leafs, Canadiens and Bruins coach Pat Burns has died at the age of 58 after a lengthy battle with Lung Cancer. The Devils learned of his passing earlier today and it is such a sad loss to the hockey world.

Pat Burns coached and led the Devils to their last Stanley Cup triumph in 2003, but a year later was forced to step aside after being diagnosed with Colon Cancer during the 2004 playoff series against the Flyers. Burns would recover from Colon Cancer, but later the cancer returned and ultimately spread to his lungs. Not too long ago Burns had stopped responding to treatment and decided to end the process.

He is survived by his wife Line, his daughter Maureen, son Jason, stepdaughter Stephanie, stepson Maxime and grandson Samuel. Burns also has won three Jack Adams Awards as coach of the year, which leads the NHL. He also led the Canadiens to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1989 in his first year as an NHL coach, but the Habs lost to the Calgary Flames that year. His greatest accomplishment was the Stanley Cup in 2003 with the New Jersey Devils.

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It seems obvious that the Devils will hold a moment of silence before Monday's game against Washington to honor Burns.

Fallout from Devils 3-1 loss to Toronto

Instead of making a long title, I have decided to explain the Devils 3-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs in Toronto. The new line of Ilya Kovalchuk, Dainius Zubrus, and Alexander Vasyunov played well and accounted for the lone Devils goal with Zubrus getting the tally. Mikhail Grabovski, Phil Kessel and Kris Versteeg scored for the Maple Leafs. The Devils were scoreless on their power play and have scored only one road power play goal all season.

Tonight's loss to the Leafs might have huge ramifications since Toronto is one of the worst teams in the NHL along with the Devils. The Devils held a players only meeting at the end of the game reportedly requested by longtime Devil Patrik Elias. They discussed the teams struggles and how to possibly turn things around. St. Louis is now a must win for the Devils or it is very likely that coach John MacLean will lose his job, which already might be in the back of Lou Lamoriello's mind. Lamoriello might not wait until after the Blues game and might make the change tomorrow.

Martin Brodeur re-aggravated his right elbow injury and will undergo further tests tomorrow by the same doctor that operated on his torn-biceps tendon two years ago. If the injury is not as serious, he might meet up with the team in St. Louis, but for now either Hedberg, McKenna, or Frazee are the possible starters for the game. One things is certain, MacLean's job is in jeopardy no matter how the Blues game turns out. His job is on the line every game so they better play with passion and desperation. Claude Julien was fired with 3 games to go in the 2006-2007 season and the firing came after an impressive win against the Boston Bruins. Lamoriello's reasoning for the firing was that the team was not mentally prepared for the playoffs, but the Devils won their first round series against the John Tortorella coached Tampa Bay Lightning in 6 games team despite trailing the series 2-1 at one point.

Devils face must win games in Toronto and St. Louis and Beyond

It might be safe to say that every game left in the month of November is a must win for the struggling Devils squad which entered thus season with huge expectations. Now, the Devils are fighting to get out of the NHL cellar and get back into looking like an actual contender. Getting a lottery draft pick is usually not in the Devils vocabulary, even though in the new NHL since the lockout, teams have fared well due to having these lottery picks in the pre-lockout and early post-lockout era's. Examples are Carolina, who drafted Eric Staal, Pittsburgh with Crosby and Malkin and Chicago with Kane and Toews. But, the Devils always have lofty goals and expect to win the cup every year much like the Chicago Bulls did during the Jordan era.

Tonight could be a start of what everyone in Devil land has been hoping for, a winning streak even though a win would only bring the streak to 1 game. If the Devils lose one game out of their next two, major changes could be coming and the first of which could be a coaching change. There are many Devils fans on Twitter and Facebook that are calling for Lou Lamoriello to make a coaching change. Lou Lamoriello himself might have to step back into coaching, I mean after all it was under his coaching that the Devils actually advanced past round 1 in the playoffs. But, the catch is that current Devils coach John MacLean was by his side diagramming probably each play.

So, tonight's games as well as each game is a must win for the Devils, but especially the next 4 games. If the Devils do not win tonight, maybe Lou does not wait until the 20 game mark and starts making some changes as the Devils simply cannot afford to keep digging themselves into a bigger hole only to play desperate hockey in February/March/April as that might be too late. Last year, the Carolina Hurricanes started the year out very poorly, but played desperate hockey in March, but it was too little too late. So, the Devils must have a good end of November and a dominant December to get back into contention.

Devils looking to get back on winning track in Toronto and beyond

After being shutout for a 3rd time in 6 games on Monday night against the Bruins, the Devils must now play with tremendous acts of desperation. They can start against an up and down Toronto team tomorrow night at Air Canada Centre. It will be the middle game of a three game road trip for the Devils as they conclude it in St. Louis on Saturday night.

These next two games will could very well be John MacLean's final games as Devils coach if they lose both or even one. Lou Lamoriello will evaluate the team after the game in St. Louis, but many around the organization feel that MacLean will stay on as coach for at least this season. Some fans on twitter have been calling for MacLean to get fired, but again it is all up to Lou what he feels is best for the team going forward.

Jason Arnott did not practice today as he attended the funeral for former NHL defenseman Luke Richardson's daughter. He will meet up with the team in Toronto and play tomorrow night.

Flames acquire Babchuk, Kostopoulos from Hurricanes

The trading in the NHL has began this season as the Calgary Flames have acquired defenseman Anton Babchuk and forward Tom Kostopoulos from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Brett Sutter and defenseman Ian White. Sutter is the cousin of current Hurricanes forward Brandon Sutter and White was involved in the Dion Phaneuf trade last year.

The Flames needed to make a move with their struggles and Babchuk is a spark on any power play. Flames coach Brent Sutter knows Babchuk very well when he was the Devils coach facing Babchuk of the Hurricanes. Babchuk was very lethal against the Devils and should display it next Wednesday in their match-up. It was a good trade for the Flames as they add some scoring to the defense and some grit to the front line.

Now the question becomes, will the Flames trade their captain Jarome Iginla? The LA Kings are a possible destination with their sleuth of prospects, but the best fit could be the Pittsburgh Penguins, which will be bad for the Devils. Crosby and Iginla had chemistry at the Olympics and it might be the medicine center Iginla needs to resurrect his star power. But, we shall see what happens with him.

Changes could come to Devils after Saturday's game in St. Louis, Coaching Change Possible

If the Devils continue to struggle after their game in St. Louis on Saturday night, major changes could be coming. Lou Lamoriello yesterday told Rich Chere of the Newark Star Ledger that he is happy with the way MacLean is handling the job with the current circumstances, but would not allude any further on that. He did say that he evaluates the team every 10 games, so Game 20 of the season will come this Saturday night in St. Louis, so we shall see then.

There is huge speculation that Lou Lamoriello himself would coach the team if MacLean were to be fired. Lamoriello coached the Devils for the majority of the 2005-2006 season when Larry Robinson resigned due to stress and family matters and at the end of the 2006-2007 season when he shockingly fired current Boston Bruins coach and then coach Claude Julien with 3 games left in the season. The Devils were 2nd in the East at the time of Julien's firing. During both of those stints Lou had John MacLean at his side and MacLean was a huge part of the Devils 15 game winning streak at the end of the 2005-2006 season, which included 11 straight to end the season and a sweep of the NY Rangers in Round 1 of the playoffs. So, you would have to back John MacLean in that regard. Though Lou would likely hire a coach outside the organization if MacLean is fired, some candidates are in my previous post.

But, trades could also come as the team does need to clear as much salary cap space as possible in order to do any business close to the trade deadline. So, the Devils need to put together a win streak, a big win streak in order for jobs to be safe.

Time for Lou to think about firing MacLean as coach

Sure, the Devils cannot afford to fire another coach and add more headache's to an already disastrous season, but Lou Lamoriello should start to consider firing John MacLean as coach of the Devils. Some of headaches are injuries, salary cap problems, early season struggles, you name it. It could be worse than Murphy's Law. The Devils need someone with NHL Head Coaching Experience and there are some qualified candidates.

The favorite would have to be Ken Hitchcock, who is very familiar with the type of hockey the Devils are accustomed to playing. He can get Marty Brodeur to play better and can establish a winning feeling within an organization. Other guys could be Dave Lewis, former Flyers coach John Stevens, Chicago Assistant and Jersey Native Mike Haviland, former Avalanche and Thrasher coach Bob Hartley, former Thrasher coach John Anderson, Pittsburgh assistant Tony Granato, Red Wings assistants Paul MacLean or Brad McCrimmon, Florida assistant Mike Kitchen, former Blues and Kings coach Andy Murray, or Columbus assistant Bob Boughner with a long shot being Albany coach Rick Kowalsky.

It seems unlikely MacLean would be fired, but if they are not in a playoff sport by mid-December, it might be time for Lou to consider pulling the plug on him.

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The Devils moved Zubrus to the top line with Kovalchuk and Vasyunov ans moved Zajac to the third line with Rolston and Clarkson. Another desperate measure which might not work. Bryce Salvador was at the Prudential Center today. He is feeling much better, but has not been given any medical clearance to start working out at least, so he is still month to month in his recovery from a concussion. Seems that he could be out until February or March with all the "Status Quo" statements from him and Lou.

Devils again fail to start winning streak after 3-0 loss to Bruins in Boston. (Devils now shutout for 3rd time in last 6 games)

Sometime this year the Devils will put together a winning streak, it just did not start tonight. The Bruins took advantage of a 5 on 3 late in the 1st and that was a killer for the Devils as Michael Ryder scored on it. Back on October 16, the Devils failed to take advantage of a 5 on 3 in the first and tonight the Bruins did. Nathan Horton and Blake Wheeler each score early in the 2nd and 3rd respectively to give the Bruins a 3-0 edge. Tim Thomas shined again with 28 saves. The Devils were 0-2 on the Power Play.

The referee's again were miserable tonight especially calling Adam Mair for goaltender interference giving the Bruins a 5 on 3. Now the question is how long will John MacLean keep his job after another loss? The answer could come any day now and it would not surprise me if Lou fires him tomorrow. The team just needs a spark and a coaching change is probably the only chance for that spark. Marty Brodeur continued his early season struggles and continues to be battered with more questions about his play. Is it time for Marty Brodeur to be benched and be a backup an not a starter? That day seems like its coming.

The shutout loss tonight was their 3rd in the last 6 games. Back on November 1st, they lost 3-0 to the Canucks, on November 5, 3-0 to the Rangers and now another 3-0 loss to Boston. These are the types of losses that do get your coach fired. Now that Scott Gordon is gone on the Island, is it time for Lou to fire MacLean and bring in an experienced coach?

Devils aiming to start winning streak in Boston tonight as they go for two in a row, Scott Gordon Fired as Islanders Coach, Is MacLean next?

Things have not gone particularly well for the Devils after they have won a game this season. The trend has recently been a win and 2-3 straight losses, but that will have to stop tonight as they visit the Boston Bruins in Boston. The Devils embark on a 3 game road trip and will visit Boston tonight, Toronto on Thursday and the resilient St. Louis Blues on Saturday night. So, tonight would be a very good start for the Devils to finally win two in a row.

Matt Taormina and Jamie Langenbrunner will not play tonight with lower and upper body injuries respectively. Taormina hurt his foot in practice and Langenbrunner has a sore neck and both will have MRI's to determine the extent of the injuries though both remain hopeful to return on Thursday in Toronto. Matt Corrente will return to the Devils line-up to fill in for Taormina. Olivier Magnan will also play with a sore foot but will wear extra padding. Martin Brodeur and Tim Thomas will be the starting goalies.

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Scott Gordon is this years first coaching casualty after being fired by the Islanders due to a 10 game losing streak. Many thought John MacLean would be the first due to the Devils slow start, but it indeed was Scott Gordon. Jack Capuano, the coach of their AHL affiliate in Bridgeport will take over on an interim basis and the assistant coaches will stay on. Now, the question is, who is next? If the Devils continue to struggle and do not put up a winning streak, John MacLean's name will continue to surface and re-surface. For now, Lou Lamoriello insists that he is safe and that Friday nights win at home against Edmonton probably saved his job for now.

Tonight was finally the night, Kovalchuk, Youth, Power Play come through for Devils 1st home win of the year

Isn't it amazing how things in this world can change in 48 hours. Tonight was a perfect display as Kovalchuk was the hero in the Devils overtime victory over the Edmonton Oilers at Prudential Center. It was their first home win of the year and they are now 1-5-2 at home for the year. The crowd cheered Kovalchuk and have probably forgave him for his blunder on Wednesday against Buffalo, which was rock bottom for a player of his caliber.

The Devils youth came through today as Alexander Vasyunov and Mattias Tedenby got their 1st career NHL goals. Brian Rolston also scored in his return from injury and the Devils were 2 for 3 on the power play including the tying and game winning goals. The Oilers blew a two goal lead twice in this game. They led 2-0 with both goals coming from Colin Fraser and 3-1 on a Sam Gagner tally, but the Devils kept fighting and probably got the type of win they needed.

The Buffalo Sabres are now the only team in the NHL without a home victory, but its coming for them. Hopefully this win is finally the one that sparks the team and gets them on a winning streak. Henrik Tallinder played probably his best game as a Devil tonight despite a poor first period by him. This was a redemption win for the Devils and they were send of by cheers to night and the right guy scored in overtime for them tonight.

Brodeur, Rolston back in Devils line-up in must win game tonight vs Oilers, Langenbrunner out

Martin Brodeur will be back in goal tonight against the Edmonton Oilers at Prudential Center and Brian Rolston will also return to the Devils line-up. Johan Hedberg will return to the backup role. Rolston has not played since October 9th against Washington after suffering a sports hernia or groin injury against Washington. However, team captain Jamie Langenbrunner will sit this one out with a small upper body injury, so the there will be three alternate captains tonight with Elias, Kovalchuk and either White or Arnott.

The Devils cannot overlook this Edmonton team as the Oilers have had the Devils number in the last two years and have won the last time they visited "The Rock." The question still remains, will tonight finally be the night the Devils win their first home game of the season, or will their hole keep getting bigger and bigger and deeper? Ilya Kovalchuk is hoping to put Wednesday's failed shootout attempt behind him and the Devils are hoping to put the lowest points of the season so far aside. It is safe to say, the Devils cannot afford to lose another game for the month of November and must start some kind of win streak. Tonight is a must win for the Devils, because it simply cannot get any worse as it did in the end of Wednesday's debacle.

Kovalchuk is not Devils problem, rest of team must step it up

I know Kovalchuk only has 3 goals this year and on pace for a dismal 20-25 goal year, but he is not the problem or the solution. Simply put, the team must step its game up and not worry about him too much. The fans are all focusing on Kovalchuk, because of his skill with the puck, but he has three or four guys on him at all times in his vicinity. He cannot be relied upon to do everything or score every goal which the fans are asking of him. I have mentioned this time after time and will continue to mention it, the Devils need secondary scoring and they have the ingredients to do so, but they have not shown it yet.

It is easy to fire the coach in John MacLean, but simply put the Devils cannot afford to fire him, because they have already had 5 coaches since the lockout ended in 2005. They are Larry Robinson, Lou Lamoriello twice, Claude Julien, Brent Sutter, and Jacques Lemaire. The Devils need to try to build and develop with MacLean as he learns the coaching business. He does seems nervous at times still, but a few wins will definitely ease those nerves and get his self-esteem and confidence up. If Devils fans want to boo Kovalchuk, they need to think again, its only year one of the fifteen year package and they already are on him.

They need to boo Elias, Langenbrunner and White among others. Out of the new additions, Volchenkov looks good and other have been shaky. Tallinder has struggled, but he is an every other year type of player, one year he is good, the next he is terrible. There will come a time when the Devils will miss the playoffs and it could happen this year, but they need to play with a more sense of urgency and minimize their mistakes and do not be afraid to healthy scratch players who are not performing up to their standards.

Devils might want to think about next year already as 2010-2011 Season is heading nowhere

Forget their 4-10-2 record, the Devils might want to start thinking about next year, because simply put as much as I want to see them turn things around, I cannot see it happening if they continue to play like this. It will be very tough for them after a loss to the lowly Sabres tonight and their Defense is breaking down again and again. Tallinder continues to struggle.

So, it seems to be the Devils will be a target by 29 NHL teams this season, but hopefully during the summer they can retool and get a reality check. This is not a panic post, but simply put this team has no structure and no system that could win them games. Ilya Kovalchuk can only do so much, but he is invisible out there, so for now it might be best for them not to make the playoffs and get a lottery draft pick.

Like I have mentioned in my Can/Will Devils turn season around post, it might not be bad for them to miss the playoffs and that means they can develop their youth more. They need help on defense ASAP.

Devils again fail to win at home, but lose in shootout 5-4 on Kovalchuk's fanned shot

An 0-5-2 home record is not what the Devils envisioned when this season started, but now it has become much of a reality. The Prudential Center post game interview will have to wait until Friday or whenever the Devils choose to win a home game. Tonight, they came close again but fell short all because of a fanned Kovalchuk shootout attempt. Kovalchuk lost control of the puck and by rule, it is a miss in the shootout. Tonight was a crucial game for them considering they had 4 days off and all the time to fix their mistakes, but those mistakes continued and it was another tough start for Johan Hedberg and another bad game for Henrik Tallinder. Jamie Langenbrunner scored the lone shootout goal for the Devils and Thomas Vanek and Derek Roy for the Sabres.

Jason Arnott scored in the 1st period and it ended 1-0 Devils, but two quick goals 13 seconds apart in the 2nd for the Sabres gave them a 2-1 lead. Jason Pominville and Derek Roy scored them. David Clarkson tied the game up at 2 and the Devils grabbed a 3-2 lead on a power play goal by Jason Arnott. Yes, they finally scored a power play goal. However, Tyler Myers tied the game at 3 on a similar goal to the one he scored on Hedberg back on October 23rd. The Devils did get a Jamie Langenbrunner goal late in the 2nd to end the period 4-3 Devils. But, the lead did not last as Tyler Ennis scored in the 3rd to tie it up at 4.

It was an embarrassing loss today considering the Sabres had their 3rd string net-minder Jhonas Enroth in goal, not Ryan Miller or Patrick Lalime, both actually have played well against the Devils. Right now, the question is will the Devils face consequences for the loss tonight and how patient is Lou Lamoriello after a loss like this one? Well, Brian Rolston will return on Friday. Mattias Tedenby had an assist on Arnott's first goal of the game. This game could not have ended in a worse way with Kovalchuk loosing control of the puck in the shootout. Would not surprise me if there is another benching of him and he deserves it 100%. John MacLean is definitely on the hot seat after tonight.

Hedberg seeking redemption vs Sabres tonight, Tedenby to make NHL Debut, Rolston finally admits not living up to big contract

Tonight is probably the most important game for the Devils as they seek their first home win of the season and there is a lot in stake for them in tonight's match-up. 15 games into the season, the Devils are 4-10-1, not what they envisioned with all the talent they possess. So, there yo see, there is a lot riding into tonight's game. Johan Hedberg will be seeking redemption against Buffalo, who lit him up for 4 goals back in their October 23rd match-up against Buffalo at Prudential Center, which they lost 6-1 as Brodeur let in 2 goals. Buffalo, along with the Rangers has been the most successful team in Prudential Center, so it will be a very tough affair tonight so the Devils better beware of them.

Lindy Ruff will be coaching his 1000th game as Sabres coach, which is a very huge accomplishment considering how many times his job was in jeopardy in recent years. Buffalo is a true meaning of first class organization due to the management and coaching of Darcy Regier and Lindy Ruff.

It will be an extra special night for Devils rookie Mattias Tedenby as he will make his NHL debut. He will be the 8th Devil to do so this season. The others in no particular order are Matt Taormina, Olivier Magnan-Grenier, Alexander Vasyunov, Jacob Josefson, Alexander Urbom, Brad Mills, and Stephen Gionta, who will dress again tonight after an impressive debut in the loss against the Rangers.

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Brian Rolston, who will wait until Friday to make his return from sports hernia surgery has finally admitted what most/all of us suspected and that is he has not lived up to the huge 4 year $20.25 million dollar contract he signed in 2008 with the Devils. Hopefully Rolston can stand by this comment and start scoring his goals, revitalizing his point shot on the power play, and earning the paycheck. Matt Corrente is still being bothered by soreness in his hand, so he will not play until at least Friday and Marty Brodeur is hoping for a Friday return. Both Corrente and Brodeur skated at the practice rink while the Devils had their morning skate at the game rink. Brodeur did not take shots from Corrente.

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The Devils will not play again this weekend on Saturday and Sunday, the 2nd straight weekend they will have off. There will be two more occasions when they will not play during the weekend. One will be the All Star Break and the other will be in mid February, when they will have the similar type of rotation like they just had, play on Friday and wait til Wednesday.

Hedberg to start again for Devils tomorrow against Buffalo, Rolston will likely return on Friday vs Edmonton

Marty Brodeur missed today's practice again still being bothered by a bruised right elbow which he suffered in last Wednesday's game against Chicago. So, Johan Hedberg will make his second straight start for the Devils on Wednesday night against the Sabres. Brodeur is not ruling out sitting in as a backup depending on how the morning skate goes for him tomorrow if he does take the morning skate. But, it looks like Jeff Frazee will again be called up to backup Hedberg on an emergency basis. It would be perfect for Hedberg to start against Buffalo to seek revenge for what happened 2.5 weeks ago against them when the Sabres humiliated him in front of a good Prudential Center crowd. He will seek redemption tomorrow.

It looks like Brian Rolston will sit out tomorrow, but is 100% certain to play on Friday against Edmonton. Rolston missed the last month due to Sports Hernia Surgery. The Devils will not need to make a trade for anyone to clear room for Rolston, but will have to send someone down to Albany. This will open the door for Mattias Tedenby to make his NHL debut. Tedenby was the Devils 1st round choice, 24th overall in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. He played for HV71 in the Swedish Elite League.

The Devils will again pitch for their first home win of the year tomorrow night and hopefully these 4 days off helped them in the process. I say its very crucial they win these next two games since its only going to get tougher with the parity in the league. The desperately need to get a winning streak going as I have been saying many times. They need to win 5 straight games or find a way to do so to get back into the thick of things. They are only 6 points out of the 8th spot and 7 out of the 4th spot so at least nobody is really dominating the East this year so far.

Brodeur hoping to play on Wednesday, White likely still out, (Tedenby called up)

Martin Brodeur has not practiced since the teams 3-0 loss to the Rangers on Friday and neither has Colin White. White is still not over the flu he had which caused him to miss Friday's contest against the Rangers and Brodeur still has a sore deeply bruised right elbow. The Devils have to take advantage of these four days off and regroup in order to turn things around this season. The Devils are still winless at home and will try to avenge their 6-1 loss to the Sabres on October 23rd at home this Wednesday at Prudential Center.

Mattias Tedenby was called up from Albany and practiced with the Devils today. He could become another one of many Devils prospects to make his NHL debut this year of he plays this Wednesday. Brian Rolston is also practicing, but he is likely a game time decision this Wednesday. The lines today were:

Kovalchuk Zajac Langenbrunner
Elias Arnott Tedenby
Rolston Zubrus Clarkson
Pelley Mair Vasyunov/Gionta

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It seems that Vasyunov or Gionta will be healthy scratches on Wednesday if Rolston is a go.

Will/Can Devils turn this season around?

If there are any positives to cling on for the Devils after their 15 games this season is that at least they are slumping at the start of the season, not the end like they have been doing the past three years. Is there nay hope that they will turn this campaign around without their star winger Zach Parise? You cannot really answer these questions right now. Maybe it might be time for the Devils to miss the playoffs, because recent cup winning teams with the exception of the Detroit Red Wings have all struggled prior to the lockout as I mentioned in one of my previous posts.

If you are a Devils fan, you cannot be too disappointed if they miss the playoffs, because eventually it is going to happen. And if you are a Devils fan getting heckled by Ranger Fans, just tell them at least we won the cup three times since you won your last. Sometimes, a team can rediscover their identity by missing the playoffs and the Devils are no exception to that. They have made the playoffs every year since 1997, so Devils fans have to be proud and not be too bitter, but only to continue and support the team. Once the Devils finish game 82 at home in April against Boston, regardless of what happens after that, the Devils fan should applaud their team for all these consecutive years of making the playoffs. There are teams that are in existence much longer than the Devils and no Stanley Cups, so you cannot complain.

Is Ilya Kovalchuk the problem for the Devils? It might seem like that for now, but the Devils have made themselves a target at least for the early part of the season. Kovalchuk in reality does not fit into the Devils philosophy of developing their youth and succeeding through veteran leadership. Lou Lamoriello has never been a fan of signing big time free agents, I mean he would even risk letting some of his own free agents leave elsewhere. Why? Because, he believes in his prospects and scouting system. But, that aside, Kovalchuk is not the problem for the Devils, he gives it his all every night, but every player has his bad nights. Just like an average human being at work, he/she will have her good and bad days. Sure, I myself was upset after the loss to Rangers, but come on let it go, just move on and have a positive spin even though their is nothing to be positive about.

So, now the question is Will/Can the Devils turn things around? My prediction can only be this, If they are in the 6-10 spot in the East by January 1st, I think they can sneak into the playoffs. If they are in 1-5, great! But that is the only prediction I can give you guys. Zach Parise's absence will hurt, but injuries are the worst excuse in hockey. And, Johnny MacLean is not getting fired, because simply put the Devils cannot continue to get new coaches. But, the Devils are getting a much needed time off before their next game, so they could use it to clear their minds, and re-focus and try to win their first home game of the year. I have a feeling that this team can turn things around, but like I said it might not be a bad thing for them to miss the playoffs and get a reality check.

Devils now 0-5-1 at home this year after 3-0 loss to Rangers

After a 5 goal outburst on Wednesday, the Devils were brought back to their harsh reality by the Rangers tonight at Prudential Center. The Devils have gotten shutout for the 2nd time in 3 games and fall to 0-5-1 at home thus year. So, the Devils quest to get their 1st home win of the year will have to wait again until Wednesday against Buffalo. Brandon Dubinsky continued his dominance of the Devils with two goals and Brian Boyle had a late 2nd period goal, which sealed the deal for the Rangers.

The Kovalchuk, Zajac and Langenbrunner unit played probably their worst game of the year and had little to no scoring chances. Their best line tonight was the 4th line, which consisted of Stephen Gionta, Brad Mills and Alexander Vasyunov. Kovalchuk took a dumb penalty early in the 3rd, which took the life out of the Devils crowd. Johan Hedberg looked good tonight despite giving up three goals, but the Rangers stood by their identity and just kept everything to the outside and blocked shots. Volchenkov had a strong game along with Urbom, while Henrik Tallinder had a rough outing. Tallinder failed to defend against Dubinsky on the first Ranger goal.

Now the questions will rise again on John MacLean's job security. The Devils will have a much needed four days off to sort all their home problems out. It is very likely that Brian Rolston will play next Wednesday as he is expected to practice Sunday or Monday, the Devils will have off tomorrow unless MacLean wants to send a message. These struggles are getting frustrating as they are getting too far behind and digging themselves into deeper holes. Maybe a coaching change could shake somethings up, because John MacLean is not building on any wins and successes the team has had. The Prudential Center has become a save percentage improvement mecca so far this season as the Devils have not scored more than 2 goals since their 3 goals on opening night against Dallas in the overtime loss.

Devils get ready for Rangers tonight at Prudential Center, Volchenkov back, Brodeur, White out

It will be Johan Hedberg in net for the Devils tonight against the Rangers with Jeff Frazee as the backup. The Devils will seek their first home win of the season tonight and the Rangers could be a nice opponent. Henrik Lundqvist will start for the Blue Shirts. Brodeur is still feeling some discomfort in his bruised elbow despite saying he was going to play tonight against the Rangers.

Anton Volchenkov will make his return to the Devils line-up from a broken nose and stiff neck. Volchenkov also said, he might have had a mild concussion. Colin White will not play tonight due to a flu, so Alexander Urbom was called up from Albany. Stephen Gionta or Patrick Davis will play tonight, but it is not yet been decided, but indications are that Gionta will go. He has inherited #14, the same number his brother Brian wore with the Devils, before bolting for Montreal in Summer 2009. Brian Gionta is now the captain of the Montreal Canadiens.

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Zach Parise, who is out for 3 months has hired Wade Arnott as his agent, with Don Meehan as an assistant agent. Arnott is the primary agent and will represent him in contract talks, while Meehan will help. Wade is also the brother of Devils center Jason Arnott. Both agents recommended the Cleveland Clinic for Parise's knee surgery. It might very well be possible that the Devils will engage in discussions for a new contract extension for Zach, while he remains sidelined, but the team has to sort their salary cap problems out first.

Volchenkov, Brodeur to play vs Rangers tomorrow night, (Gionta and Davis recalled)

If all goes well in tomorrow's morning skate, Volchenkov and Brodeur are in for the Devils against the Rangers at Prudential Center. The Devils will seek their first home win of the year tomorrow and the Rangers would be a perfect opponent. After tomorrow nights game, the Devils do not play again until next Wednesday, November 10th against the Sabres at Prudential Center. Volchenkov will provide a park to the struggling Devils blue line. Brodeur's bruised elbow felt much better today.

The Devils today recalled forwards Patrick Davis and Stephen Gionta. Davis has one career NHL goal and Gionta will make his NHL debut tomorrow. Gionta is the younger brother of former Devils and current Montreal Canadiens Captain, Brian Gionta. David will be a healthy scratch. To make room for them, the Devils sent defenseman Tyler Eckford and forward Tim Sestito back to Albany. If Sestito played tomorrow, he would have to clear waivers to be sent down, so the Devils used that strategy. The Eckford sent down seems to be the indicator that Volchenkov will play tomorrow as said above.

Corrente and Rolston are almost ready to play and could both be available for Wednesday against Buffalo. Rolston would help the Devils power play when he gets back. Salvador is still "Status Quo," but he likely will remain out until December. Anssi Salmela is skating, but he is on target for January return if there is room for him. Obviously, Parise and Josefson are the out 3 months and 6-8 weeks respectively.

Devils offense comes to life in 5-3 frantic finish win against Defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks, (Brodeur Leaves Game)

As I mentioned in my previous posts, former Devils Captain Scott Stevens hated losing to the defending Stanley Cup Champions, and today the Devils followed up on his word defeating the Blackhawks 5-3 at United Center in Chicago. The win happened in frantic finish fashion and brought the Devils to a 4-9-1 record, but the Devils offense finally came to life with five different goal scorers. Jason Arnott opened the scoring in the first period and Travis Zajac made it 2-0 in the second. The Blackhawks cut the lead to 2-1 on a bad angle goal by Brian Campbell, which beat Devils goalie Johan Hedberg, who relieved Marty Brodeur, who left with an above the elbow bruise. The Devils would blow the lead in the third when Fernando Pisani scored to tie it at 2.

But, towards the end of the game Brad Mills scored his first NHL goal for the Devils and then Jamie Langenbrunner sealed the game with an empty netter, or so he and the team thought. With 33 seconds to go, Victor Stalberg scored for the Hawks to make it 4-3 Devils, but Andy Greene added another insurance empty netter. So, there is your frantic finish. Stalberg was involved in the Kris Versteeg trade in the summer.

The Devils finally scored more than 3 goals in a game this year for the first time as they put up 5, granted 2 of them were empty netters. This should increase their psyche and confidence coming home on Friday against the Rangers. Defenseman Tyler Eckford sat through most of the game, probably because the coaches were unhappy with his play.

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There is no word whether Marty Brodeur will play on Friday, but since its the Rangers, he might want to suit up. Lou Lamoriello said, the chances of Volchenkov playing are high. Brian Rolston might start practicing next week and there was no updates on the Devils other injuries. Zach Parise has to wear a knee brace for 6 weeks and cannot drive or do anything physically with it. He will be on crutches. The surgery was done in Cleveland, Ohio by a doctor recommended by his family, though many people feel it should have been done by national renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews in Alabama.

Devils getting set to face Defending Stanley Cup Champion Blackhawks without Zach Parise

If the Devils are going to have any chance to turn their season around, it must start tonight against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Chicago Blackhawks. Scott Stevens, the Devils former captain hated losing to defending champs and the Devils could get the spark they need to turn things around with a win tonight. Tonight's game will be the Devils second game without their face of the franchise Zach Parise, who will miss 3 months after surgery to repair a torn meniscus. It will be up to Ilya Kovalchuk and other struggling Devils to fill the void left by Zach Parise for the 3 month period.

Marty Brodeur will start in net for the Devils and Marty Turco for the Blackhawks. The Blackhawks will dress 10 forwards and 8 defensemen in the game due to injuries to the front line. Here are the Devils forward lines for tonight's match-up:

Kovalchuk Zajac Langenbrunner
Elias Arnott Zubrus
Pelley Mair Clarkson
Sestito Mills Vasyunov

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There is a good chance that Anton Volchenkov will return this Friday against the Rangers. He has been practicing on a conditioning stint with the Albany Devils of the AHL, so it should give the Devils struggling defense a boost. Brian Rolston should begin practicing with the team sometime next week and could be ready to play the following week. Corrente should also be close to returning. Josefson, Salvador, Parise, and Salmela are the Devils longer term injuries though Salvador is likely to be the earliest returnee.

Devils Parise out 3 months after surgery to repair Torn Meniscus

The struggling Devils took a major hit on Tuesday night when it was revealed that their star forward Zach Parise will be out 3 months after surgery to repair a torn meniscus. I thought he would be out much less, but man o man I was dead wrong. This is a significant blow to a team that already struggles to score goals. Parise's injury could not come a worst time. He initially tore the meniscus while training for the season in August, but played through it for the full month of October. If he had the surgery in August, he would be back by the end of this month.

With Parise injured, the spotlight will now shine on Ilya Kovalchuk as he will be the driving force for the Devils goal production. The Devils might want to remember two years ago when Marty Brodeur went down with a torn biceps tendon and missed 4 months, but the Devils found a way to unite as a team. So, the Devils will have to wait until at least February assuming no one gets hurt to ice a full healthy line-up.

Can the Devils make the playoffs without Parise? A lot will depend on how they play in November and December. But if they continue to struggle, Lou Lamoriello might want to consider making a trade or bringing in a veteran forward like Bill Guerin, who could provide some sort of a leadership spark. Like I said, they can be reminded of Brodeur's injury as well and unite with Parise. I still think they will finish 6th or 7th in the East with the Parise injury.

Parise is slated to become a restricted free agent next Summer and no contract talks have taken place. Maybe some will during his absence, but not after the Devils solve their salary cap issues. I believe the Devils will find a way to lock up Parise long-term.

Can Devils turn season around or will they miss the playoffs?

Of all my years of being a Devils fan, I have have never seen the team struggle out of the gate as mush as they are right now. The worst was in 2001-2002 when they started 0-3-0, followed by 2007-2008 where they went 3-6-0 in their first nine. Now the team is 3-9-1, a very dismal start with absolutely little hope of getting out of their funk. Yesterday, the team played well in their 3-0 loss, but yet again the hockey super naturals if you believe in them decided not to get the puck into the net.

Most struggling teams would tell you that if we are going to lose, it better be by a score of 6-4 or 9-6, but at least they remain confident offensively. This is what the Devils should have done in their 9 losses this season and not lose games where they only scored a goal or two, but score at least 4 or 5 just to feel confident that you can score. The month of November will tell a lot about where the Devils might go, but their priority is to put together a winning streak and start getting their injured players back. When they do have a complete team and all the salary cap issues sorted out, I think they will be a force in the East, but they have to manufacture wins with what they have now. I think they will sneak into the playoffs, but missing it would not hurt them as many people would think it would, because they can learn from teams like Pittsburgh and Chicago, who struggled in years before they won their respective Stanley Cups, but their youth got them out of it.

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Like I mentioned yesterday, Parise is out indefinitely and should have his surgery sometime this week to determine how long he will have to miss. The fact that there is no structural, cartilage or ligament damage would probably mean he will likely miss a little under a month.

Devils offense continues to sleep in 3-0 loss to Canucks

There will be a night when the Devils offense does explode, but just not tonight. It was Canucks 3 and Devils 0, the Devils get shutout for the first time this year. The positive for the Devils tonight is that they worked hard, but not hard enough. Roberto Luongo made 30 saves and the Canucks got some lucky bounces and beat Marty Brodeur. It is Luongo's second shutout against Marty in the last three meetings. Back in December of 2007, the Devils were shutout 5-0 at then GM Place, now Rogers Arena. Last season Luongo defeated Brodeur at Prudential Center 5-2.

The question is when will the Devils offense show up? Answers will come on the ice and particularly during the power play, which is going to be very crucial to the Devils success this year. The Problem is that Kovalchuk is the only point shot on the power play with all the injuries, so they need secondary scoring to step up.

With the loss, the Devils are now 3-9-1 and have failed to win at least 3 games on this trip, so right now the hole becomes larger and larger. It will be up to them to unite as a unit to try and turn things around. Some players are already concerned about missing the playoffs, so they have to put a string of wins together to get the confidence back up. The month of November will have to be a big one, so tonight has to be one of the very few road blocks in their mission to turn this season around or heads will roll.

Parise out indefinitely, Josefson out 6-8 weeks, Volchenkov will not play until at least Friday

Zach Parise will be out indefinitely with a knee injury and will undergo arthroscopic surgery on it to determine what is bothering him. There is no timetable for his return and it will be determined after his surgery. Parise suffered the injury while training for the upcoming season back in August, but aggravated it on Saturday night in Los Angeles. The MRI showed no cartilage or ligament damage, so it might not be more than 3-6 weeks.

Center Jacob Josefson will miss 6-8 weeks after undergoing surgery to repair a torn thumb ligament on his right hand. Tough break for the Devils with Parise and Josefson. There were no call-ups today for Vancouver as Sestito will return to the Devils lineup.

Defenseman Anton Volchenkov actually practiced with the Devils minor league team in Albany on a conditioning stint. He will not play tonight in Vancouver or Wednesday in Chicago, but could be available for Friday at home against the Rangers. Volchenkov will be a big boost to the Devils struggling defense when he returns. Matt Corrente remains day-to-day, so he is probable for Friday.

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Brian Rolston continues to skate and will return in a few weeks.

Defenseman Anssi Salmela (torn ACL and Meniscus) started to skate, but there was no update on Bryce Salvador (concussion), so he is still out indefinitely and remains on LTIR.

Devils get set to face Vancouver tonight in Brodeur vs Luongo showdown

The Devils will look to exorcise their demons in Vancouver when they take on the Canucks at Rogers Arena. Vancouver has not been kind to the Devils in recent years as they usually struggle there although they did win there in January 2009. The Canucks have had the Devils number recently as well. However, when these two teams meet, the topic of interest is Marty Brodeur vs Roberto Luongo. It was Luongo, who took over for Marty in Team Canada's gold medal run at the Olympics, so Brodeur will seek revenge for that, but as much as they are rivals, they are also good friends. Brodeur and Luongo grew up close to each other in Montreal.

The Devils will be without Zach Parise tonight and he will remain out for an undetermined period of time. He was to see a doctor today, but the Devils have not released the extent of his injury. Anton Volchenkov continues to skate and there is no word if he will join team in Chicago on Wednesday. Parise's injury means some of the struggling Devils have to step up offensively, much like the team did two years ago in Brodeur's absence. Ilya Kovalchuk is now the face of the franchise with Parise hurt and MacLean believes Kovalchuk should shoot the puck more. Tonight's game is a must win for the Devils since they only have 1 win on this road trip and I said they need to win at least 3 or else it would be a lot more difficult for them to gain confidence.

Injuries, Lack of Scoring, Poor Play, Cap Problems define October for the Devils

Let's not get too ahead of ourselves, but I think the Devils are happy to see that October is over and November is here. The Devils are off to their worst start in over two decades with a 3-8-1 record. This is unacceptable for a team that is expected to win the Stanley Cup year after year. Memories of their first period in the season opener against Dallas are probably long gone as a result of their struggles. The question now is, what would have been of the Devils had Ilya Kovalchuk actually made it 3-0 instead of hitting the post? They probably would be on a roll and their record might be 8-3-1 instead. Moments after hitting the post, Dallas cut the lead to 2-1 and their struggles began from there.

Salary Cap and Injury Problems also added to the Devils struggles. The Devils had Kovalchuk locked up since September 4th, so Lou Lamoriello had a lot of time to make a trade, but decided to wait until training camp was over. However midway through the preseason defenseman Bryce Salvador suffered a concussion and it gave the Devils minor cap relief. During the Capitals 7-2 rout of the Devils, Anton Volchenkov and Brian Rolston suffered injuries and it forced the Devils to ice a line-up with only 16 skaters. Since then, Matt Corrente, Jacob Josefson, Mark Fraser and now the face of the Devils, Zach Parise could miss significant time. The Devils are 0-4-1 at home and hopefully they can finally get one home win this Friday against the Rangers.

If Parise misses significant time, the Devils can possibly learn from 2 years ago, when Marty Brodeur was out 4 months and the Devils united as a team as a result. When Marty first got hurt, the Devils struggled for two weeks before coming together and became the best defensive team in the league. If the Devils cannot score with Parise and Kovalchuk in the line-up it cannot get any worse. It might be time for certain Devils to step up their play and not rely on Ilya. We shall see what November will bring, but it will certainly tell the tale of the Devils season.

The Devils have not missed the playoffs since 1996, but in this new NHL missing the playoffs for a year or two might not be a bad thing. Before the lockout, veteran teams thrived and youth was not emphasized as much. In this new NHL it is all about marketing youth and veterans are struggling to find their grooves. The veterans only have to lead their teams, but its youth putting up points. All the teams that are thriving now, struggled in the years leading up to the lockout. This is all due to high draft picks and youth development. Here are some examples of the Stanley Cup Champs since lockout:

2006: Carolina Hurricanes
Before Lockout playoff year: 2002
Franchise Turning Point: Drafting Eric Staal in 2003 and Cam Ward in 2002

2007: Anaheim Ducks
Before Lockout Playoff Year: 2003 (Lost to Devils in Stanley Cup Finals in 7 games)
Franchise Turning Point: Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry, signing Scott Niedermayer

2008: Detroit Red Wings
-This was the first pre-lockout dominant team winning the cup in the new NHL.

2009: Pittsburgh Penguins
-They have not made the playoffs since 2001 before the lockout and made the playoffs in every year since 2007 by developing youth like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, and Marc-Andre Fleury

2010: Chicago Blackhawks:
-Missed Playoffs almost every year before lockout, but the drafting of Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook, singing Marian Hossa led them to the cup win.

So, for the Devils they might want to think about this and say, maybe it is good for them to miss the playoffs and get a top draft pick, which could turn their franchise around. Teams like Washington with Ovechkin are close to getting over the hump. Edmonton with Taylor Hall, Magnus Pajarvii and Jordan Eberle and the NY Islanders with John Tavares, Kyle Okposo and Josh Bailey are close to breaking out of their funks. The Devils have Parise and Kovalchuk, but they need another youngster who can help.