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.
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