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.
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