It is Saturday, December 11th, 2010, we are exactly 8 days away from the NHL Holiday Roster Free or Christmas trade freeze as many call it. Will the Devils make changes before then to improve their team or will they continue to stay the course? Lou Lamoriello has been very adamant about staying the course in the past few days, but was evasive with questions about John MacLean. The Devils sit 15 points away from the 8th spot in the Eastern Conference and tonight they face the highly skilled and octane Detroit Red Wings at Prudential Center. So, again will changes be made after tonight, because if they do stay the course, it is a bad course to stay on. John MacLean has not been assured anything for now, but should the Devils lose again tonight and probably will lose tonight, fans will definitely chant fire MacLean and will do so if they get off to a rough start.
The Devils lost last nights game on a controversial no goal call from Toronto. They probably did get screwed by the league, but it was not the reason they lost. MacLean said they should have scored early and often. The Devils continue to get off to slow starts and are always playing catch-up. I think when push comes to shove, the Devils will have to fire John MacLean and hopefully Lou Lamoriello realizes that very soon preferably after tonight. Even a win might not be enough to save MacLean's job especially if the team shows up flat, which is expected after the emotions at the end of last nights game against Ottawa.
Tonight's game will mark the return of former Devil Brian Rafalski to New Jersey. He missed last years game due to injury, so it will be his first game against the Devils. Rafalski signed a 5 year $30 million dollar deal with the Red Wings in Summer 2007 and won the Stanley Cup that year in 2008. He is multiple Norris Trophy Winner Nicklas Lidstrom's defensive partner and they are considered on of the best defensive pairings in the NHL along with Seabrook and Keith of Chicago.
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