Devilishly Good: The Devils are back!

After 23 games played, I thought it would be good to sit down and reflect on the beginning of the season. The Devils have played 23 games, going 11-10-2. They have climbed back to .500 just recently thanks to a successful road trip. They are currently 8th in the Eastern Conference and that would mean a playoff spot if we were in April. Of course it is way too early to be speculating about a playoff position but after most teams played between 20 and 24 games, one thing is sure: there is parity in the NHL.

The playoff races of recent years have been very close with the Devils winning the Division on the last day two years ago and the Islanders squeezing in on the last day last year. It is early yet but apart from Ottawa and Detroit, there are not really any dominant teams. Same on the other side of the standings. Washington has been struggling before getting a new coach in the East. Los Angeles and Edmonton are last in the West but not too far. In the general standings, there are 21 teams within 5 points of each other. Special mentions go to the Flyers, who turned things around from last year. Same goes with Montreal and the Islanders who are much better than what most people thought they would be. In the West, Chicago is benefitting from the play of rookies Kane and Toews and Anaheim is still trying to regain its Cup winning form. Did I say Cup hangover?

What about the Devils?
There was a lot of adversity to begin the season. New coach, new system, new players, new arena... And you think there is something wrong with me calling this adversity. Well I really believe the Devils were a little disturbed by all this. Don't forget this organisation doesn't like waves and thrives on consistency. The start of this season has been pretty much like the first year back after the lockout. Adjustments were needed and it surely took some time for impatient fans: hey we will never get used to losing. The good news is that it looks like the Devils have turned things around. And here is why I think they did :

- In the last ten games, they have a 6-4 record. I could even write 6-3 in their last 9, because the tenth game is the dreadful loss to the Penguins. But I don't want to write that game off because it might be what turned the Devils around. That 5-0 loss at home to the Penguins have been instrumental to the awakening of the Beast. Sutter's reaction after the game was really telling of the down point the team had reached:

"To me, tonight was a total lack of professionalism by our commitment as individuals and as a group, our preparation for how to play. It’s totally unacceptable. I will not accept that. That’s not even close. That's players' accountability to the front of that jersey."

Next thing you know Sutter punish them through practices and they come out with a nice win against Philadelphia (4-1) after letting the Flyers score the first goal. That game was definitely a nice response from the players.

- Since then they lost two very close games to the Islanders (off to a good start) and one against the Rangers (do you think low scoring games are boring?). Apart from that it has been winning: twice against the Pens and once against the Flyers, Atlanta Thrashers and Tampa Bay Lightning. The two wins against the Division leading Flyers are very encouraging. And even though Tampa Bay, Atlanta and Pitsburgh are not exactely top of the line, they boast some very impressive forwards. Kovalchuck and Hossa for the Thrashers, Malkin and Crosby for the Penguins and Lecavalier for Tampa. What's encouraging is the way the Devils' defense has responded to the challenge of those scoring machines. The defense is back and that's always a good sign in Jersey.

- Talking about the defense being back, it is interesting to note that Jamie Langenbrunner and Colin White are back and it might be a coincidence but the team is successful since. Langenbrunner has 2 goals and 6 assists for 8 points in 6 games and more importantly, his game has really improved the Devils' power play. There has been a lot of things said about the team and its slow start. But getting back these two veterans is even better than a trade. We get two capable players and we lost nothing. We now have a little more depth and can rest some players.

- Marty Brodeur is back. Yeah Marty is getting old (sarcasm), yeah he plays too much (I kinda agree) but after a slow start, we can officially say Marty is back. His stats are probably not up to where he wants them yet, but they are improving tremendously. He has a 2.44 GAA and .906 SV%. The one stat he probably doesn't like is he has 9 wins against 10 losses and one OTL. But since that 5-0 loss to Pitsburgh where he got yanked, his GAA is 1.62 and his SV% is .934. Beyond numbers, there are some incredible saves he made in the last few games. Weekes has been doing a good job backing up Brodeur with 2 wins and an overtime loss.

- Some players are starting to come around. In the last nine games, Zach Parise has 10 points (4G-6A), Gionta has 9 (4G-5A), Langenbrunner has 8 (2G-6A) and Zubrus has 7 (4G-3A). The Defense has also contributed with Rachunek (1G-3A, plus 10 on the +/-) and Oduya (3 assists). Rachunek and Greene lead the team with a +10 on the plus/minus rating. It is nice to see our forwards producing. Patrick Elias is getting a little better offensively (2 goals and 2 assists in 7 games) although he missed the last two games with the flu. What's encouraging is the fact that struggling forwards don't feel as much pressure when the team is winning. And If the Devils keep it this way, Elias will come around too.

- Style of play. The last two games I have seen (Atlanta and Flyers) have showed the execution of the new style of play Sutter has tried to put in place. Especially the game against Atlanta where the Devils were back to the basics. The defense was almost mistake free and in the way of shots. Brodeur was sharp. Atlanta forwards were silenced and didn't really have a chance and boy were the Devils forechecking. That was a well manufactured win and that word really translates what the Devils are capable of when at their best. Give the other team nothing, work hard and win.

What's next for the Devils?
The Devils are going back home after a 4-0 road trip. They have played 7 games at home (3-4-0 record) and 16 on the road (8-6-2 record). Home hasn't been quite as friendly as the road for the Devils since their last two home games have been close losses. Their next 5 games will be at home (Dallas, Montréal, Atlanta, Boston, Washington). It will be nice to get away from Atlantic division rivals and mesure up against four teams they haven't played yet this season. The Devils should keep things simple at home too and try to bring their road success momentum to Newark. Keep it up Boys!