The week ahead for the Devils: Adversity and more Adversity

The Devils come back home after a 4 game road trip where the were 3-1. They will play only three games this week: against Dallas on Wednesday, and in a home and home series against Philadelphia on Friday and Saturday. The good news is that I will be able to watch the game live on Friday night as it is broadcasted on NASN in Europe.

This week is going to be interesting because the Devils are facing some adversity for the first time this season. Hey the season is only 5 games old!

The Devils will have to play without Bobby Holik who is out for 3 to 4 weeks with a broken finger and without Brian Rolston who is out with a high ankle sprain. For example, Sidney Crosby missed over 25 games last year with the same injury. Hopefully Rolston will be back sooner than that because he is supposed to be a significant part of Jersey's offense.

Vrana will keep his spot on the Devils since he is the extra forward available and the Devils just called Letourneau-Leblond from the minors. Vrana is versatile and offensively gifted. Letourneau-Leblond brings a physical dimension that hopefully won't turn into a penalty fest. It is good in a way to have him up against the Flyers as Sutter always liked to put up a physical team up against the Flyers.

The injuries to Holik and Rolston really hurt the team and the replacements will get an opportunity to bring something to the team.

The adversity will also come from our opponents. The Dallas Stars (1-3-1) and the Philadelphia Flyers (0-3-2) aren't exactely coming to Jersey on a high roll. That's something that bothers me because teams like that always find a way to rebound against my favorite teams.
Dallas also visits the Atlantic division (Rangers, Devils and Islanders) and you can count on Sean Avery to try to find his old glory on common grounds. I hope someone will make his life miserable on Wednesday night, hey why not Pierre-Luc?

Some good news from the Lowell Devils where they had a nice start of the season. Two wins, one loss and one shootout loss: 5 points in 4 games. OK that's not spectacular but they are on their way to a better season than last year. A nice mix between experienced vets and young pros. It would be nice if the Lowell Devils could have a decent season and if our young prospects could benefit from it.