Misfortune and missed opportunity has been the name of the game for the New Jersey Devils. It was a different story last year. The team was on fire for most of the regular season and they turned it up even higher for the playoffs. They steam rolled their way to the Cup. This year's squad however, has looked like a shadow of that championship team.
Team Play
The team has started to make improvements recently and they are holding on to their position in the middle of the Eastern pack. Time will tell if the Devils are contending or just pretending. For their below average season so far, this team deserves a below average mark.
C-
Coaching
Dave Lewis has not motivated his troops like the team's former boss, Pat Burns. There simply is not the same intensity in practices, and this is spilling over into their games. The players like Lewis and everyone of them would call him a friend, but the defending champs do not need a friend, they need someone to kick their ass.
D
Forwards
One of the biggest disappointments this year has to be the play of two way sniper Simon Gagne. He led the league in scoring last year and was instrumental in the playoffs. This year, he is almost non-existant. He still possesses great speed and the team is not giving up on him.
Scott Gomez and David Legwand, the team's top two centers have not been nearly as effective this season. Gomez is getting pushed off the puck and Legwand has not been able to find chemistry with either Gagne or Ryder.
Some bright spots up front include the hard working Antoine Vermette, Michael Ryder and his deceptive wrist shot, and newcomer Alexei Kovalev who started off slowly but has since started to light the lamp.
C
Defenders
As bad as the forwards have been this season, the defence has been worse. Turnovers and sloppy coverage have cost them more than a few games. Scott Neidermayer is the only Devil blueliner that has shown any consistency so far. Without him, the team would be spiralling down the drain pipe with little chance of climbing back up.
Big men like Pavel Kubina and Kyle Mclaren are not as confident this season. They are struggling with the speed of smaller forwards and backing off the play rather than attacking.
Brent Sopel has been the worst of the Devil defencemen. He has not been able to find the net with his booming shot, and has been caught out of position too many times to count. Coach Lewis has consequently dropped him to the 3rd pairing and limited his ice time to ten minutes a game.
D
Goaltending
In the past, when the Devils were not playing well, no one woulld know because their goalie would bail them out. That isn't happening this year. Brodeur has been average and for someone as brilliant as he is, average is a huge disappointment. The season is still young and when Brodeur finds his form, the Eastern conference will be in for a rude awakening. But until that happens, the Devils will only go as far as their goaltending will take them.
In the back up role, Felix Potvin has only had a few opportunities to showcase himself. Most would agree that he performed well when called upon.
C-