The New Jersey Devils have roared into 2008 with wins in three of their last four games and a first-place hold in the crowded Atlantic Division.  They have climbed aboard goaltender Martin Brodeur's shoulders as he leads them into the New Year.  Unfortunately, Brodeur will not be seeing some familiar faces on Wednesday night, when the Devils host Florida at the Prudential Center.

While Jay Pandolfo and Karel Rachunek were placed on injured reserve retroactive to the date of their respective injuries, Arron Asham and Patrik Elias are unlikely to compete as well.  Pandolfo is still recovering from his pubic bone ligament injury he suffered during the Devils come-from-behind win on Nov. 28, and Rachunek’s right ankle is still sore from the Devils’ 3-1 third-period rally over Edmonton.

More recently, Elias strained his groin during the Devils-Sabres meeting this past Friday night, missed the Devils-Islanders game approximately 24 hours later, a game in which the Devils seemed exhausted, and is questionable (50-50) against the Panthers (TG).

Until the groin injury, Elias had struggled offensively, but seemed to have regained his confidence on a recent Western Canadian road trip.  After Vancouver blanked New Jersey 5-0, Elias contributed a goal and an assist in the decisive third period of the Devils’ 3-1 win over Edmonton.  His pass to Dainius Zubrus led to Brian Gionta’s decisive tally, 35 seconds after he tied the game on a cross-ice feed from Gionta.  Two nights later, Gionta supplied Elias with a beautiful perfect one-timer that beat Miikaa Kiprusoff merely 25 seconds into overtime.

After a holiday vacation, the Devils hosted the Sabres at the Rock in another low-scoring Devils victory.  Defenseman Mike Mottau scored a rare goal, only his second this season and seventh for all Devils’ blueliners, which sent the game into overtime and eventually the shootout period.  Brodeur stopped all three Sabres’ shooters and Zach Parise’s lone goal provided the Devils with the 2-1 win.

However, Elias injured his groin versus Buffalo and was unavailable in Long Island.  Then, Asham followed Zach Parise’s lead as the next Devil to contract the flu this season.  Head coach Brent Sutter is not confident about Asham’s return on Wednesday.

The Devils consequently activated their farm system, specifically forwards Noah Clarke and Barry Tallackson from Lowell of AHL, who practiced with the team this morning (TG).  A former Los Angeles Kings draft choice, Clarke has 20 games of experience in three seasons.  He has scored two goals in his career and added one assist.  With the Lowell Devils, Clarke has 12 goals and 13 assists in 25 games this season.

Unlike Clarke, Tallackson has always been in the Devils organization since they drafted him in 2002.  He scored his first NHL goal in the 2005-06 campaign and added an assist in 10 games that year.  Last season, Tallackson played in three games for the Devils, but failed to score any points.  He has 12 goals and 21 points for last-place Lowell.

Sutter said that Tallackson and Clarke may play against Florida, but there are no guaranteed spots, sine he may still go with 11 forwards and seven defensemen.

In the meanwhile, Brodeur will make his ninth consecutive start in goal for the Devils.  He is 19-13-2 thus far, and leads all Eastern Conference netminders with 149,067 votes in the NHL All-Star Fan Balloting.  He is 30-11-7 lifetime against the Panthers with a 1.98 goals against and five career shutouts.

For the Panthers, who are 1-1 in two early October home appearances against New Jersey, they will turn to the goaltending of Tomas Vokoun and offensive contributions from Olli Jokinen.  Vokoun was outplayed by Devils reserve Kevin Weekes in their first meeting, but came back to defeat Brodeur in their second meeting five days later.  Vokoun has seen his goals against decrease and save percentage increase each month of the season, and ranks 18-14-2 with three shutouts.

Jokinen can be credited it with the Panthers’ success offensively.  Averaging a point per game, Jokinen has 20 goals and 19 assists in 39 games, including 16 points on the power play.  Although the Panthers remain in the bottom quarter of the NHL with 95 goals, they will take advantage of power play chances.  They have converted 19.3 percent and rank in the league’s top 10.

Florida’s fifth-best 30.4 shooting average will face New Jersey’s tenacious defense, which has allowed an average of 26.7 shots on goals (seventh) and Brodeur, of course.

However, Florida’s inconsistent play has left it with three losses in their last four games.  They have scored three goals in the defeats, but five in the victory.

Nathan Horton, who manufactured a 30-30 season last year, has only scored 10 goals and 15 assists thus far and is on pace for 50 points.  After a solid start, he managed goals in two December contests and finished with seven points in 13 games, in which they went 6-5-2, which included a three-game win streak.

Notes:

Even with a strong power play, Florida averages 2.44 goals per game, slightly better than New Jersey’s 2.37 average.  Florida is 26th and NJ 28th in the league.

The Devils’ special team ranks 27th in power play efficiency and 16th in penalty killing, after placing 15th and 4th respectively in the 2006-07 campaign.  They worked on the power play in  a recent practice.

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