While I was on vacation, the New Jersey Devils went 2-1.  They were victorious  in both road contests before falling at home to the NY Islanders last night.  I am sure that everyone wants to know how London was, but, more importantly, we need to discuss the Devils current events.  A lot has taken place, including John Madden’s leg injury, special teams updates, shots on goal and the Prudential Center’s attendance figures.

And my trip went well for those interested.

We visited many historical sites including Westminster Abbey, Tower of London, St. James Cathedral, the Roman Baths, Stonehenge, and Windsor Castle where the Queen resides on weekends.  We also saw the traditional Changing of the Guard ceremony up close and personal, enjoyed meals at various restaurants throughout the city of London, saw Ave Q and Spamalot on Broadway there, both hysterically funny, and spent quality time with my brother who currently resides in the United Kingdom.  That should suffice for now.

Back to Devils hockey.

In fact, they defeated Buffalo last weekend for the third time this season via a shootout.  The first time around, Zach Parise scored the lone shootout tally to help defeat Buffalo 2-1.  Brian Gionta and Patrik Elias clinched the second win over the hapless Sabres who are in the midst of a 10-game losing streak.  I enjoyed that game from my upper deck seats at the Prudential Center.  Finally, the Devils returned to Orchard Park, N.Y. for another matchup with Buffalo.  As Ethan pointed out, Same Team, Same Result for Devils in his game story following their 3-2 come-from-behind shootout win.  Elias and Parise damaged the Sabres with shootout tallies.

In addition, the Devils beat up Carolina 4-1 behind the strong goaltending of Martin Brodeur, who continues to shine in his 14th year between the pipes.  The Devils scored first in that contest, gave up the 1-0 lead, but still regrouped and finished 2-5 on the power play en route to the easy victory.

Let's check out the numbers.

Atlantic Division Standings/Points:

New Jersey:    26-16-3           55

Pittsburgh:      26-16-3            55

Philadelphia:  24-15-5            53

NY Islanders:  23-18-5           51

NY Rangers:   22-20-5           49

Only six points separate the five teams that comprise the Atlantic Division.  Going into Thursday night’s NHL schedule, all five teams qualified for the postseason, ranging from 2nd and 4th to 5th, 6th and 8th place.

As far as I know, no division has ever qualified more than four teams for the postseason in the current format.  I am not sure if five teams from one division can even make the playoffs, considering the unbalanced regular season schedule in place (until next year).  Currently, midway through the season, they are defying all odds.  Good division? I'd say so.

While the Penguins and Devils are winning consistently wherever they play (each team has 13 home wins and 13 road wins), the Flyers prefer the road well traveled.  They have a conference-leading 15 road victories thus far, tied with Montreal.  While the Flyers started the season on a bang and then cooled off for a little bit, they have returned to domination.  They are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games averaging 3.6 goals per game, while the Penguins are riding their own unbeaten (9-0-1) streak lately, thanks to Ty Conklin’s marvelous, where-you-have-been goaltending, and Sidney Crosby’s domination.

Conklin, who started the season in the minors, is now 10-0-1 since taking over for Marc Andre-Fleury and Dany Sabourin, who have both been demoted for inconsistent goaltending and subpar goals against averages.

In addition, Conklin has a 1.72 GAA, .949SV% and two shutouts thus far.

Meanwhile, Crosby is a force to be reckoned with.  He has 11 points in seven January games, including five two-point performances.  Crosby also co-leads the league in points (63), leads the league in assists (43) and is tied for second in power play assists (19).  If only Conklin were starting this entire season, who knows what place the Penguins would be in right now?

Surprisingly, the Flyers have not committed the most penalty minutes this season even with their illegal bodychecks and dangerous misconducts.  With 835 minutes, they are second to Anaheim’s 890.  Of course, the dirty ole bastard Chris Pronger has 93 already.  I don’t like Pronger and I hope that someone (maybe a Flyer) takes him out one day for his vicious unclean play.

In worse news, the Devils cannot beat either team from New York this season. 

Last night was the prime example.

They manufactured 38 shots to the Islanders 23 and still came away with the loss.  Credit Isles goalie Rick DiPietro for shutting the door on Elias, David Clarkson, and the rest of the Devils less for Travis Zajac's deflection which slithered by the former No. 1 overall draft pick, who actually knocked in the puck with his own stick.

Let’s look at games this season in which the Devils have led by more than 10 shots on goal, ones in which they are 4-3.

There is a reason that Detroit, who leads the league in shots on goal per game with 34.6, also leads the league in points, goals scored, goals allowed, and several individual categories.  The Red Wings are 19-5-2 when they have tallied 10 or more shots on goal than their opponents.  The fact that they have done this 26 times through the first 47 games is unfathomable.

The Devils prefer a low-scoring game, but have managed to outshoot their opponents on seven different occasions thus far, only winning four of those meetings.

Dates   Shot Totals     Outcome

10/13    35-17               Devils defeated winless Atlanta 6-5

10/18    38-18               Flyers blanked New Jersey 4-0

11/8      39-14               Devils avenged their earlier loss to Philly with a 4-1 comfortable win

12/2      36-25               New Jersey makes it two-for-two over Atlanta this season, 3-2 win in shootout

12/21    33-21               On the road, Elias and Gionta team up, Devils defeated Oilers 3-1

1/5        45-25               Devils managed a season-high 45 shots on goal, but lost 4-3 to Boston with Kevin Weekes making rare start

1/16     38-23               Just last night, Devils dominated Islanders, but failed to score on five power play chances en route to a 3-1 loss

 It’s not quantity you see.  It’s quality, which the Devils are focusing on in practice, every day, especially their inconsistent power play, which failed them last night (0-for-5 vs. Islanders).  When they do score on the man advantage, check out their win/loss record mentioned below.

Regardless, the Devils have mounted many come-from-behind wins this season and have undermined critics who thought they would finish in the cellar.

Memorable Come-From-Behind Wins for the Devils This Season:

Oct. 13: Atlanta led 4-2 midway through second period, Devils scored the next three, won 6-5 with Elias’ last-minute tally

Nov. 28: Dallas led 2-0 after first period, Devils won 4-2, Pandolfo injured himself in third period, has not played since

Dec. 5: Boston led 3-0 after opening frame, Devils won 4-3 in overtime after Thomas left the game with injury

Dec. 21: Edmonton led 1-0 after two periods, Devils scored three in final frame via Elias and Gionta’s teamwork, won 3-1

Jan. 12: Buffalo led 2-0 after one period of play, Devils scored the next two, Elias and Parise scored in the shootout and Brodeur stopped both Sabres shooters, Devils won 3-2

Considering offseason transactions, the losses of Brian Rafalski and Scott Gomez to free agency and a new head coach in Newark in Brent Sutter, who was forced to deal with a record-tying nine-game road trip to the start the season, the Devils are doing quite well.  I was definitely a nervous nelly back in August of last year, but Sutter has overcome free agency and injuries to lead the Devils into first place in the division.

Battle of New York:

The Devils are now 0-4-1 vs. Islanders and 0-2-2 vs. Rangers after last night's loss to the Isles. Unacceptable for a division leader.  They are 7-8-3 against the Atlantic, including 3-1 vs. Pittsburgh and 4-1 vs. Philadelphia.

They have managed to own the Quaker State but not the Empire State for some reason.  Who to blame?  Not quite sure.  But, injuries have taken a toll on New Jersey.

Jay Pandolfo out since Nov. 28 with pelvic bone injury… unlikely to return before All-Star break next weekend.

Colin White, training camp puck-to-eye injury, thankfully returned after missing one and a half months.

Jamie Langenbrunner, off season sports hernia surgery, missed first 1.5 months, returned, named captain in early December.

Only five Devils have played in all 45 games this season, including Zubrus, Zajac, Pelley, Gionta, and Brylin.  When ironman Pandolfo is placed on injured reserve after playing three consecutive 82-game seasons, you know there is an injury bug plaguing New Jersey.

Nevertheless, they have fought off the unhealthy roster and inefficient scoring to maintain a tie in the Atlantic and second place in the Eastern Conference.

Numbers:

21-1-1 when Devils score at least three goals (including shootout wins)

17-3-0 when NJ scores at least one PPG

11-13-1 when Devils allow an opponent to score on the man advantage

20-16 Devils record in regulation

6-3 Devils overtime and shootout record

104... Devils goals allowed thus far, tied with Detroit for league lead (even though ESPN and Yahoo Sports disagreed with these figures)

Martin Brodeur's Numbers Nothing Less Than Spectacular.  No surprises there.  The man may be old, aging but he's still a golden god.  Are there better netminders in the league right now?  Of course, but I would rather have Brodeur for the postseason over any other goalie.  Other than Roberto Luongo, Barry Melrose loves Brodeur.  Here's why.

24-14-2   2.10GAA, .920 SV%, 4 Shutouts

Finally, the Devils have averaged 15,460 fans per game in their arena.  This number was probably inflated in the weekday game versus Florida on Jan. 2.  Otherwise, they have filled 87.7 percent of the Rock to capacity, the highest figures since the 2000-01 season in which they maintained 15,642 fans per game at the Continental Airlines Arena.

I am satisfied that fans are showing up for the first time in seven years, but I expect the numbers to grow eventually.  There are several factors I believe will contribute to my theory, including mass transportation.  We shall see.

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