The New Jersey Devils completed the post-Christmas weekend at 1-1 yet remain in first place in the Atlantic Division.  Unlike earlier this season, where head coach Brent Sutter may have given his team a day off after playing two games in 48 hours, tis was not the case in this morning's practice. 

The Devils worked on their 28th-ranked power play the entire time (TG).  Hopefully, that will translate into some production.  Last night's loss to the Islanders was the team's fifth consecutive game without a power play tally.  Although the team is not at full strength, their offense is as cold as ice.  Ironically, when they do score, they win.  They are 19-0-1 when they have tallied at least three goals, the only loss back on Oct. 20, to the Islanders in overtime.

Since Patrik Elias and Karel Rachunek were still unavailable, due to their untimely nagging injuries, the Devils used Zach Parise, John Madden, Brian Gionta, Jamie Langenbrunner (left point) and Paul Martin on the first unit.

Dainius Zubrus, Travis Zajac, David Clarkson, Mike Mottau and Johnny Oduya were on the second unit (TG).

I am not sure why Mottau and Oduya are running the Devils' second power play.  They are young, unproven, and have not impressed me as such.  Oduya has made several youthful errors and has a long way to go before running a first-place team’s power play.  That said, the Devils’ blueliners have only accumulated a total of 44 points this season.  Martin, who leads the pack with one goal and 11 assists, is an easy choice for the first unit.  However, they lost defenseman Brian Rafalski during the offseason and have not yet found a suitable replacement.

They do not maintain a scoring threat and, in my opinion, should explore other options via trade or free agency in the off season.  GM Lou Lamoriello has been with the Devils for a very long time.  He will make something happen.

In terms of the second unit, when Elias returns from the tweaked groin, I expect the line to change.  Sutter will use every tactic and variation until he finds the ideal power play unit.  Until then, I would have used Rachunek on the second unit, but he has been scratched the past three games (see below).

Ah… Injuries.

They have been plaguing the Devils from the offseason until now, New Year’s Eve’s eve.  First, Jamie Langenbrunner had offseason sports hernia surgery and missed one-and-a-half months of action.  At the same time, Colin White’s future was put on hold after he was drilled in the eye with a puck in training camp.

Now that they have returned to the rotation, iron man Jay Pandolfo, who has played every regular season game since 2004, crashes into the boards in the third period of a Nov. 28 home contest with Dallas.  He has yet to return.

Then, third-year forward Zach Parise contracts the flu in Canada and misses the finale of the three-game road-trip to Western Canada.  The Devils managed to salvage the 1-0 win over Calgary, despite not scoring in regulation or on any of their four man advantages.

In the meanwhile, Rachunek has not been in action in over a week, since a Dec. 21 knee injury, which seemed like a bum ankle.  Either way, he is the team’s leading plus/minus getter at +9 and his presence is surely missed.

Injuries are part of the game.  Just ask the New York Giants, who decided to use their starting offensive and defensive units last night against New England.  They lost three starters -- linebacker Kawika Mitchell, center Shaun O'Hara and cornerback Sam Madison to the sidelines.  There are no confirmed reports about whether they will play next weekend in the first round of the playoffs at Tampa Bay.

To add insult to injury, Elias, Travis Zajac, and Dainius Zubrus, who was signed away from Buffalo in the offseason, are underachieving.

Elias, who earns more money than Hall-of-Fame bound goaltender Martin Brodeur (7.5 to 5.2 million), has eight goals in 35 games.  Thankfully, five of them are game-winning tallies. 

Zubrus has not fared better with six goals and 20 points in 38 games.

Zajac, a former 2004 first rounder, is in the midst of a sophomore slump to say the least.  His 6.3 shooting percentage and five goals rank at the bottom of Devils’ skaters excluding fourth-liners and substitutes.

What about Mr. 40-40?

Not to omit Brian Gionta, who had a career year in 2005-6, when he broke Pat Verbeek’s franchise record for goals in a season, finishing the season with 48 and 41 assists .  That included 24 on the power play and 10 of which game winners.  Since that point, Gio has not replicated as much success.  He only manufactured 25 goals in an injury-riddled 2006-7 campaign that sidelined him for 20 games.  This season, he is down to 11 goals in 38 goals and is projected to finish with a modest 24.

Although there are negatives, and every team has flaws, the Devils keep finding ways to win.

One of them is through goaltender Martin Brodeur, arguably the greatest goaltender in NHL history.  Now in his 14th season, he continues to break records and “captain” the Devils to success.  There is no doubt in my mind that Brodeur would have been named team captain following Scott Steven’s retirement from hockey, if league rules permitted.  They do not, of course, which I discussed in detail back in a September post.

Brodeur ranks among league leaders this season in minutes (2032: 3rd), wins (19: 2nd), saves (809: 7th), goals against average (2.24: 7th), shutouts (3: T-5th), and save percentage in shootouts (88.9: T-4th with NYR G Henrik Lundqvist).  And critics still believe that Roberto Luongo is goalie of the year?  Maybe, they have not been watching telecasts of Devils’ games thus far.  The Devils do not have D-men Scott Stevens patrolling the ice and Scott Niedermayer, one of the premier skaters at his position and four-time Stanley Cup Winner.  They also lack depth on the blueline.

Nevertheless, they have won the Stanley Cup three times and are the only professional organization in the New York Metropolitan area to have won anything since the turn of the decade.

While they are winning, fans are also showing up at the doors.  The Buffalo game Friday night drew a sellout crowd of 17,625 at the Prudential Center.  It was just a matter of time, before supporters realized the convenience of mass transportation and tickets that have since been reduced to affordable prices for the average person.

Happy New Year's to everyone.

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