The Devils return to the Nation's Capital this afternoon for a showdown with the Washington Capitals. Both teams are in the midst of the second half of a back-to-back stretch. Whereas the Devils earned their first win of the season over the Islanders yesterday, handing them a 4-2 loss, the Capitals fell to their division rival Hurricanes 6-3. While the Devils have been succeeding with a balanced roster and dominant goaltender (what else is new), the Capitals have heavily relied on Alexander Ovechkin (leads league in goals with 48 and second in points with 81), who will face a difficult task at the 3 p.m. tip-off, the Madden-Brylin-Pandolfo unit.

With another win in a few hours, the Devils will temporarily shift into the Eastern Conference lead (I am sorry if this is getting confusing but hopefully the weaker teams will start losing continuously, spreading out the standings). If the Capitals, who are 1-1 thus far versus New Jersey, win, their playoff hopes are still alive. But, if they fall, it begs the question, “Will they be sellers before the upcoming trade deadline on Tuesday?

After yesterday’s victory, the Devils wrapped up a 15 of 18-game stretch at the Prudential Center where they went a mediocre 8-6-1. They started out 1-4 at the Rock but finished with a 5-0-1 record. Here’s why:

Goaltending: Martin Brodeur has started the last 21 games for the Devils, compiling a 13-6-2 record in the process. Including the 4-2 effort yesterday, Brodeur leads the league in wins (34), fifth in shutouts (4), fourth in goals against average (2.17) and sixth in save percentage (.918). In my opinion, he has earned the right to be nominated for another Vezina Trophy this season. He’s started 57 of 62 games and has not lost a beat in his 14th season. I am worried about Brodeur's stamina come playoff time, but for now, no complaints. 

Special Teams: In October, the Devils had the worst penalty kill in the league statistically, 31-45, 68.9%. Mind you that Colin White, Jamie Langenbrunner and a slew of injuries prevented the team from competing at full strength. In terms of their power play efficiency, the Devils are 23-6-0 when scoring on the man advantage. Twelve skaters have produced at least once on the power play, including four defensemen. During the current 7-game point streak, the team has scored on 6-27 (22.2%) power plays and killed off 22-24 (91.7%) penalties. The 6-27 would rank them in the top 5 of the league while the 22-24 would be No. 1 overall. Madden and Pandolfo have been superb on the penalty kill, frustrating opponents' and even scoring goals (see below).

Balance: Everyone has helped out offensively and defensively. There are no star players in the Devils rotation. Zach Parise leads the way with 55 points (36th in the league) and +17, including goals in his last 5 games. Patrik Elias and Brian Gionta have 44 and 42 points apiece, perhaps lower than expected, but enough to propel the Devils into first place in the Atlantic and second in the conference. John Madden has added 3 shorthanded tallies, the most for him since the 2002-03 season, and within striking distance of his record-tying 6 shorthanders during his rookie year. Throw Jay Pandolfo and captain Jamie Langenbrunner into the mix and you have a delicious cake with some sprinkles on top.

Pando has been spectacular since returning from that funky groin injury. He has 7 points, +5, 2 penalty minutes in 11 games. The man is a workhorse and played 307 consecutive games before the rare injury. If Madden and Pandolfo, two of the league’s best defensive forwards, are both omitted from the Selke Award, the league is definitely conspiring against the Devils.

Like Pandolfo, Langenbrunner overcame off season surgery to join Elias and Parise on the top line, although head coach Brent Sutter refrains from labeling his offensive units. They have certainly clicked, producing a significant portion of the team’s even strength and special teams goals.

Defense: I have to give Sutter props for finding a cohesive unit in his defensive pairings. He has also been forced to deal with injuries to White and Rachunek. It took the Devils long enough, but the blueliners finally came around, really contributing lately. Even White broke through, scoring two goals this month, including his first in 126 games. Paul Martin has done a terrific job replacing Brian Rafalski, leading the D-men with 27 points and +19 plus minus. And, Johnny Oduya deserves some respect for overcoming those “oh-no-duya” mental lapses earlier in the season to add 19 points and +18. He even managed a career high 4 points in a 7-3 win at Philadelphia last month.

In the month of February, only two teams have scored 3 or more regulation goals against the Devils in 12 games. In one-goal games this month, the Devils are 4-1-2. Go figure.

In addition, the Devils have shut down opponents, holding them to 27 shots per game (fifth) and 2.32 goals per game (second) over the season. Even when teams are leading New Jersey, beware of the Devils, who are third in the league (.452 %) in come-from-behind games. If the Devils are in front after two periods, forget about coming back. Only three teams are better at sustaining leads in those predicaments. In terms of outshooting, the Devils are fifth overall, and seventh when outshot.

Score and Win: If only the Devils could sustain their recent offensive numbers the rest of the way. They’ve scored at least 3 goals the past 7 games, a 6-0-1 record in those contests. For the season, they are 31-2-1 when scoring at least 3 goals in a game. That is about 91 percent efficient. On the other hand, the league-leading Detroit Red Wings are 37-4-3 in similar situations, or 84.1 percent. Exclude the early shutouts when the Devils were still gelling and the team has not been blanked since Dec. 18, a span of 28 games. Since that point, the Devils are 18-8-2.

The Devils play 4 of the next 5 on the road and 8 of the next 10. If Washington thinks the Devils fare worse away from Newark, guess again. The Devils are 15-10-4 on the road, despite a record-tying nine-game road trip to open the season. Oh yeah, and they've won the last 3 away from home.

Washington is a young (third youngest overall acc. to nhlnumbers) yet talented team comprised of Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom (40 assists), and Alexander Semin (29 points, struggling after 73 points last season) Despite being in the weakest division, Southeast, the Capitals trail first-place Carolina by 6 points, 69 to 63. In fact, Carolina's 69 points are barely enough to make the playoffs, one point ahead of eighth-seeded Buffalo, but we'll save that rant for another day. 

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