OT Hockey Becoming a Habit for the New Jersey Devils
With two games left before Olympic Break the Devils are facing many questions about their roster and their play. The Devils are facing all too familiar problems putting the puck in the back of the net. It seems every year the Devils are at one point struggling to ‘put the biscuit in the basket’ but, this year there are more serious problems facing the New Jersey Devils.
The last three games the Devils played in featured an extra period of play. They won the first of those three but, have dropped the last two contests in overtime. Last night’s loss to Colorado was one of the more embarrassing loses of the year. Up 1-0 with 1:47 remaining and the Avalanche’s goalie pulled, the Devils were one easy, empty-net goal away from a pivotal 2 points. But, in the blink of the eye the Devils had allowed a goal and were heading into OT with a penalty to kill to start the extra hockey. The Devils penalty kill had already killed off four penalties successfully but, this one didn’t end the way they wanted. The Avalanche scored just 28 seconds into OT and Cory Schneider showed his anger by smashing his stick into two pieces.
The Devils hit the post three times in this game and had many other great scoring chances. The Devils make it look so hard to lit the lamp on some nights and this was one of them. It seems the Devils are always inches away from being one of the best teams in the league. They now have lost 13 game in OT, meaning they have left 13 points on the ice in a very, very tight Metropolitan division. The Devils are now 3 points out of the playoffs at this point and this is lucky since the Devils haven’t been playing their best hockey lately. They don’t look like a playoff team so, Hall of Fame general manager Lou Lamoriello has some things to think about while hockey is being played on a larger ice surface in Sochi for two weeks.
Eric Gelinas, a rookie, had provided a much needed scoring boost when called up but, with Peter Harrold being activated from IR last night he was sent back to the AHL. It seems the Devils want Eric to improve defensively and he was a big problem in the Stadium Series embarrassment. With scoring being so hard for the Devils this year will he be called back up soon? Gelinas is one problem the Devils have to address, the other is something almost unthinkable to my fellow Devil fans and I. With Corey Schneider seeing most of the starts in net as of late, the Devils are seeing increased interest in trading for Martin Brodeur from teams like the Minnesota Wild. Will the Devils address their scoring problems by trading the greatest goalie of all-time for some fresh faces?
As a Devil fan, I don’t want to see Marty traded but, I am not calling the shots. Lou is in a very tough spot at this point and if the Devils keep struggling it is going to get even harder for him. The Devils seem to be knocking on the door of becoming a playoff team but, what will propel them to being a serious contender for the Stanley Cup?
Games Until Olympic Break: 2 ( Friday vs. Edmonton, Saturday @ Washington)