Inconsistencies Holding Devils Back From Being a Great Team

Added by Macaulay Scott Renner on November 16, 2011.

Ok, ok, I know all those things that I said haven’t happened.  Brodeur has been in La La land, Kovie has been hurt and Parise is playing average, and the team has really yet to gel. 

I am amazed at the way goalie Martin Brodeur has played and you see I am the first to say that he is not the great goalie that everyone makes him out to be.  Sure he has the most wins and shutouts but to me he has always had the great defense in front of him and has always had a very low amount of shots allowed on him. And still he gives up goals.  Look at his shot total on any night and compare it to the other goalie he is playing or another goalie that night and you will see that he only has like 20 or 25 shots on him, yet he gives up a few goals. 

I would hate to see him shelled with 45 or 50 shots.  He would be giving up four or five goals easily.  Lately he has been flopping around and way out of position.  I watch where he is on the goals he gives up and every time, he is sideways or floundering on the ice trying to make some acrobatic save.  He never plays a simple game, playing the angle and playing it safe. 

I am a Devils fan but honestly, I would trade Brodeur and keep Hedberg right now.  Call me crazy but that’s what I would do. 

As for the rest of the team, well they need to start playing consistently every night.  They played Washington the other night at home and controlled the game solidly for two periods, leading 1-0 for most of the game.  Then the third period came and just like that it was 3-1 and the Devils looked like a completely different team. 

Zach Parise can’t do it all himself of course, and Patrik Elias, Petr Sykora and Ilya Kovalchuk are playing hard but the other guys need to step up.  I was so lad to see Adam Larsson get his first goal on a blistering slap shot the other night. The just turned 19 year old got his first goal in the NHL and I am sure there will be many more even though he is not out there to score. 

Adam Henrique has been a shining star on the Devils team, scoring four goals in three games as of late.  He looks like he is the real deal and a player that will command respect once he finds his confidence and complete game as a veteran NHLer.  I love to watch him play and he is really exciting when he gets the puck on his stick.  That goal he scored in overtime was with so much authority and power, I nearly knocked my coffee table over jumping up when he put it in. 

I can’t wait till Travis Zajac gets back on the ice and adds his presence to the team.  I am not saying the Devils are playing bad, but I feel that there is so much potential on the table for them.  They are eating scraps when the entire meal is there for the taking.  They can have the whole main course once they align themselves both mentally and physically. 

Their power play looks so good at times, the way they move it and the quality shots they get.  Other times they can’t even amass a single shot on goal and they look so disjointed and out of sync.  The team I see in front of me on the screen these days is a team that has so much more room for growth.  They have won 4-of-5 and are sitting in a safe position in the East but in my eyes I know they have more and they can be such a better team. 

I am curious to see how they play on this five game road trip that they have just started and will be a huge test for them as they set out to play some quality teams. Lets see if they can keep it together and go out and win a few of these games and come home with a winning record and their heads high.