The Devils’ Sports Page – October 5, 2010

As we await more news about which players will move, here’s today’s Devils’ sports page (a little light on links, but keep checking for more news throughout the day):

Former Devils defenseman Mike Mottau forging ahead with Islanders (Colin Stephenson/The Star-Ledger)

Victim of Devils’ salary cap could be Dainius Zubrus or Colin White (Rich Chere/The Star-Ledger)

Lamoriello: Cap decisions aren’t easy; No decision made on Salvador, yet (Tom Gulitti/Fire and Ice blog)

Josefson, Corrente, Tedenby, McKenna assigned to Albany (Tom Gulitti/Fire and Ice blog)

The Devils’ Sports Page – September 29, 2010

Fresh off the first win of the season, it’s today’s edition of the Devils’ Sports Page.

Devils get one on the power play in 3-2 preseason win over Flyers (Rich Chere/NJ.com)

Jacob Josefson amused by good-natured trash talk between Devils linemates (Rich Chere/NJ.com)

Former Devils defenseman Mike Mottau signs with Islanders (Rich Chere/NJ.com)

Devils say Bryce Salvador is “fine” after hit from James van Riemsdyk (Rich Chere/NJ.com)

Kovalchuk turns it on to help Devils earn first win of preseason; Tedenby finds room to skate (Tom Gulitti/Fire and Ice blog)

Zach Parise’s time to go to the salary well (Tom Gulitti/The Bergen Record)

Devils 2010-2011 Schedule Preview – New York Islanders

Throughout the offseason, The Devils’ Den will preview the Devils 2010-2011 schedule, giving you an in-depth preview of the 29 other teams the Devils will face next season. We’ve already completed several previews, all of which can be found under the “Season Preview” tab. In today’s preview, we go to the Eastern Conference, taking a look at this season’s matchup with a familiar foe, the New York Islanders.

Yann Danis defeated his former team, 2-1, in the first matchup of the season. Photo Credit: Paul Bereswill/Getty Images

Islanders vs. Devils – Historical Data

In 205 all-time regular season meetings, the Devils are 73-105-22-5 against the Islanders. The Devils average 2.99 goals against the Islanders, but New Jersey allows the Islanders to average 3.57 goals against them. Last season, the teams met six times, with the Devils winning the season series, 4-2-0.

The teams first met on November 6, with the Devils defeating the Isles, 2-1, at the Prudential Center. Frans Nielsen gave the Isles the early lead, scoring an even-strength goal at 6:23 of the first period. Cory Murphy tied the game at 2:38, pulling the Devils into a tie, 1-1. Brian Rolston scored the eventual game-winner on the powerplay at 13:40 of the second period. Martin Biron stopped 31 shots in the loss. Yann Danis made 24 saves to defeat his former team.

Zach Parise recorded six points (four goals, two assists) against the Islanders this season. Photo Credit: Paul Bereswill/Getty Images

The Devils blew out the Isles in their next meeting, defeating the Islanders, 6-1, at the Prudential Center. The Isles once again struck first, with Richard Park scoring the game’s first goal at 11:18 of the first period. The Devils would come alive, scoring six unanswered goals over the final two periods. Mike Mottau started the run, evening the score at one with a goal 58 seconds into the second period. Rolston put the Devils ahead, 2-1, with a powerplay goal at 12:06 of the period.

The Devils pulled away in the third period, scoring four goals. Patrik Elias pushed the lead to 3-1 with a powerplay tally at 10:30 of the third period. Zach Parise put the Devils ahead, 4-1, with an even-strength goal at 11:54 of the period. Rolston scored his second goal of the game at 12:32, increasing the lead to 5-1. Elias netted his second goal, pushing the lead to 6-1 at 19:15 of the third.

The Islanders got revenge for the blowout, blanking the Devils, 4-0, on January 18 at Nassau Coliseum. Matt Moulson scored the game’s first goal, netting an even-strength tally at 1:07 of the first period. Mark Streit scored a powerplay goal at 3:44 of the first, increasing the lead, 2-0. Josh Bailey continued the scoring in the second, giving the Isles a 3-0 lead at 15:42 of the period. Moulson capped the scoring, netting his second goal at 18:05 of the period.

Continue reading for the rest of the preview!

Game 80: Florida Tallies Two Goals In The Third Period To Defeat Devils, 3-2

Last season, Florida Panthers goalie Scott Clemmensen won 25 games with the New Jersey Devils while filling in for a then-injured Martin Brodeur.

Clemmensen, facing his former team, stopped 42 shots to lead the Panthers over the Devils, 3-2, at the BankAtlantic Center.

Clemmensen, who signed a three-year contract with Florida in July, faced his former team for the second time this season. He won his first start, stopping 26 shots in a 4-2 win on December 26.

Patrik Elias opened the scoring 59 seconds into the second period. Clemmensen stopped the initial shot, and a rebound chance went off the crossbar. Elias tipped the loose puck past Clemmensen for his 17th goal of the season.

Michael Frolik tied the game at 6:03 of the period. Frolik received a cross-ice pass from Nathan Horton and put a shot on net. The puck deflected off the stick of Rob Niedermayer and beat Brodeur for the tying goal.

Frolik’s goal ended the Devils’ shutout streak of 151 minutes and 29 seconds, which is the third longest in franchise history.

Dainius Zubrus collides with Radek Dvorak in the first period tonight. Photo Credit: Wilfredo Lee/AP Photo

Radek Dvorak put the Panthers ahead, 2-1, 1:14 into the third period. Rostislav Olesz fed Dvorak with a backhanded pass from below the goal line. Dvorak put the shot past Brodeur’s pads for his 14th goal of the season.

Horton stretched the Panthers lead to 3-1 at 12:23 of the period. The center beat Brodeur with a shot from the left circle for his 19th goal of the lead.

Brodeur finished with 15 saves in the loss.

Mike Mottau brought the Devils to within one at 14:46 of the period. But it would be too litte, too late, as the Devils couldn’t get the tying goal.

With the win, the Devils fell back into a tie with the Pittsburgh Penguins for the Atlantic Division lead. Both teams have identical 46-27-7 records, and each team has 99 points. The Devils still hold first place because of their season sweep of the Penguins.

Game Notes:

David Clarkson and Nick Tarnasky dropped the gloves at 2:07 in the third period. Clarkson landed more punches, but both players had trouble keeping their balance…Devils’ defenseman Colin White caught an edge and went hard into the boards at 17:52 of the second period. White got up slowly and skated off the ice, but was fine after the game…Devils’ coach Jacques Lemaire, who wants to try and rest some of his regular players, made defenseman Andy Greene a healthy scratch tonight.

Game 79: Brodeur Wins 600 As Devils Down Thrashers, 3-0

It seems that every game brings another milestone for New Jersey Devils’ goalie Martin Brodeur.

Tonight was no different.

Brodeur won his 600th game, stopping 19 shots to blank the Atlanta Thrashers, 3-0.

Atlanta Thrashers defenseman Tobias Enstrom goes to the ice as he fights for the puck with David Clarkson during tonight's game. Photo Credit: Gregory Smith/AP Photo

Brodeur’s shutout was the ninth of the season and 110th of his career. It was the goalie’s second consecutive shutout. The team defeated the Carolina Hurricanes, 4-0, Saturday night.

“I knew I had a chance to hit it [600 wins], but the big one was 552 and now everything is gravy, just kind of raise the bar for everybody else,” Brodeur said. “I play a lot of games, so they expect you to win if you want to do well here in New Jersey.”

Dean McAmmond opened the scoring at 15:18 of the first period. McAmmond worked a give and go with Dainius Zubrus, dropping a pass in the right circle and heading toward the net. Zubrus put a backhanded shot on net, and McAmmond tipped it past goalie Johan Hedberg for his seventh goal of the season.

Zach Parise upped the Devils lead to two 51 seconds into the second period. Defenseman Paul Martin fired a shot on net from the point. Parise, stationed at the front of the net, tipped the shot past Hedberg’s glove for his 37th goal of the year.

Travis Zajac increased the lead to three 10 seconds into the period. Zajac won the opening faceoff and sent the puck to Martin Skoula. Skoula’s pass sent Zajac into the Thrasher’s zone on a 2-on-1 with Parise. Zajac took a shot that beat Hedberg through the pads for his 24th goal of the season.

Tonight’s game also marked the first time Ilya Kovalchuk visited Phillips Arena since his trade to the Devils. Kovalchuk and defenseman Anssi Salmela were sent to the Devils for Niclas Bergfors, Johnny Oduya and prospect Patrice Cormier. After the trade, Thrasher’s general manager Don Waddell revealed Kovalchuk declined offers of 12 years, $101 million and seven years, $70 million.

Fans held signs saying “You lie!” and “Kovalbum”. The left-winger was booed on his first shift, and the fans booed him every time he touched the puck.

“It was funny with all the signs,” Brodeur said. “I said to him, ‘People either like you or hate you here.’ He had some, ‘I love you’ and some ‘I hate you.’ I was laughing bit.”

Devils coach Jacques Lemaire could tell Kovalchuk was nervous.

“He was a little nervous. I could sense that,” Lemaire said of Kovalchuk. “That’s why I didn’t start him. It would not have been good for him.”

“Half the fans were booing, half were cheering,” Kovalchuk said. “That’s nice. It happens all the time.”

Kovalchuk failed to record a shot on goal and was held off the scoresheet in the victory.

With the win, the Devils clinched home-ice advantage in the first round. With Pittsburgh’s 6-3 loss to Washington, New Jersey moved into sole possession of the second seed in the Eastern Conference and first in the Atlantic Division.

Atlanta’s loss put an end to their fading playoff hopes. The 10-year old franchise has missed the playoffs nine times.

Game Notes:

Three of McAmmond’s seven goals this season have come against the Atlanta Thrashers…Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond picked up an assist on the first goal. It was only his second point in 25 games this season…Devils’ defenseman Mike Mottau missed the game to rest. Rookie defenseman Mark Fraser played in his place.

Game 72: Devils Powerplay Erupts To Sink Columbus, 6-3

Coming into tonight’s matchup against the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Devils were 0-for-17 on the powerplay in their last six games.

The streak troubled the team so much they dedicated significant practice time throughout the week to perfect the attack.

The practice paid off, and the Devils scored three powerplay goals en-route to a win, 6-3, over the Blue Jackets Tuesday at the Prudential Center.

Zach Parise’s powerplay goal at 13:01 of the first period gave the Devils a 1-0 lead. With Rick Nash in the box for roughing, the Devils caused a turnover in the Blue Jackets zone. Patrik Elias checked defenseman Kris Russell along the side boards, and the puck slid away from both players. Jamie Langenbrunner took the puck in the right circle and fired a shot to the middle of goalie Steve Mason’s pads, creating a rebound. Parise crashed the net and put the rebound home for his 34th goal of the season.

Paul Martin scores a second period powerplay goal tonight against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Devils tallied three powerplay goals, their most since November 11. Photo Credit Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

Paul Martin made it two powerplay goals at 1:14 of the second period. With Kristian Huselius in the box for hooking, Ilya Kovalchuk passed the puck to Elias at the side boards. Elias skated to the top of the left circle and fired a wrist shot through Langenbrunner’s screen. The rebound caromed out to Martin, who pinched down to the right circle. The Devils’ defenseman fired the puck into the open net for his second goal of the season.

Down 2-0, Columbus responded to cut the lead in half. After carrying the puck into the Devil’s zone, Huselius left a drop pass for Antoine Vermette. The center fired a shot from the blue line that beat Martin Brodeur over the glove for his 23rd goal of the season.

The Devils responded, scoring three straight goals in 6:35 in the second period to blow open the game.

Kovalchuk tallied the third Devils’ powerplay goal at 12:32 of the second period. Mike Mottau started the play at the blue line by keeping the puck in the zone. He sent the puck to Parise in the left circle, who sent a cross-ice pass to Kovalchuk. Kovalchuk fired a shot to the short-side for his 37th goal of the season.

Travis Zajac’s goal three minutes later put the Devils ahead, 4-1. Martin passed the puck to Kovalchuk, who let go a shot from the slot. The puck hit Zajac in the back and bounced into the open net for his 22nd goal of the season.

Zajac wasn’t done, tallying his second goal of the period at 19:07 to extend the Devils lead, 5-1. Once again, it was Zajac deflecting a puck past Mason for a goal. Mottau fired a shot from the point that deflected off the back of Zajac’s knee and into the net for his 23rd goal of the season.

The Devils finished the game 3-for-6 with the man advantage. They last scored three powerplay goals

Martin Brodeur makes a pad save against RJ Umberger in the first period. With tonight's win, Brodeur now has 40 victories on the season - the eighth time he's reached the 40-win plateau. Photo Credit: Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

November 11, 2009 against Ottawa.

With the win, the Devils snapped a two-game winless streak. New Jersey overtook Pittsburgh for the Atlantic Division lead, and they now hold the second spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Devils will finish their three-game homestand Wednesday night against the New York Rangers.

Game Notes:

Brodeur won for the 40th time this season, marking the eighth time the Devils goalie reached that mark…Kovalchuk finished with four points (1 G, 3 A), by far his most productive night as a Devil…Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond once again dropped the gloves, fighting Jared Boll in the second period. This fight didn’t last 2:30 minutes like his Sunday bought, and there wasn’t a clear-cut winner.

Game 65: Devils Break Skid, Beat Rangers, 6-3

After the New Jersey Devils loss to Edmonton on Sunday, the Devils’ were on a two-game slide and needed something to change their lethargic play.

Coach Jacques Lemaire cited one thing the Devils needed one thing to get back on track.

Practice.

After two physically intense days of practice, the Devils responded to the challenge with a win over their rivals, the New York Rangers, 6-3, Wednesday night at the Prudential Center.

“The last two days we’ve been working on the team concept,” Lemaire said. “The guys responded very well to it. I think we played with more intensity. We showed that we really wanted to win tonight, more than I’ve seen lately. We’re headed in the right direction. This is what we want.”

Brian Rolston fires the puck threw the legs of Henrik Lundqvist for a second-period goal in tonight's game. Photo Credit: Mike Stobe/Getty Images

Jamie Langenbrunner broke a 3-3 tie at 13:06 of the second period. After a turnover by the Rangers in their own zone, Patrik Elias passed the puck to Andy Greene at the point. Greene sent the puck cross-ice to defenseman Mike Mottau, who shot the puck toward the net. Langenbrunner tipped the puck past Lundqvist and into the net for his 16th goal of the season.

That score would prove to be the decisive strike, as the Devils went on to score three more goals in the win.

Devils’ center Rob Niedermayer scored the game’s first goal at 4:16 of the first period. Brian Rolston took an awkward angle shot, and the rebound came to Niedermayer in the slot. The center blasted the puck off of Rangers’ goalie Henrik Lundqvist’s right shoulder and into the net for his eighth goal of the season.

The Rangers tied the game 57 seconds later to tie the game at one. Vaclav Prospal set up near the side of the net, and Marian Gaborik found him with a pass. Prospal, who was wide open, put the puck past a diving Martin Brodeur for his 15th goal of the season.

Bryce Salvador’s goal at 18:17 of the first period restored the Devils’ lead. Salvador began the play by keeping the puck in the zone. He took the puck and did a spin-o-rama, passing the puck behind the net to Niedermayer. Niedermayer got knocked down, and Langenbrunner passed the puck to Greene at the right point. Greene passed the puck to Salvador, who one-timed the pass. The puck hit the stick of Ollie Jokinen in front and went in for Salvador’s fourth of the season.

Erik Christensen pulled the Rangers even with the Devils at 5:01 of the second period. Brandon Dubinsky carried the puck into the zone and found Christensen at the point alone. Christensen received the puck and deked around a Devils’ defenseman, putting him alone in the slot. He whipped a shot past Brodeur for his sixth goal of the year.

The seesaw battle continued, with the Devils scoring again to take a lead, 3-2. With Wade Redden in the

Zach Parise celebrates his second-period goal against the New York Rangers tonight. Photo Credit: Mike Stobe/Getty Images

box for hooking, Brian Rolston took a shot on Lundqvist. Both Dainius Zubrus and Travis Zajac crashed the net, bringing the defensemen with them. The puck slid to the right side of the net, where Zach Parise came untouched and backhanded it into the empty net for his 31st goal of the year.

Just 37 seconds later, Brandon Prust scored to draw the Rangers even. The Rangers’ used their forecheck to force a turnover from Mark Fraser, who tapped a loose puck into the slot. Jody Shelley took a spin-o-rama shot that Brodeur stopped. But Prust worked his way to the front of the net and put the rebound past the Devil’s goalie for his second goal of the year.

The Devils lost three leads, but they showed resiliency, continuing to pressure the Rangers and put shots on Lundqvist.

“Three days ago we might have (crumbled),” said Langenbruner, who scored the eventual game-winning goal at 13:06 of the third period. “But we had a different mindset tonight. We didn’t let those things affect us. You could see it on the bench. It was a tough break on the third goal that they tied it up on, but it was right back, ‘We’re still going to get it.’ And that wasn’t there the last little while when something goes wrong, we were like, ‘Here we go again.’ It was much-better mindset and it I think it showed in the way we played as solid a 60 (minutes) as we have in a long time.”

Game 65: Rivalry Renewed

The Matchup: The New York Rangers (29-28-9) face off against the New Jersey Devils (38-23-3). This is the fifth meeting of the teams this season. Currently, the season series is tied, 2-2.

The Last Rangers Game: The Rangers lost to Buffalo, 2-1, on Sunday night at Madison Square Garden. Patrick Kaleta scored the overtime winner, and Ryan Miller made 35 saves for the win.

The Last Devils Game: This was certainly one to forget, as the Devils were shutout by Edmonton, 2-0, Sunday night. The team barely made goalie Jeff Deslauriers work, and he recorded 22 saves for his second career victory over the Devils.

The Last Rangers – Devils Game: In the last meeting, the Rangers defeated the Devils, 3-1, at Madison Square Garden February 6. The Rangers scored three goals in the second period to take a 3-0 lead. Dainius Zubrus scored a goal in the third, but the Devils couldn’t mount a comeback.  Henrik Lundqvist stopped 41 shots for the victory.

Tonight’s Game: The Devils haven’t looked good at all since the break. While we as fans (and even the team) thought the Devils would turn it around, they’ve continued to play terribly in the second period and come out with a lackluster effort. They were shutout by the Edmonton Oilers! Clearly, the Devils need to turn it around. And they seem to step in the right direction yesterday after practice. The players finally admitted they haven’t played well and that they believed everything would go away after the break. Patrik Elias admitted people have sat back and watched Ilya Kovalchuk at times. Zach Parise admitted this slump is unacceptable and that the team needs to pick it up. Finally, the players said what we all wanted them to say for the past few weeks.

But words aren’t going to be enough to turn around this streak. If the Devils want to change their play, they need to do it on the ice. What a better opportunity then going against the hated Rangers. They come into the game sitting outside the playoff picture, and the Rangers have only scored 170 goals this year. But Lundqvist is a Devils killer, compiling a 17-6-5 record in his career over the Devils. The Rangers also bring Marian Gaborik to town, who isn’t 100% but recorded 69 points so far this season (35 goals, 34 assists).

The Rangers aren’t a great team by any means, and the Devils need to impose their will on them. I want to see Lemaire use an aggressive forecheck to try and get some early turnovers. Not only that, but the Devils need to be patient in the offensive zone. The team errantly threw passes to the slot and didn’t possess the puck in Edmonton, allowing the Oilers to gain possession and clear the puck. The team needs to set up and cycle in the zone. The only way to create offense is to skate in the zone and find open areas. The Devils haven’t done that lately, instead letting players try and take on the entire defense. If they can get back to cycling the puck and getting to the dirty areas, this team will have success on the offensive end.

On the defensive side of the puck, Mike Mottau or Colin White need to be benched. I know it won’t happen, but Mark Fraser played very well in the minutes he played. He’s looked better than both Mottau and White, whose weaknesses were exposed with their increased playing time this season. Fraser seems to handle the pressures of the league well, and he’s already scored three goals on the season (including two against Pittsburgh). He doesn’t back down from physical play, either. The rookie deserves to start this game, and either Mottau or White need to sit this one out.

Finally, as tough as it will be, the Devils need to ignore Sean Avery. The Rangers pesky forward seems to always find a way to get under the skin of the Devils. I’m sure everyone on the team wants to hit him, and Kovalchuk actually did in their last matchup:

But Avery succeeds when he takes people off of their game. To be effective, the Devils need to ignore Avery and be physical and aggressive. Let Avery do his thing and, when he needs it, give him a good shove or put him into the boards. But the team shouldn’t go out of its way to beat up Avery. The best way to shut him up is to win the game.

Game time is at 7:00 p.m. Join The Devils’ Den for a live game blog, beginning 15 minutes before the drop of the puck.

Devils Continue Slumping Down The Stretch

With only 18 games left in the regular season, most playoff contenders are fine-tweaking their game and preparing for the rigors of the postseason.

The Devils, however, are trying to figure out a way to right the ship.

Last night’s loss shows the problems facing the Devils in their final 18 games. They were shutout, 2-0, to an Edmonton team that allowed a league-high 217 goals. They’ve only won five games since December 11 – including three in regulation. The Devils only generated 20 shots last night, and only had one quality scoring chance. Meanwhile, the Devils were outshot 32-15 in the final two periods of yesterday’s game.

The only reason the score stayed 2-0 was the play of goalie Martin Brodeur. But even his play hasn’t been stellar as of late.

The team only has six wins in their past 20 games (6-12-2). They’ve lost 10 of their past 13 road contests, and they’ve now fallen five points behind Pittsburgh in the Atlantic Division. They’re only ahead of Ottawa by two points in the conference.

Zach Parise said the team needs to play better to keep up with the “hot” teams in the conference.

“It’s been going on for way too long,” Parise said to Tom Gulitti of the Bergen Record. “It seems that Pittsburgh right now is catching their stride and winning all of these games and we’re going to find ourselves far away from them pretty soon if we keep it up. We’ve had pretty good success against them this year. We’ve beaten them four times. But, regardless of what they do, we’ve got to play better. We can’t be doing this going into the playoffs or we’re going to be done pretty quickly.”

What’s the solution? The Devils need to play like their playoff lives are on the line. Watching the game last night was the most frustrating game I’ve seen in quite some time. They couldn’t get any pressure on the Edmonton defense, and they were continually beat to the puck. They showed no punch and no fire. It looked like the team was going through the motions.

I believe Jacques Lemaire needs to shake-up the lineup, and he should start along the defense. Either bench Colin White or Mike Mottau and play Mark Fraser. The rookie, who should have earned more minutes, will probably be sent down with the arrival of Martin Skoula. But White and Mottau haven’t played well enough this season to warrant immunity. Bench one of them and let the rookie log some minutes. Fraser already netted three goals this season (two against the Penguins), and his potential is far higher than that of White and Mottau.

The Devils, who didn’t arrive in New Jersey until 5 a.m., but they will practice at 3 p.m. today. They face a pivotal game with the Rangers on Wednesday. If the Devils can’t get motivated to turn their streak around against their bitter rivals, than I don’t know what will motivate this team.

Devils At The Break: Injuries

During the break, when the world focuses on Olympic hockey, I decided to start a series called “Devils At The Break.” On The Devils Den and Running With The Devils, I’ll use this series to take a look at the Devils first part of the season, analyzing everything from injuries to individual player performances. I’m beginning the series with the injuries the Devils sustained in the first part of the season. While some players missed a game or two with injury, we’re going to look at four Devils who missed significant time this season: Patrik Elias, David Clarkson, Dainius Zubrus, and Paul Martin.

Patrik Elias

The Devils all-time leading scorer has   missed a combined 22 games this season. He missed the first 13 games of the season with a groin injury, and then missed nine games after a hit from Colorado’s Ryan Wilson. The hit was clean, but the outcome looked scary. Elias laid, motionless, on the ice and was eventually carried out on a stretcher. While Elias returned from both injuries without visual side effects, it never helps to have one of the team leaders sidelined for almost a quarter of the season. Elias tallied 11 goals and 19 assists before the Olympic break, but I think we all saw what the offense and powerplay looked like without him. Without Elias, the Devils lack creativity in the offensive zone. His health will be a concern going forward, because without him the Devils lack a playmaker to play with Ilya Kovalchuk.

David Clarkson

The Devils young right-winger showed promise early in the season. He got to the dirty areas, scored ugly goals and gave the Devils a gritty presence. All it took was a shot by Boston’s Zdeno Chara to halt what looked to be a promising start to the season. While in his defensive zone, Clarkson stepped in front a shot by Chara from the point. He immediately crumpled to the ice and crawled back to bench. The shot fractured Clarkson’s ankle, leaving him sidelined for four-to-six weeks. Clarkson attempted to return December 31, 2009, but aggravated the injury in the Devil’s win. He hasn’t seen the ice since, but the team expects him to be ready for their March 2nd game against the San Jose Sharks. As I said before, Clarkson brought grit to the Devils. While his offensive skills may not be what’s missed most, the Devils certainly miss his physical presence. They haven’t found someone willing to go into the dirty areas to score or throw down the gloves when guys are taking too many liberties with Zach Parise, Travis Zajac and Elias. It will be a welcome sight to see Clarkson doing the little things to give the Devils an edge.

Dainius Zubrus

Zubrus went down with injury November 30th, marking the third Devils forward to miss significant time. Zubrus blocked a shot from Nashville’s Ken Klein, taking the brunt of the shot to the knee. His kneecap broke from the impact, and Zubrus was shelved for thirty days. While he has mostly underperformed as a Devil, the team lacked depth at center, and losing one didn’t help that situation. Zubrus can also do a multitude of things – kill penalties, play physical, score goals – and the Devils missed those abilities with his injury. He’s been moved around since coming back, but he’s recently clicked with Zajac and Parise on the wing.

Paul Martin

Paul Martin’s injury, above all the rest, has had the most impact on the Devils this season. The defenseman, who seemed to be improving every year, went down with an injury October 24th at Pittsburgh. Martin sustained the injury after taking a shot off the forearm from ex-Devil Bill Guerin.

Before the injury, Martin began to settle into his role as the leader of the defense. Last season, he played more minutes than any other defenseman (24:22) and led defenseman in points (33). He also seemed to click with Johnny Oduya, and both of them formed a strong offensive pairing. Martin’s original injury diagnosis was only four-to-six weeks, but after the bone didn’t heal properly, he had to have screws inserted to help the healing process.

After playing extremely well in his absence, the Devils defense came back down to Earth in the last month. One quick look at the average time on ice will show you a good indicator why:

Andy Greene:

Minutes 2008-2009: 16:17

Minutes 2009-2010: 24:29

Colin White:

Minutes 2008 – 2009: 19:01

Minutes 2009 – 2010: 20:04

Mike Mottau:

Minutes 2008 – 2009: 17:47

Minutes 2009 – 2010: 22:32

The only Devil who hasn’t seen an increase in his numbers is Bryce Salvador. But giving defensmen such as Greene and Mottau extra minutes will wear them down. Greene hasn’t been the offensive force he was earlier in the season, and Mottau continues to make mistakes and play terrible defense in his own zone. The Devils glaring holes at the blueline were highlighted when Martin went down. The team will be glad to see Martin back in the lineup in San Jose March 2nd.

These are the more significant injuries for the Devils this season. Elias and Zubrus both have some back to form, and adding in Clarkson and Martin will compare to adding two above-average players in a trade. Clarkson will bring back the grit and toughness this team sorely lacks, and Martin will bring an offensive presence to the blueline. Martin also allows head coach Jacques Lemaire to take some minutes away from Mottau and other defenseman. When March 2nd rolls around, it’ll be the first time in a long time the Devils can say they are playing with their “regulars.”