The New Jersey Devils have given up eight power play goals in the last four games. Even though New Jersey shutout the Minnesota Wild, the game could have easily been 4-3 hadn’t been Martin Brodeur’s first star performance. Suddenly, the Devils find themselves struggling.

How to fix the penalty killing problem?

Before the trade deadline, I felt that New Jersey needed a defenseman with a mean streak and attitude to help protect Martin Brodeur. Instead, Lou Lamoriello brought in a solid defenseman in Niclas Havelid, but he does not possess that “shutdown” defenseman mentality New Jersey needed. Brent Sutter needs to find a way to get the message across: No one should ever get near Brodeur.

In the past few games, the opposition forwards are creating a lot of traffic in front of Brodeur’s crease and going hard to the net. As a result, Brodeur is getting bumped on numerous occasions. I credit the opposing forwards because they are getting scoring opportunities on the power play as Brodeur struggles to find the puck. The Devils’ blueline needs to recognize this and box out the crease.

On the penalty kill, the Devils’ defense looked slow and a half a stride behind the play. They were stagnant and stationary, while the puck moved quickly to the point. A physical presence is needed in front of Brodeur and anyone caught going hard to the crease needs to pay the consequences. It is inexcusable to have allowed that many opposing forwards hit Brodeur without paying the price.

It is time for a change in attitude to combat this problem on man down situations. The defensive corps needs to get in the faces of the opposition every time they get near Brodeur. The time to get nasty is now before the playoff run. The Devils need to make the opposition think twice before going hard to the net because any slight hesitation maybe the difference between winning and losing.

This is the Eastern Conference and playing “soft” defensively is not going to get the job done, especially when teams play physical on every shift. Sutter wants to avoid a similar collapse like last season. It all starts with the defense. If they can clear out the crease and give Brodeur time to find the puck, expect the Devils to have success. If not, it maybe another long summer for New Jersey.

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