*** Follow me @NJDAdvocate

As the Ice Hockey World Championship nears the medal round in Sweden/Finland, I thought I'd give a quick update on how our Devils are doing in the NHL off-season.

Ilya Kovalchuk leads the tourney in scoring with 13 points in 7 games (8g,5a) along with a leading 29 penalty minutes. How is that for a stat sheet! Glad to see him still dominating. Now, if Uncle Lou only added another scoring winger, the Devils could still be playing NHL hockey.
He also leads the tourney with a +8. Can you say MVP?

Andrei Loktionov has 1 assist in 7 games to go along a +6 rating.

Stephen Gionta has 3 goals for Team USA in 6 games.

Ryan Carter has been held scoreless in 7 games.

Marek Zidlicky for the Czechs played only 1 game and added 21.12 minutes on the ice.

Henrik Tallinder is logging in second most ice time on the Swedish team. He has 1g and 1a in 6 games. He also has 16 PIMs in those 6 games (he had 10 PIMs in 25 games this past season with the Devils).

Just a quick recap for us Devils fans who are missing the action.

****************************

How about that Bruins/Leafs game last night?? Tough break, or break down, for Leafs. Not a good day to be a Leafs fan but, in my opinion, the immediate future hasnt looked so bright for Leafs Nation.

Here are some surprise stats as I look at where we stand after the first round:

Top 4 point scorers are all Centers (Krejci, Malkin and tied for third are Crosby and Brassard)

Yes, Brassard. 2g, 7a in 7 games. He has had a rebirth in NY. As much as it pains me to say, NY is playing good hockey, at a good time.

JVR lead in shots in the first round with 33. (but only a 6.1% shooting percentage)

Doug Murray of the Pens leads the shooting % with 50%. (2g on 4 shots)

Ryan Suter lead ice time with an avg. of 31.37 minutes per game. No surprise.

Of the top 30 players averaging ice time, only one is not a Dman - Ryan Kelser with an avg. of 23.06 minutes.

And my Round 2 picks are as follows:
Hawks vs. Wings - Hawks in 6
Kings vs. Sharks - Sharks in 6 (I think this is a make or break year for Sharks and they can go far as expectations have been low)
Penguins vs. Senators - Penguins in 5
Bruins vs. Rangers - Bruins in 5

What are YOUR second round predictions?

Truly yours,
The Devils Advocate
@NJDAdvocate

Join the Discussion: » 12 Comments » Post New Comment

» Which player has the most pressure in camp?

» Zajac retires... as a Devil!

» Rookies - What has two games showed us?

» Five Questions facing the Devils - Woo & The Advocate Edition. *Updated*

» Devils Pipeline Battle - Who cracks the lineup?