The New Jersey Devils appear to have turned it around.
After needing eight games to record their first win of the season, the Devils have recorded at least a point in seven of their 10 games since and carry a 5-2-2 record in their last nine games.
Their most recent victory, of course, coming Tuesday night against a divisional opponent in the New York Rangers.
Led by a two-goal effort from Ryan Carter and a solid performance by Martin Brodeur, the Devils managed to squeeze out a 3-2 road win at MSG.
Some notes:
- Pete DeBoer took his love for Pete Harrold to a whole new level against the Rangers. Not only was Harrold used in all situations, but he led all skaters in ice time with 27:46. Never though I'd see the day.
- Speaking of good ol' Pete Harrold, he has points in back-to-back games after not recording a point in his first 11 games of the season. Give him more ice, DeBoer! You know you want to.
- I was very impressed by Carter's efforts last night. Not only did he score a pair, but he did good work on the penalty kill, had a couple nice hits and played well over 14 minutes. He definitely earned his ice time.
- Brodeur never ceases to amaze me. After a slow start to the season and essentially appointing Cory Schneider the new No. 1 goaltender, Brodeur has been near unbeatable. He's won five of his last six starts and has only allowed seven goals over that span. In those six starts, he also recorded two shutouts, posted a shutout streak of 192:26 and overall has stopped 111 of the last 115 shots he's faced. That's good for a .965 save percentage.
- I thought Travis Zajac played another strong game. On top of playing good defense and winning 59% of his faceoffs, Zajac was a 54.2% possession player and recorded an assist to extend his point streak to two games. He's now only 19 points away from 300 for his career.
- A lot of people have criticized Adam Larsson for not producing enough offense. One reason he's not putting up many points - though he does have two in his last four games - is that he's not shooting. At all. No. 5 has one shot over the last four games.
- Jaromir Jagr added another assist and now has 11 points over his last 11 games. He's just 21 behind Mario Lemieux for 7th all-time.
- One reason the Devils have been so good of late: their PK. They've killed 11-11 over the last two games and now sit 4th in the league in that regard.
- Cam Janssen didn't score nor fight last night. He did contribute in other ways, however (see below).
- It's still early, but the Devils are now just one point out of a playoff spot. Have a nice day.
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