The Devils only have two games remaining before their regular season schedule begins, and they still have plenty of roster decisions to make.
What will the lower-half of the defense look like? Who will backup Cory Schneider? Those are just a couple questions yet to be answered.
Some thoughts:
- Given the departures of Anton Volchenkov and Mark Fayne as well as having one-way contracts, Eric Gelinas and Adam Larsson entered camp virtual locks to make the team. That said, with all the competition in camp Pete DeBoer, Lou Lamoriello and co. wanted them to earn their spots. To this point I'd say they're doing a good job of doing so.
We all know what Gelinas can bring offensively, but his defensive work looks to have improved as well. In Sunday's contest against the Flyers the Devils only allowed one shot attempt (oddly it was a goal) at even strength with Gelinas on the ice, and generated 16. That's a plus-15 differential, which was far and away the best of all players in the game.
Larsson, meanwhile, posted impressive possession numbers - 63% of shot attempts went towards Philadelphia's crease - while logging over 20 minutes of ice.
The two have worked well together in the past and both seem ready to take the next step forward, which is great news for the Devils.
- Pete DeBoer has suggested that Cory Schneider will see a heavy workload this year and could play as many as 65-70 games, so the backup role isn't as important this year as it has been over the last couple. That said, the team obviously still needs a backup they're comfortable in should Schneider falter, or suffer an injury.
Schneider will start the final two preseason games, so Keith Kinkaid and Scott Clemmensen won't be given another opportunity to showcase themselves before the season begins.
Neither goaltender was clearly out of place, but they didn't do much to separate each other in their starts. Kinkaid posted a .902SV%, while Clemmensen recorded a .885SV%, but is coming off a win where he stopped 15-16.
Given the workload will be small, I think it may make sense to let Kinkaid share time with Scott Wedgewood in Albany and give them both more time to develop, but you want the best backup you can have and Kinkaid may be just that.
It'll be interesting to see what the Devils do here.
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