The New Jersey Devils hosted a struggling team in the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday night and, though the Devils held a 2-1 lead in the 3rd period, they were unable to pick even a point with a 3-2 regulation loss.
Some thoughts on the loss, Cory Schneider and the week ahead:
- Colorado's 2nd goal was one that never should have gone in and it probably cost the Devils at least a point, but it's really not the end of the world. Blame Schneider all you want, but they may very well have lost anyways and it's not like the Devils gave him a ton of support. Two goals against a team that has won six of 19 games and allows over three goals per game is hardly something to write home about.
Schneider has started every single game and the Devils are .5 points behind the Rangers for a division playoff spot. Sure he's allowed more weak ones than anyone would like, but the Devils are right in the thick of things and there is still over 75% of the season left. Take a deep breathe, folks.
- Up next for the Devils: western Canada road trip with games in Winnipeg, Edmonton, Calgary and Vancouver. I'd say five points is fine, and anything more than that is a very successful trip. This is a big week for the team.
- Adam Larsson was a positive possession player once again and only Andy Greene played more on a PK unit that was once again perfect. Larsson, as noted before, has played a lot of minutes on the penalty kill of late and they've killed off 11 straight. Is that a coincidence? I wouldn't think so.
- After a long dry spell offensively, Patrik Elias snapped out of it a little bit with a pair of assists. One reason for his struggles: he's not shooting the puck. Elias has just one shot in his last five games, which is very low for any player regardless of he has a pass first mentality.
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