Thrashers mean bad news for the Devils

Beware Feb. 6.

That's the next time the Devils face the Atlanta Thrashers and, if things continue the way they have been this season against the Thrashers, it won't be a good night for the Devils.

The Devils have faced the Thrashers three times this season and all three games have featured significant negatives.

**On Oct. 16 in Atlanta, Brian Rolston suffered a high ankle sprain in the third period of a 1-0 win that started the Devils' ridiculous early season rash of injuries.

**On Nov. 1 at Prudential Center, Martin Brodeur reached out to make a save and then grabbed for his left elbow. The initial announcement by the team was that it was only a bruised elbow. Four days later, Lou Lamoriello revealed that it was a torn biceps tendon that would keep Brodeur out for three to four months. At least the Devils won the game, 6-1.

**Thursday night, the Devils were shut out by a Thrashers team that had allowed the most goals in the NHL and hadn't posted a shutout all season.

So, what happens on Feb. 6 at Phillips Arena?

Comments

[pando20rules]

hopefully the Devils remember last night's effort, and go all out to redeem theselves with a 6-0 victory. One can hope!

[theking72]

Karma swings back the other way; the Thrashers perform so poorly that they are immediately relocated to Anchorage.

[Pearl Jammed]

hopefully the Devils find their stride again by then... if not then its gonna be ugly. That said i don't expect a team as good as the Devils to get shut out by one of the worst teams in the league again

[Jim]

The same thing that happens every time the Devils play a bad team. They play down to the team they're up against. Just like they play up against teams like Boston.

Sutter should print up fake newspaper reports showing the Thrashers in first place, and the Devils will beat the crap out of them.

[EssexCntyDev]

Things happen in threes. I'm not worried but we should have known something was going to go wrong last night. At least there were no injuries.

[Josh]

One of our players heads is going to fall off.

[Maxwell]

NostraTGmus! I can't look at Feb. yet because the last 10 games of Jan. look to be very difficult. If they can get +12 points for the rest of the month, I would be pretty happy.

I thought the game-changing play last night (and this is minor but I feel a microcosm of the events that have unfolded in the past couple of weeks) was the beginning of the second period. The devils were on a powerplay. They started from behind their own net, and drove up ice. Elias came into the zone, made a nifty backhanded pass to Zajac who had his head down and didn't notice that the RD for ATL had pinched too hard and was completely out of position. He had a wide open lane to the net, but, with his head down, made an automatic pass to his right which was intercepted and cleared.

My point is that I feel like they're not reacting to what they are seeing (or simply not seeing it). To play "inspired hockey" to me is a stupid term. They just need to get back to playing with their heads up, and start reacting to what their opponent is doing again. It's not about being inspired (I think they are), it's about making smart decisions and not EVER overlooking your opponent.

[SonicDude]

sutter is very plugged into this team.
i think he will work with them on this malaise, and a cross-country road trip is likely a good way to communicate with them. langs needs to step up vocally as well.

but this also needs to be a wake up call for lou...when zach doesn't score, we're in trouble b/c elias and gio can be streaky, and rolston is still not up to snuff.

plus, whitey showed us that we need another d-man. i know he missed time, but he looks very slow despite his +/-.

[dave]

TG have you figured out yet why 90% of the team was missing for the start of the third?

[modnarm]

Chico chokes and dies durin Chico Eats. -nothin against him, i love the guy. Either that or Parise gets an eye taken out by a puck.

[Christian T.]

Brodeur announces his retirement at the game.

[modnarm]

wow.

[mikeschoenf]

I have heard bits and pieces of what happend at the start of the third. I was at a wake so I missed the game. Could somebody please tell me what occured?

[Josh]

Mike - players just kind of slowly trickled onto the bench during the first minute of play in the third. There were literally six guys on the ice but only four on the bench to start the third period. Everyone was accounted for within the first minute or so, though.

[MW]

Let's just forfeit.......

[mikeschoenf]

hmm very weird. Thanks Josh.

[Alz]

Ilya Kovalchuk puts up a hat trick in the Devils 5-1 rout of the Thrashers.

Brian Gionta gets the lone goal for his new team, assisted by Jay Pandolfo and Andy Green.

//hey, a guy can dream, right?

[Prokat]

TG,
As I said yesterday and I'll say it again the trouble with this team is going to be the offense and it dates back to last year.
When Parise is 'off his game' then the whole Devils offense has the flu.
There is a malaise on this team for some reason and it's time for Langenbrunner to step up or get out of the way as team Captain.
Just once can someone 'light a fire' by having this team come out and hit everything in sight?
Where is the 'spark'?
Where is the 'intensity'?
There was more intensity/desperation seen during the Hurricane's game while the Devils pulled Clem 5 minutes left in the 3rd then any time since the Habs game.
Is there too much veteran complacency?
What is your observation TG?

[Jim]

Langenbrunner talks about how they need to play with fire, but he doesn't lead by example. He stands around.

Then you have Gionta icing the puck TWICE at the end of the Carolina game. TG, is the "Shot Club" still going on during practice? They seemed to do well when they were taking extra shots.

[Kevin]

I wish Gionta would learn a new move when he's got the puck on the 2 on 1. He either passes, shoots, or drives the net and tries to flick it past the goalie.

Hey Brian, ever hear of the toe drag? I think its a testament to his lack of confidence in his puck handling. It is really turning him into a one demensional player

[JJ]

As fans it's easy to go nuts when our team doesn't live up to expectations because we invest energy, time and money and we want nothing more than for them to succeed. We have to keep in perspective that these guys are human and that like the rest of us there are times where we get complacent and/or look for shortcuts in life. Sutter's comments speak volumes to me. You can call him a mumbler or a hayseed but this guy understands what it takes to win the wars in hockey over the long haul.

"It has nothing to do with the game," Devils coach Brent Sutter said. "Nothing can happen correctly on the ice unless you are focused off the ice. Mentally you need to be where you need to be, as far as preparing the right way. It's just what happens when you have success. You forget what we did as a hockey team. You start looking for other ways. You start getting away from the things you need to do as an individual and as a team. Indvidually if you're not doing the right things then the team isn't going to be doing the right things."

[JJ]

I know for myself personally when I am under a deadline or when I am swamped and feel like I need 8 arms to get everything done I tend to be at my sharpest because I know I have to be in order to do things right, but when things are slow I start making stupid mistakes because my head is just not in the game. I'm sure the same applies to hockey players.

[TG]

Parise has not played great in the last two or three games. Elias/Zubrus carried the Devils in the win over Ottawa, so they can win games when Parise isn't playing well offensively, but, of course, they need him to play well to be successful long term.

Really, I think they need Parise and Elias almost equally. When one of them plays well, the team can get by in some games and win, but doesn't play well consistently. When both play poorly, they've got no shot. When both play well, as they did for much of November and December, the Devils put their best stretches together.

[TG]

The shot club is out there before every practice and morning skate.

[SonicDude]

TG

that's true but I would add that if we had a true passing center to get these guys the puck more readily in scoring positions -- rather than digging the puck from the corners seemingly for every goal -- their slumps would be very short-lived. zajac is a good, but not great passer, and zubes is only a good passer from gretzky's office.

but i know getting such a player is very difficult.