Two-man advantage leads to negative turn for Devils (updated)

If there was a turning point in the Devils' 5-2 loss to the Flyers tonight -- and it's difficult to say that in a game they trailed 4-0 and 5-1 -- it would be the two-minute two-man advantage the Devils had in the first period.

"You could tell after that, it worked on our minds because we weren't good after it at all," Devils coach Jacques Lemaire said. "We started to turn the puck over and not be as good as with the puck as we were at the start...We couldn't get going and I think they fed from that big time."

It was still 0-0 at the time and they managed only one shot on goal on that 5-on-3, which came when Scott Hartnell (crosschecking) and Jeff Carter (hooking) were both sent off at 9;49 of the first. The only shot was a right point shot by Brian Rolston that hit goaltender Ray Emery in the logo on his chest. Otherwise, the Devils did a lot of standing around and did nothing to create shots with their puck movement.

"We just didn't get any good scoring chances," left wing Zach Parise said. "That was ugly. That was very ugly, We're going to have to look at it and see what went wrong. We weren't very sharp on that."

Lemaire gave this postgame evaluation of what went wrong on that 5-on-3.

"If you try to make plays down low and their team is good down low, you've got to get the shots from the point," he said. "We didn't get the shot. We always had the puck down low and there was nothing open. So, we go back to the point and then they go point to point and then he can't shoot (so he) sends it down low. We had control. We just didn't get any shots because the guys were not moving."

{Follow this blog on Twitter at http://twitter.com/TGfireandice}

Lemaire sent out two interesting five-man units during the two-man advantage. He began the power play with five forwards -- Rolston and Zach Parise appeared to be the point men and Dainius Zubrus and rookies Matt Halischuk and Niclas Berfors were up front.

Part of the reason for this was that the Parise-Travis Zajac-Jamie Langenbrunner line was on the ice when the penalties took place. Zajac and Langenbrunner were on the ice for nearly a minute before that, so they coudn't start the power play (Lemaire mentioned after the game that several players extended their shifts too long). Parise was out for only about 30 seconds before the penalties so he was able to stay on.

As it turned out, that first unit generated the only shot of that two-man advantage.

The second unit was comprised of defensemen Paul Martin and Cory Murphy on the points and Langenbrunner, Zajac and David Clarkson (in front of net) up front. That group was particularly bad. They seemed to stand still most of the time they were out there.

"We were out of sorts for whatever reason," Langenbrunner said. "The first group that went out there, I think it was the first time those five had been together. So they were kind of trying to figure out who was going where before the faceoffs. The second (unit) we had some chances to take some shots and we didn't take them. We passed up a couple of opportunities. On 5-on-3s, you've got to move it quick and get shots. You obviously outnumber them, so you have to take advantage of it." 

Comments

[Puckster]

The 5 on 3 missed opportunities (especially the first one) were definitely turning points, but even if you score on both of them, they still lose 5-4 everything else being equal. Bottom line tonight is that you can't give up 3 to 4 soft goals and expect to win a hockey game. It's just that simple.

[Craigwell]

We have to look forward to Monday. They'll be better.

[NeilS]

I think Lemaire hit it on the head though Puckster, you could see them just deflate after that 5 on 3 went nowhere. Then the missed chances and pucks that went wide in the 2nd period where all they did was shoot on the PP just added to it. If they were able to cash in on a couple of those, it may have had a very different ending. Either way, that one's done, you take the positives and move into the next game, there's still 81 of them, and every day brings Elias closer to returning too.

[dyeharddevilsfan]

What a pansy game. No pushing shoving or fighting. were playing the flyers come on!!!!! guess well see PL3 and maybe ILLKA next game!!!

[Craigwell]

Well, Devils took their cue from the Flyers not dressing Cote or Asham.

[Jim B]

I thought the initial part of the game was uptempo and had some intensity, but once the flyers killed off the 5-3 they gained all the momentum and the Devils were done....it didnt help that brodeur was god awful

[NeilS]

The Devils did look lifeless at times and I guarentee if Leblond had been out there throwing the body, which he does much better than Peters, he would have brought some life to the game. Leblond and Pikkarainen out there banging and crashing with Pelley would have given much more energy than Halischuk, who is supposed to do exactly what next to Peters and Pelley?

I didn't understand that move at all in scratching Leblond but keeping Peters.

[Craigwell]

I do agree Neil, that Leblond might have been better to dress instead of Peters. He would have been able to handle the policing duties without Cote/Asham out there fine on his own, and yes - he's a better Energy player.

[nnjrules]

Liked what I saw from neids. Parise seemed to pick up his game when him and Pronger got going a bit in the 2nd. Other than that flat.. Clarkson zippo, love the guy but carcillo/lappy aren't going to scrap or get into it with peters, salvador or clarkson should have started something. Murphy was ok at even strength and brutal on the PP. Paul martin well no reason to rehash my feelings on him. Elias is the straw that stirs the drink and we will struggle to keep our heads above water till he returns at 100%. Funny how they listed him as center when they announced the scratch list.
Quick poll just give me the name no reasons needed.
Who would you rather have play?

Pando
Shanny

[jdragione]

The powerplay looked ATROCIOUS as did the goaltending, offense, defense and every other aspect of the game. It's just one game, but I was not at all impressed by the "kids" and would rather have my veterans such as Gionta (who scored the game winning goal for the Canadians, BTW) on my team.

[RickyM2]

Marty having a bad game isn't anything to get in an uproar about. I didnt care too much about win or lose. I just wanted to see where we were. We had ZERO offense or defense going. We were trying to be too fancy on a 5 on 3 (2x) and we came up short. Bergfors was a nightmare by missing countless passes off his stick. Halischuk played like the Zoolander he just couldnt turn left. Sad that our own house mocked our own goalie. WOW WE JUST SUCKED.. Tonight CBA would have beat us

[TheUnseenHand]

On a terrible day for Marty giving up 5 goals and being out against the best players for the flyers Martin managed to be only -1. All-in-all not too bad for the way the game went. I said this same thing in the other post: Not capitalizing on the 5 on 3's KILLED them the same way it's done for the past few seasons. If they get 2 goals off those power plays like they should and have a lead the game may have gone a completely different direction. I am interested to see if/how Lemaire can sort out the mess that is/has been the Devils power play for the past couple seasons...

[NWKDevilsFan]

I'm happy that Gio is going well in Montreal. But 5mil/per is totally unresonable, so its not even worth discussing

[Futureman80]

Murphy looked terrible as did Brodeur. Bergfors had flashes of greatness for a kid wet behind the ears. Marty was right, they played down low and close to him alot. Parisie and Zajak looked good together. Zubrus looked good too. Zubie, Rolston and Bergie was the best line of the night. The "D" needs to shake off the rust.

[Phil]

coulda used shanny tonight

[jdragione]

NWKDevilsFan i guarantee if Lou would have approached Gionta earlier maybe before the end of the season and offered him an extension for maybe 3-3.5 million he would have agreed.

[TheUnseenHand]

jdragione: Lest we forget who the Canadians played. The Sabres are not as good as the flyers. I don't know that Gio and Madden would have made a huge difference in this game. The simple fact is that Marty lost this game. He will come back strong (I hope) like he usually does and this team will be OK. There were some mistakes but that's to be expected in the first game against a team that is projected by many to be the Eastern conference winner. Also don't forget the Devils were without Patty who is the flyer killer. No need to panic. I like to see the kids get their feet wet and I think they did all right. I'll be looking forward to the next game to see how they bounce back.

[NWKDevilsFan]

Everyone let's not get in an uproar over this game. Bottom line is Marty was terrible, I've seen games where he gave up 2 bad goals tops, but tonight at least 3 of them were very questionable. That and the two 5 on 3 PPs that did nothing were the story of the game.

[Brodie30]

Ugh. No one looked good tonight. No chemistry. Marty looked like he was playing on cold medicine.

[Craigwell]

Yes, Bergfors looked good. So did Niedermayer (he doesn't give up).

Keep Shanahan or Pandolfo? That is tough, but I say Pando. Verdict might be out until we see how he's used and what he can do, but I do have a little loyalty to the guy.

Don't forget the season he was having until he got hurt there.

[modnarm]

this team looked like they were 64 years old...

[Jason]

If the Isles do end up moving, the Devils should definitely consider moving their minor league team to Bridgeport. Great arena, very good attendance for a minor league team, and plenty to do in the downtown area.

[AreJay]

Defense is still, and will always be, the problem.

It has been the problem for nearly five years. Nothing has changed. Every year, same thing. A bunch of non-NHL caliber reclamation projects. This time it's Cory Murphy, who wasn't good enough to play for the Panthers and Lightning... two non-playoff teams... but is suddenly good enough for the Devils. The only reason he's playing is because Andy Greene is even worse, and Matt Corrente had a bad camp.

That is not getting it done. Not at all. Brodeur was bad, but good defense prevents those chances from even happening in the first place. The Flyers have Pronger, Timonen, and Coburn. All three of those guys are better than at least five of the Devils' starters on D. Probably all six.

I'm just flatout sick of it. No more Murphys, no more Mottaus, no more Leachs and Greenes, just no more. I want some honest to God TALENT! I want a management and an ownership with the GUTS to find a way to pay for it! Why does Lamoriello continue to refuse to upgrade this team's most lacking concern? The only reason this team is ranked high in defensive stats with these scrubs is because of goaltending, and when the goaltending fails you get games like this.

But I know it won't happen. We're stuck with a bunch of guys who can't shoot and can't jumpstart any sort of breakout. This team, as constituted this very minute, will be LUCKY to lose in the first round.

[NWKDevilsFan]

Sorry for the multiple posts, but I'm really shocked at the lack of physical play in this game. Opening night against Philly and no scrums or even checks from both sides? Just shows we need to get to the net more- aside from ZZPops, we basically have 3 new lines, so they have build some chemistry. Let's see what happens on Monday night

[RandomHero]

Unless we would have put Shanny in goal he would not have helped this team tonight.