Scouting Reports main page | Division Rankings
New Jersey Devils
Overall: 5
Atlantic Division: 2
| |  |
| Brodeur's play dropped off in the playoffs. (Tim Defrisco) |
|
How
do you explain a team that had the NHL's
second-best regular-season record in 1997-98 but suffered a
humiliating first-round postseason loss to the Senators?
According to the Devils, they fell head over heels into
their own neutral-zone trap. "Most of
the season we'd score a goal or two and then shut down the
offense and play not to lose," says center Bobby
Holik. "That got us into defensive habits, and in the
playoffs we didn't have the creativity to score in a tight
game."
No player better exemplified the Devils' lopsided season
than Holik, who led New Jersey with 29 goals but didn't
light the lamp in his final 22 games, including the
postseason. Holik's drought kept alive a streak in which no
Devil has scored 30 or more
goals since 1993-94, the first season under coach Jacques
Lemaire, a proponent of the offense-numbing trap. After
three straight
disappointing playoff performances, Lemaire resigned in May
and was replaced by assistant Robbie Ftorek. "I
believe in
Jacques's system," says Ftorek, "though there will be
some twists to
it."
Ftorek plans to allow his
defensemen to rush more aggressively, and he will rely less on a
checking fourth line. After losing star center Doug Gilmour
to free agency, Ftorek will turn to rookie Brendan
Morrison, who showed promise at the end of last
season by scoring five goals in 11
regular-season games. More goals would ease the stress on
netminder Martin
Brodeur, who had a minuscule 1.89 goals-against average but
who was fatigued by the spring after playing in 70
regular-season
games.
Brodeur and the rest of the players plan to pace themselves
this season. Following a blueprint perfected by the
two-time defending champion Red Wings, look for the Devils
to be less dominant in the regular season in hopes of being
more dominant when the
stakes are higher. "No matter how many points we have
during the season, we start the playoffs with zero like
everybody else," says Holik. "If you win the Cup,
you're on top of the world. Who cares about anything
else?"
—By Tim Crothers
Fast Fact
Center Petr Sykora was the Devils' good-luck charm last
season. New Jersey did not lose any of the 14
regular-season games
(13-0-1) in which Sykora scored a
goal.
Keys To Success
- Center Bobby Holik must play offense as he did in the first
66 games last season (29 goals), not as he did in the final 22 (0).
- New backup goaltender Chris Terreri needs to be solid so that
Martin Brodeur can get an occasional breather and be fresh
during the postseason.
Scouting Reports main page | Division Rankings
|
