New Jersey Devils’ Offense Stopped Before It Started
By Nick Villano
@nick_villano
Getty Images
New Jersey Devils fans were excited to start this season after it seemed like their team had something of a good offense. Over the first three games, the team scored 13 goals while winning all three games.
Those days seem like seasons ago. After getting shutout by the Vancouver Canucks on Tuesday, the Devils offense once again looks lifeless. They have scored two goals or less in every matchup except their last game against the Calgary Flames. In that game, the Devils allowed two goals in the final three minutes to blow the lead.
At one point this season, the Devils were the highest scoring team in the league. Now they are ranked 22nd in scoring. This is what many think of when it comes to a Devils offense.
The team was supposed to be better than this. They have Adam Henrique, Jaromir Jagr, Patrik Elias, Marek Zidlicky and Michael Ryder from last year’s team. They added Michael Cammalleri and Martin Havlat to this season’s team. Somehow, that isn’t translating to more goals. They are still mediocre at best on offense.
They can’t seem to get everyone going at once. They will get goals from the top line one night, but will get bottom six production on other nights. They cannot seem to get it all going at once.
Head coach Peter DeBoer has to do something to get this offense moving. Nobody is happy with how things have been going. They can’t expect Cory Schneider to shutout the competition every night. It is time for the offense to play like they showed they are capable of playing earlier in the season. If they don’t the Devils will see themselves outside the playoff picture for the third time in a row.
Nick Villano is the New Jersey Devils writer for Rant Sports. He also adds to the site’s NBA, MLB and NFL content. You can follow him on Twitter or add him to your Google circle.
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