Analyzing the Devils' Road Trip

Let us analyze the New Jersey Devils road trip so far and see if progress is being made.

So far, the Devils has visited 2 cities in their 5-game road trip. They are both San Jose and Anaheim. In the first game against San Jose, the Devils' offense and defense were both ineffective, only getting goals from David Clarkson and Andy Greene. The Sharks' top line made them pay with Joe Thornton getting a hat trick, while Patrick Marleau and Dany Heatley each scored a goal en route to a 5-2 win over the Devils.

The Devils got a day off, then tonight, they faced off against the Anaheim Ducks. At first, the Devils' defense seemed to let Martin Brodeur down, resulting in an early second period goal by Jason Blake. However, the Devils' defense stood strong and the offense took over. Jamie Langenbrunner managed to slip one past Hiller a few minutes after the Blake goal at the other end for a 1-1 tie. Then in the 3rd period, Patrick Elias gave them the go-ahead goal. Brodeur and the defense held on for a 2-1 win over the Devils.

So far so good, right? Not quite. The Devils only managed to get one win against two easily defeatable teams. Unfortunately, they face stronger teams the last remaining part of their road trip. They face Los Angeles tomorrow at STAPLES Center, then they travel to Vancouver and then Chicago. It doesn't sound like the Devils' schedule is going to favor them much the rest of their road trip.

Los Angeles is coming off a good win in Dallas, so it sounds like Martin Brodeur is going to have to be tough in net again if he plans on getting a win against a good team like LA. The defense will have to be strong again too. The defense looked a little poor at times against Anaheim and Los Angeles knows how to capitalize on bad defensive plays.

Vancouver and Chicago play tough too, especially the defending champions. Blackhawks player Patrick Sharp is leading the NHL in goals and he'll plan to get more, even against the Devils. Vancouver is coming off a strong overtime win against Colorado, so they'll be ready for a showdown with the Devils.

If the Devils plan on getting back to the top of the Eastern Conference, they'll need to play smarter offense, play strong on defense that will help Brodeur make great saves, and look for the open shots when they are present. Right now, they're still at the bottom of the Eastern Conference. Like hockey players would say: If you want to play with the big boys, you gotta beat the big boys. Right now, that's what the Devils need to do if they want to play at the top.

I'll be in LA tomorrow night for this game, so I'll be looking to see if they plan on capitalizing like they did in Anaheim. Jonathan Quick will be in net for the Kings so it'll be tough for the Devils to look for the good scoring chances, but right now, the Devils need to focus on one game at a time, as well as looking for ways to win games.