In what was the Devils’ last game before the Olympic break, they certainly didn’t get the result they wanted.
New Jersey has struggled to score goals consistently all season long, and that monster reared its ugly head one last time heading into the break.
Despite having ample opportunity to find twine, the Devils couldn’t convert on any of their chances while Julien Brouillette managed to score his 1st career goal en route to a 3-0 win.
One goal of support was all Braden Holtby needed as he came up big making several quality saves while stopping all 25 shots he faced.
On the other side, the Devils wasted another strong effort from Cory Schneider, who stopped 23-24 (.958 save percentage) while allowing two goals or less for the 13th time in his last 14 starts. It was also the 8th time in that span that he’s allowed one goal or less, yet he’s won just seven games.
New Jersey can’t score goals, and if Lou Lamoriello wants this team to make the playoffs he’s going to have add some scoring punch. As Patrik Elias told Devils beat writer Randy Miller, “it doesn’t take a rocket scientist” to see that the Devils need help up front.
If Lamoriello doesn’t trade for help, in all likelihood the Devils will slowly dwindle away down the stretch and miss the playoffs for the third time over the last four seasons. That’s not an acceptable feat for a team that enjoyed consistent success over the last 15 years prior.
– I recently posted my midseason rankings for the top-30 first-year NHL draft eligible players from the OHL. You can view that here.
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Email: NHLToddCordell@Gmail.com