Brodeur: 'We're not an elite team yet'
January, 24, 2012
Jan 24
11:01
PM ET
By Mike Mazzeo | ESPNNewYork.com
The Devils squandered a chance to gain some separation between themselves and the other teams fighting for the final playoff spots in the Eastern Conference heading into the All-Star break.
They closed out their four-game homestand with three straight losses -- including a 2-1 shootout defeat on Tuesday night at the hands off a floundering Sabres team that hadn’t won on the road since Dec. 3, a string of 12 consecutive games.
“We’re not an elite team yet,” goaltender Martin Brodeur said. “We’re in the middle of the pack and we’ve struggled to win games and we’ve gotta get to that level. And I believe that we’re capable of doing that.”
But how?
“Just being more consistent and winning more,” Brodeur said. “Just minimizing mistakes. Our special teams needs to be better on both sides. We were really good on the penalty kill, but we haven’t had a great stretch on the power play yet, and you can’t go far if your special teams aren’t good in this league.”
Coach Peter DeBoer agreed with his veteran leader’s assessment of where the team is at with 34 games remaining on the schedule.
“We’re not exactly where we wanna be,” DeBoer said of the Devils, who currently sport a 26-19-3 record and are tied with the Maple Leafs for seventh place in the East. “We’re going to take a deep breath and get ready for this sprint to the finish line.”
A reporter asked DeBoer specifically if the Devils needed to improve their scoring; they’ve managed just one goal in each of those three losses.
On Tuesday night, after a terrible first period, DeBoer moved Adam Henrique down to the third line with Ryan Carter and Alexei Ponikarovsky, while moving Dainius Zubrus up to the first line between Zach Parise and Ilya Kovalchuk, and David Clarkson to the second line alongside Patrik Elias and Petr Sykora. The Devils coach was looking to recapture the offensive output those reworked combinations produced in the 5-1 victory over the Jets at the beginning of the homestand despite not having Henrique in the lineup. But Buffalo netminder Ryan Miller was brilliant, and wouldn’t let it happen.
“It’s gotta be everything,” DeBoer said. “We’re gonna have to be tight defensively, and our special teams have to be very good on both ends. This is where the rubber hits the road in these last [34] games in all areas. Sure you need to score more, but we’ve gotta take a step in a lot of different areas to get where we wanna go.”
They closed out their four-game homestand with three straight losses -- including a 2-1 shootout defeat on Tuesday night at the hands off a floundering Sabres team that hadn’t won on the road since Dec. 3, a string of 12 consecutive games.
“We’re not an elite team yet,” goaltender Martin Brodeur said. “We’re in the middle of the pack and we’ve struggled to win games and we’ve gotta get to that level. And I believe that we’re capable of doing that.”
But how?
“Just being more consistent and winning more,” Brodeur said. “Just minimizing mistakes. Our special teams needs to be better on both sides. We were really good on the penalty kill, but we haven’t had a great stretch on the power play yet, and you can’t go far if your special teams aren’t good in this league.”
Coach Peter DeBoer agreed with his veteran leader’s assessment of where the team is at with 34 games remaining on the schedule.
“We’re not exactly where we wanna be,” DeBoer said of the Devils, who currently sport a 26-19-3 record and are tied with the Maple Leafs for seventh place in the East. “We’re going to take a deep breath and get ready for this sprint to the finish line.”
A reporter asked DeBoer specifically if the Devils needed to improve their scoring; they’ve managed just one goal in each of those three losses.
On Tuesday night, after a terrible first period, DeBoer moved Adam Henrique down to the third line with Ryan Carter and Alexei Ponikarovsky, while moving Dainius Zubrus up to the first line between Zach Parise and Ilya Kovalchuk, and David Clarkson to the second line alongside Patrik Elias and Petr Sykora. The Devils coach was looking to recapture the offensive output those reworked combinations produced in the 5-1 victory over the Jets at the beginning of the homestand despite not having Henrique in the lineup. But Buffalo netminder Ryan Miller was brilliant, and wouldn’t let it happen.
“It’s gotta be everything,” DeBoer said. “We’re gonna have to be tight defensively, and our special teams have to be very good on both ends. This is where the rubber hits the road in these last [34] games in all areas. Sure you need to score more, but we’ve gotta take a step in a lot of different areas to get where we wanna go.”
ABOUT THIS BLOG
Katie Strang
After spending the past two seasons as the Islanders beat writer for Newsday, Katie Strang joins ESPNNewYork.com to cover the Rangers, Isles and Devils. She is a graduate of Michigan State University and Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism.
Mike Hume
Mike Hume is a general editor for ESPN Insider, for which he coordinates NHL coverage, including the NHL Draft Blog. He has followed hockey since The Whale skated at the Civvy, and has covered the sport since 2004.
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