Devils In-Depth Rd 1 Gm 7 Recap / Season Recap

With a flick of the wrist, it was all over.

The deafening arena, the passionate play, the visions of Alex Ovechkin warming up on that very ice seemingly too real to be just visions. But in the end, the same old mistakes that have been killing the Devils all year long came back to bite them once again.

For those of you wondering why this loss is being touted by many as the worst in Devils history, allow me to explain a few things. In 1994, during that brief period in Stephane Matteau’s career where he actually mattered, the Devils had fought back to tie that game before it went into overtime. In 2001, when the Devils had a legitimate chance to repeat as champions, they came out and played an all-around horrible game, as if they themselves had wanted Ray Bourque to win. But last night, in Game 7, the Devils both had the lead, and were playing like they intended to move on, but they didn’t. As we eulogize the 2009 Devils, let us look back at the same mistakes which they were unable to correct all season long.

1. Powerplay
Not only in this series, but throughout the entire season, the Devils’ powerplay has been, in a word, atrocious. There is no other word in the English language to describe how utterly nonexistent their powerplay was all year. Sure, Brian Rolston got a PP marker to take the 3-2 lead in Game 7, and that’s terrific; but they had more powerplay chances after that, and ONE GOAL could have put this series away for good. It’s not that they don’t score on the powerplay, it’s that they can’t move the puck, they can’t set up scoring chances, they can’t even keep any pressure sustained for more than a few seconds before they watch the puck sail away. Game 7 was just one of the many instances in this series where one powerplay goal would have secured the win. But apparently, that is too much to ask for.

2. Clearing the Puck
This ties in heavily to the first point. Failure to clear the puck while the opponent sustains offensive pressure, seemingly with a great deal of ease, has burned the Devils far too many times this year, and in this last game. The Devils had multiple chances to just find a way to clear the puck somehow, and failed. Tim Gleason, meanwhile, did show some hustle, keeping the puck alive which set up the tying goal.

3. Positioning
Another factor in the tying goal that has burned them all year. If I had every game from this season on my computer, I could post at least 15 examples where the defense was poorly positioned. Many of those will involve Niclas Havelid, even though he was a deadline acquisition. Far too many times, there were instances where 3 or 4 Devils were all concentrated in one area of the ice, very close to each other. So when the opposing player slides the puck through all of them, to a wide open teammate, it’s a goal. Specifically for Game 7, those cross-ice passes that set up the tying goal SHOULD. NOT. HAPPEN. Niclas Havelid was a terrible disappointment, and easily the worst trade deadline deal that Lou has ever made. How he decides in his head that it’s more important to take the body of a player in front of Marty, when his teammate is already doing that, instead of getting a stick on that pass is flat out unacceptable.

4. Soft Goals
I hate saying it as much as anyone else, especially given the way he bounced back this year after a down period, but Martin Brodeur, for as great as he’s been all series, let in one of the easiest shots to stop he will ever face on Eric Staal’s game winner. Staal got all he wanted on the shot, but it was more of a lob than anything, and slow enough that anyone on these boards could have stopped it. Unfortunately, beginning with last year’s playoffs, Marty has been letting in some very easy goals lately. It was originally thought to be a cold streak that every player goes through, and eventually he rebounded. But when a goal like that goes in, you start to wonder how much he has left in the tank.

5. 60 Minute Effort
If you had to identify one killer which became the downfall of the 2009 Devils it was putting forth the full 60 minute effort. In Game 4, they only showed up for the third period, and not even the entire third period. In Game 7, they played arguably their best 58 minutes of the entire season. But hockey games don’t last 58 minutes, now do they? Two bad minutes can kill you in the playoffs, and they did.

But I hate to leave this season behind on such a sour note. I’m disappointed because of the tremendous potential this team had to go on a deep playoff run, but there were too many great things that happened this year to just write it off. First and foremost, obviously, are the two major milestones that were accomplished. Martin Brodeur is now the all-time winningest goaltender in NHL history, and Patrik Elias is now the all-time team leader in points. Zach Parise also had a breakout year, making his first All-Star team and coming dangerously close to breaking the franchise’s all-time marks for most goals and points in a single season. Here is a more complete list of Devils Milestones from the 08-09 season:
10/18: Petr Vrana’s first game, first goal.
10/22: Pierre-Luc Leblond’s first game, first point.
10/29: Matt Halischuk’s first game, first point.
11/01: Nicklas Bergfors’ first goal.
11/09: Jay Leach & Patrick Davis’ first game.
11/12: Jamie Langenbrunner’s 300th career assist.
11/21: Kevin Weekes’ 100th career win.
11/23: Jay Leach’s first point.
12/17: Dainius Zubrus’ 800th career game.
12/19: Jamie Langenbrunner’s 400th game as a Devil.
12/27: Zach Parise’s 200th career point.
12/30: Jamie Langenbrunner’s 500th career point.
01/04: Travis Zajac’s 200th career game.
01/06: Mike Rupp’s 300th career game.
01/10: Zach Parise’s 100th career goal, Brian Rolston’s 1,000th career game.
01/11: Bobby Holik’s 200th goal as a Devil.
01/21: Colin White’s 100th career point.
01/29: Johnny Oduya’s 200th career game.
02/03: Bryce Salvador’s 500th career game.
02/06: Patrik Elias’ 400th career assist.
02/11: Patrik Elias’ 800th career game, Brendan Shanahan’s 1,500th career game.
02/13: Zach Parise’s 300th career game.
03/01: Martin Brodeur’s 100th career shutout, Jamie Langenbrunner’s 200th career goal, Brian Gionta’s 300th career point.
03/10: Bobby Holik’s 1,300th career game.
03/14: Patrik Elias’ 700th career point, Brian Rolston’s 300th career goal.
03/17: Martin Brodeur’s 552nd career win, Patrik Elias’ 702nd career point.
03/18: John Madden’s 700th career game.

So while this season ended on a sour note, this season also brought a lot to cheer about for Jersey’s Team. All the injuries, all the new faces forced into the lineup who came through for the team, all the milestones. After all the obstacles, the Devils only finished with 106 points and their 8th division title. There are some tough decisions to make over the summer, and ones that may bring some new faces to Prudential Center. Despite the trade for Niclas Havelid, who hopefully will never be seen in a Devils uniform again, I have faith in Lou Lamoriello to rebuild this team and make the 2010 season one for the ages.

I’ll be posting my own thoughts on that matter in the next couple of days, but first, I really need some time to come to grips with the fact that the season of infinite potential is actually over.