Devils, Penguins going in opposite directions

Devils, Penguins going in opposite directions

9:38am - Friday, November 13th, 2009 by DePaoli

The Pittsburgh Penguins took baby steps Thursday night scoring their first goal in 160 minutes played as Ruslan Fedotenko netted his fourth goal of the season at 11:32 of the first period but Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur shutout the Penguins after that.

Brodeur made 25 saves and Travis Zajac had three assists as the New Jersey Devils defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1 Thursday night at Mellon Arena to take over first place in the Atlantic division.

It was another night of struggles for Pittsburgh who controlled the game for the first 30 minutes but the Devils got better as the game went on, outscoring the Penguins 4-0 in the final two periods.

The Devils improved to 9-0 on the road and are now 10-1 in their last 11 games.

Pittsburgh has lost four straight and the Penguins are now 1-5-0 in their last six games after a 11-2 start.

A glaring stat is that Pittsburgh only has one goal in their past three games and are 0-for-26 in their past 7 games with the man advantage.

Despite being without Evgeni Malkin, Sergei Gonchar, Tyler Kennedy, Brooks Orpik, Max Talbot and Kris Letang, Pittsburgh isn't making excuses, especially the coaching staff.

The staff has not been happy with the defensive breakdowns and the losses have been frustrating for the Penguins.

"We got used to winning, so it's frustrating to get those losses," goaltender Marc Andre Fleury said.

What has been impressive with the Devils 10-1 run, is that they have been able to withstand the losses of Rob Niedermayer, Paul Martin, Johnny Oduya, Jay Pandolfo and Dean McAmmond.

Like the Penguins, the Devils are missing a number of key players including their top two defensemen in Paul Martin and Johnny Oduya.

Martin is one of the most under-rated defenseman in the game and the Devils losing Martin is like Pittsburgh losing Sergei Gonchar.

The Devils and Penguins are two teams going in opposite directions but help is on the way for Pittsburgh.

Evgeni Malkin is on target to return to the lineup Saturday night against Boston.

Another bright spot is that Max Talbot is progressing and is 10-14 days away from returning to the lineup.

The injury to Brooks Orpik is not as bad as once feared and he will be out for two weeks at the max and many sources inside the organization indicate Orpik will be back before two weeks.

With Kris Letang and Sergei Gonchar also due back in 7-10 days, Pittsburgh expects to finally have a healthy lineup by Thanksgiving.

Tyler Kennedy's return remains up in the air. Kennedy has not skated since last Thursday in Los Angeles due to a groin injury.

Pittsburgh is being very cautious with Kennedy. Kennedy is not expected to return to the lineup until next week at the earliest.

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Comments

wolfman

Disco Dan's system is all attack, all the time. Without key spark plugs talbot and kennedy to do the dirty work that leads to transition, the system is pretty limited. anyone can play the trap. glad to see the pens wont go in that direction with disco at the helm!

11/13/2009 9:46am

jeffed

This team is very tough to watch right now. Yes they are beat up but give me a break. Outside of Crosby and Rupp I don't know who's even trying out there. Very loose play and just terrible puck control in the offensive zone. The lines are TERRIBLE also. Cooke - Crosby - Fedetenko is a terrible line. Fedo should be on the 3rd line no matter what personel is available.

11/13/2009 9:51am

ryurko

I think I'd send down conner and call up bayda. 3-4 games is enough for him to show the same that ever other call up does: nothing.

11/13/2009 9:52am

wolfman

unlike the devils system, the pens don't rely on players to jump in and play the trap. the guys who are out are significant parts to a team system based on roles. not easy to replace those that are injured in this situation...

11/13/2009 9:56am

Although they are highly successful, the Devils play one of the most boring brands of hockey know to man. Thankfully, we are spurting in November, and not March. I agree with the Bayda call up too.

11/13/2009 10:12am

jeffed

No one is doubting that the guys that are out are tough to replace but its still hockey, they should be able to look like they have an idea of what they are doing out there. Too often this team has looked absolutely lost and unbelievably inept in the offensive zone.

11/13/2009 10:12am

Powermousemike

i would not be worried until the pens fall past 8th place, especially with everyone out. We got spoiled watching them be dominant with everyone healthy.

11/13/2009 10:19am

Chancebd7

i thought we played good last night the devils got lucky with a few save from Brodeur. that butt end save was so luckyand we hit multiple posts.

11/13/2009 10:33am

Chancebd7

i think we need to fire mike yeo his PP units have under acheived since hes been here, and i think that will definatly spark those guys to improve for sure

11/13/2009 10:35am

jjjr24

Fedotenko had an absolute monster game last night with Crosby. He had a goal, plus he lead the team with 6 shots and had a couple of big hits. He can play on Crosby's line any time he wants when he plays like that. The struggle right now is more with the D. There are guys playing spots they just aren't meant to play in and it's allowing the other team to spend way too much time in our zone. So many times last night an innocent dump in that we are use to seeing innocently turned out of the zone were just fumbled and the Devils got offense working off the mistakes every time. It is not fun watching a stumble like this but it happens, and when a few guys come back it will be fine.

11/13/2009 10:39am

djmr66

I'm starting to hate Staal again...I'm sure it will pass...

11/13/2009 11:04am

jeffed

Staal is tough to watch sometimes. Does he hold his stick or does it just rest in his hands? He whiffs on more shots and passes than anyone I can remember.

11/13/2009 11:15am

mwiles19

My biggest complaint right now with Staal is his unwillingness to go to the front of the net. Yes he grinds in the corners but he isn't doing the power moves in 1 on 1 situations to get to the net that he should be. Last night he came down the wing on a 1 on 1 situation and rather than testing the D-man and making a power move, he curled and pulled up on the half-wall which is not his area of strength and ended up turning the puck over and getting caught flat-footed. That's the only thing I will say about Staal right now, is that he isn't creating chances for himself on the ice.

11/13/2009 11:20am

djmr66

I know the kid is young...he is still learning...but this is his fourth year. While we would not have won the cup without him...it is time he becomes a more consistent point producer. He dissapears for long stretches and he has had the past 7 games as the number 2 center. He is a big boy and needs to start playing with more "Jam". Get Nasty Jordan! And start putting the pick in the net! Too many missed chances.

11/13/2009 11:23am

wfd2183

Everyone needs to calm down, when all these guys got hurt do you guys really think we would be able to win a lot of games? With all these injuries everyone is playing different roles then they are used too and its just not working which is plain to see. Also we no longer have the puck moving defensemen to handle Bylsma's uptempo system. Once we get healthy everything will be fine.

11/13/2009 11:23am

jeffed

WFD- Win a lot of games? not necessarily. But being somewhat competitive and winning some of them should not be an impossibility. They've looked downright terrible.

11/13/2009 11:28am

↑ previous comments ↑

Monrovian12

I only watched the first and a part of the second last night. The Pens seemed to abandon their style of play in the 2nd, I don't understand why, it was working and kept the Devils from playing their game. Regardless of who is out there, the Pens have to play aggressive and attack...Once they went away from that it was over. And through this rash of injuries .500 hockey would be acceptable, but they have also been playing some pretty good teams during this time...

11/13/2009 12:10pm

pghsportsfan22

it's November CALM DOWN, do you want to be leading the EC in November or April???? The Devils are going to a bad patch at some point as well. Pens lose 4 in a row and everyone's off the wagon.

11/13/2009 12:10pm

Strike

Bysma has not shown much in adjusting to these injuries. The team is still looking hesitant. Also we can now judge the talent level of several of the top AHL players. Bourque and Conner have not shown they can be effective at this level.

11/13/2009 12:13pm

dirtmccurt

On a more poistive note, I thought Lovejoy looked pretty good last night

11/13/2009 12:41pm

zerocool6687

Lecavalier and Thornton took 6 or 7 yrs each to come out of their funk as rookies.... Staal is not that type of player offensively but has a lot of talent none-the-less.... You see many flashes of what he may develop into and as usual his D is always overlooked! Be patient!

11/13/2009 2:06pm