Well, as we're advancing toward the semi-finals of the playoffs, I will be reviewing the seasons of teams as they're eliminated from the playoffs. Obviously, the last team reviewed will be the one that wins the Cup.
Now the first team to be eliminated from the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals: The New Jersey Devils.
Season expectations: These guys haven't been as prolific with the winning as the Detroit Red Wings have been since the lockout, but they managed to win three Stanley Cup championships between 1995-2003. Questions of Brodeur's age and ability were coming into question, but he has managed to remain dominant as he plays. With a skilled group of forwards and a technically solid defense, these guys were expected to get into the playoffs and advance beyond the first round; at least.
My prediction: I predicted they would have finished third in the Atlantic Division and seventh in the Eastern Conference.
The truth: The team finished atop of the division and second in the conference. Ironically, they were eliminated by the seventh seeded Philadelphia Flyers in five games, which raises some questions about the future.
What went right?: Brodeur had a great season, posting a 45-25-6 record with a 2.24 GAA and a .916 save percentage. Zach Parise managed to get 82 points and even though Travis Zajac and Jamie Langenbrunner managed to get 67 and 61 points respectively, the team decided to land Ilya Kovalchuk from the Atlanta Thrashers, and he went on to not only put up a point per game (27), but also led the team in scoring during the playoffs. The only players who managed to be minus players were young dudes, utility players, and toughguys. Speaking of which, the team had plenty of that spread througout the lineup with Andrew Peters, David Clarkson, Bryce Salvador, and Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond. Overall, it's easy to see why they managed to earn their division.
What went wrong?: Brodeur's playing in way too many games to be effective come playoff time and the team's "defense first" approach seems to intimidate the utility players from scoring. Philadelphia won the series because they had guys on third or fourth lines who either made the effort or took the punishment to score a goal. New Jersey needed more of that from their depth guys because no team can rely on their top-line alone for an entire series. Also, for the amount of money Dainius Zubrus is making, he could stand to put up more than a goal in the playoffs.
So what's next?: I dunno if the team will retain Kovalchuk; we'll see how much they can afford and how much he'll be offered. Who knows, maybe he'll return to Atlanta now that Don Waddell's gone (by the way, there was no need for a separate post for that, I'm just glad for Atlanta's sake that he's gone.) Going back to New Jersey, they've got most of their money committed and will probably look to add a scoring forward, a veteran defender, and a veteran goaltender to backup Brodeur. I think Martin Brodeur needs to bite the bullet and platoon with another veteran goaltender. I think Marty Turco should bite the bullet and be the guy who either pushes or replaces Martin. I think that would, at the very least, make the Devils advance into the second round next season.
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