A blazing start. A disturbing cool down. An injured goaltender.
This defines the first half of the New Jersey Devils 2013 season. It has not been a steady ride. More like a trampoline jump really, the dangerous version with the metal springs they do not make anymore.
After a torrid start during which they dominated division teams the Devils led the Eastern Conference as late as February 17. Since then they have gone 3-6-2. It is increasingly problematic when you consider two of those wins came via the shootout. They have been outscored by 15 during this free fall to seventh in the standings.
The eighth-placed team, the New York Rangers, have two games at hand.
While it smells bad lately you can not ignore the great start, especially when handing out grades. Remember those teachers in school who weighted your performance at the end of the year, basically how strong you finished up? I did not like that because once the weather got warm at the end of the year my focus would landslide. So I'll assess everything evenly.
And to be fair, New Jersey looks lost without Marty Brodeur. If Ken Daneyko is Mr. Devil, then ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Terence McGinley
Grading the New Jersey Devils’ Performance for the First Half of the Year
March 12th, 2013 by Terence McGinley Leave a reply »
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