This week the Devils played 3 games in the Friday to Thursday stretch. A loss at home last Saturday afternoon and then set out on a road trip to Florida that saw a win in Tampa Bay and a shootout win against the Panthers.
Zach Parise – He had his 6 game point streak snapped against Montreal on Saturday but instead of going into a shell like some players do when a streak is snapped, he lit up the score sheet in Tampa Bay with a goal and two assists and then found the back of the net against the Panthers. He ended the week at a +3. He did have a chance to tie the game against Montreal but couldn’t bang home a penalty shot late.
Henrik Tallinder – I continue to watch this guy make mistakes and he made a doozy of a mistake on Tuesday against the Panthers. A quick stick check made Tallinder cough up the puck which allowed Veersteeg to skate in all alone and put home the breakaway. Thankfully the Devils rebounded quickly as a team and cut the lead to 2-1 minutes later but mistakes like that can be complete game changers. At least he’s making Larsson’s transition from living in Sweden to living in the US a little easier, so he’s not a complete failure!!
Kurtis Foster – He played on game for NJ having come over in a trade after the Tampa game and didn’t register a point but he played 25 shifts for a total of 21:53 on the ice and was thrown out there on the power play. I thought he did really well for not having ever practiced with the team. Looks like he might be able to add some much needed punch to our power play.
Marty Broduer – I thought he had a much better week, even though he both won and lost a game this week. He didn’t get burned early and often like he had been doing and I thought he played his best game in a while against the Panthers on Tuesday. Two major defensive mistakes led to goals on Tuesday and they were goals that really wouldn’t be fair to criticize him for. He was lights out in the shootout which is ALWAYS helpful.
