They’ve been through it before, but the Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils never thought that with just 10 games remaining in the regular season they’d be fighting to avoid becoming the first champion in 26 years (1970 Montreal Canadiens) to fail to qualify for the playoffs.
The Devils were slow starters last year too, “and there are some similarities,” says defenseman Ken Daneyko. “We think we’ll be awfully dangerous once we get in, but we’ve just got to get in.”
Daneyko points out that the Devils’ trademark defense is just about as good as it ever has been. “We were only seven goals away from leading for the Jennings trophy (least goals allowed),” he pointed out before Friday night’s game against the Blackhawks, “but we’re still struggling, and to me that’s just amazing. We knew that when you’re the defending champions every team you play is prepared for you. They want to use you as a measuring stick. I knew it would be tough but I didn’t think it would be this tough. I obviously didn’t expect to be in this kind of a battle just to make the playoffs.”
Coach Jacques Lemaire, who could do no wrong in his first two seasons, is starting to take some criticism in the press. He was roasted by one columnist this week for sitting out Stephane Richer in the third period of a game because he didn’t like the way the once prolific scorer warmed up before the game.
Richer has been one of the problems with only 15 goals and eight assists before this weekend’s games. The punchless Devils have a good chance of finishing the season without a single 30-goal scorer, and no team has won the Stanley Cup without one–except for last year’s short season–since Bob Pulford’s 1967 Toronto Maple Leafs.
Smooth transition: Dave Andreychuk, acquired by the Devils from the Leafs to supply some of that missing punch, says he’s not having any trouble adapting to Lemaire’s safety first style of play.
“It’s basically the way we used to play in Toronto a few years ago,” says Andreychuk, who had a goal and assist in his first three games with the Devils. “It’s a pretty simple system. You’ve just got to get in the right spots on the ice and be defensively aware.
“First we’ve got to get the puck out of our own end. We’re not going to score goals if we’re playing in our own end. But when we do cause turnovers we’ve got to go on the attack.”
Andreychuk says the trade to the Stanley Cup champions was a good opportunity for him, but he also warns that his old team might be dangerous come playoff time.
“I’m coming to the Stanley Cup champions and a team that has a legitimate chance to get back to the finals,” he observes. “We all know anything can happen in the playoffs. Obviously, the Leafs have got a lot of talent. They’ll be a tough team to beat in the playoffs because they’ve got a lot of experience and they’re going to get the goaltending. They’re kind of a team built for the playoffs.”
Chemistry test: The buzz around the New York Rangers is that late-season trades designed to build toward the playoffs may instead have ruined the team chemistry. General Manager Neil Smith picked up lots of muscle when he acquired Bill Berg, Sergio Momesso, Marty McSorley and Shane Churla along with Jari Kurri for the stretch run. But the Rangers were struggling through a 2-7-3 slump that dropped them behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the Eastern Conference’s No. 1 seed in the playoffs.
“I’m concerned because it’s out of my control now,” conceded Smith, who made only a minor deal for an insurance goaltender at the trading deadline. “I’ve already brought six new players to the team. That’s a big shakeup. I do think it’s a definite jelling factor with this team, and I don’t even think they’re in the mold yet. It’s all up to them now.”
But Smith insisted that “I’m comfortable with our team on paper. We have the best team defense since I’ve been here. Offensively, we have the capability and the size. I think we’re going to make it very interesting when we start to play like we’re capable of playing.”
Punched out: Mighty Ducks’ enforcer Todd Ewen says the thrill is gone from trading punches with heavyweights like Bob Probert and Tony Twist. “It’s my job,” he says. “It’s what I’m paid to do. But after 10 operations it’s not that much fun anymore.”
It wasn’t exactly his idea of fun to begin with. “My last year of junior (hockey) I had one coach who wanted me to fight all the time,” says Ewen, explaining how he was thrust into the role. “I had 265 penalty minutes and six points.
“Then from Christmastime on we had a new coach and he told me all about that little black thing we were chasing and I ended up with 50 points after Christmas. I’ve never really been taught how to play. They’d put me out there and say, `Go. This is your side. This is his side.’ I’ve learned more from other players than coaches.”
Regional record: Pat Conacher became the first player ever to play for all three New York-area teams when he appeared for the Islanders in a game at Florida last week. “I don’t know if I should be proud of that or not,” said Conacher. “It’s the only record I have in the NHL, that’s for sure.”
Stars stud: With Dave Gagner, Shane Churla and Doug Zmolek all gone in trades, Mike Modano is the only Dallas Stars player left from the team that went to the Stanley Cup finals in 1991 when they were still in Minnesota. “If they’re cleaning house I guess I’m next,” said Modano before last week’s trade deadline. That was never a consideration, of course. Modano, the cornerstone player of the franchise, is one stick of furniture the Stars knew they’d better hold onto.
