New Jersey Devils (19-10-3, 41 pts): The opening half of the 2008 season has been a true testament to the success of the system which the New Jersey Devils organization has committed themselves to playing in for the past decade or so. While hockey fans across the country criticize their defensively sound style of play and berate it as being boring hockey, the Devils are currently playing competitive hockey and maintaining position in a tightly packed Eastern Conference without the services of perhaps the greatest goalie of all time, while an injured Martin Brodeur recuperates.
The key to the Devils’ success without Brodeur in net is twofold: first, the performance of Scott Clemmensen has been completely remarkable. The perennial backup goaltender has stepped up almost flawlessly, winning 11 of 16 starts with a 2.30 GAA. However, his ability to put up such impressive numbers is also due to the fact that the Devils defense has been nearly unbeatable. Bryce Salvador (-1) is the only active defenseman with a negative +/- rating.
While the Devils continue to play lockdown defense, as always, their offense is finally starting to show signs of life. Young star Zach Parise (18-22-40) is emerging from the shadows as the offensive leader of this team, while veteran Patrik Elias> (16-21-37) remains one of the most underrated players in the game. While the Devils maintain hope that Brodeur will return before the end of the season, they seem to have everything it takes to remain competitive until such time as that may be possible.
Current League Rankings
Goals - T-12th Goals Against - T-4th Powerplay Goals - 27th Powerplay Percentage - 20th Shorthanded Goals - T-11th Penalty kill percentage - 26th
