Admittedly, that headline reads rather dramatic. Mirco Mueller, as improved as he's looked of late, should never be the linchpin that keeps an NHL defense from completely falling apart. Hell, we're talking about a guy that conceded his spot in the lineup to Ben Lovejoy no more than a month ago, so we're not exactly talking about the absorbing the indefinite absence of a Norris Trophy winner. That said, it's pretty amazing how one broken clavicle can change the perception of unit that used an impressive preseason to ease the minds of those that once (stupidly, mind you) found themselves praying Ray Shero would offer Kevin Shattenkirk a 15-year contract with the incentive of complimentary hair transplant surgery to convince him to sign on the side of the river that actually has a future. In an extremely morbid way that probably has Cory Schneider and Keith Kinkaid doubling up on their meditation sessions, it's kinda funny how having eight "NHL caliber defensemen" sounds so much better in theory. That is, until one of the six that are average to slightly above average get hurt and you suddenly realize that you had no interest in watching the other two do anything other than sit in a luxury suite. I actually think Ben Lovejoy has absorbed an amount of criticism that is disproportional to his play this season, but in a lot of ways he and Dalton Prout are like the oxygen masks on a commercial jetliner. It's nice to know they are there until their use is actually required. That'll make things go from "okay, okay" to "oh shit, oh shit" before you even have a chance to buckle your seatbelt. Of course, I hardly think that the continuation of a promising start to the season hinged on what is now a fractured clavicle. The drop-off from Mirco Mueller to his replacement is not what's ultimately going to send the Devils spiraling down to Earth. However, considering the amount of chances they were giving up with him playing, they were probably headed there anyway. So I urge fellow Devils' fans to start practicing their deep breaths, because Travis Zajac would have needed a rocket surgically implanted in his ass for his return to save New Jersey from an inevitable uptick in icings. He couldn't possibly be more welcomed but even one of the best defensive forwards in the sport can only jump on so many grenades, so let's blindly hope that whichever launcher gets inserted into the lineup doesn't get trigger happy.
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