The Devils Are Back…To 2013 Form

There it is. A vintage 2013 Devils game. Outshoot the other team by 1,000. Fail to finish every opportunity presented to you and end up losing by 1 (sans the empty netter) on a fluky goal. To the untrained eye, the 2014 Devils look very comparable to the 2013 Devils. To the people that have had to endure every second of suck, it has been very different. Very much worse. The 2014 Devils can barely make or accept a pass. They considered breaking out of the zone a luxury which they are granted maybe once, or twice, a game. Their lack of scoring chances has almost been unconscionable.  

Not last night. They outplayed the Senators about 58 minutes of the game last night. Tallied 34 shots to Ottawa's 16. Had countless others blocked. For one night, they looked like they were dominating another NHL team. Of course, just like the year prior, it didn't result in a win. Hell, it didn't even result in a goal. This team has the ability to make their scoring chances look depressing. I could have told you, for certain, they weren't going to score last night somewhere in the middle of the second period. They make everything look so hard. They turn 2-on-1's into non-scoring chances. They turn breakaways into shot less situations. Never have I seen a team so inept at making basic offensive plays. 

Bad news: 
-Damon Seversen looks like he's out for 4-5 weeks. Another bulb out. Another bright spot sidelined. The Devils locker room is growing dimmer and dimmer with each passing day.

-That means Peter Harrold probably plays 45 minutes for the foreseeable future.

-Bryce Salvador is making progress with his injury. 

-Larsson is playing in Albany after recovering from the mumps. This means he will likely be banished there until 2021.

-Gomez, the guy that wasn't in the NHL a month ago, makes the rest of our roster look like they are skating in glue.

-For some ungodly reason, Marek Zidlicky will never be sat besides making about 7 drop passes to the other team per game. Apparently, the ability to be old as dirt is enough to keep him in the lineup.

Good News: 
-Salvador is not yet skating.

-We have our very own first round draft pick, and a roster futile enough to turn that into a substantial prospect.

-The Devils weren't the worst people at their job in the Prudential Center last night. A group of people actually voted Patrik Elias as a 'Star of the Game' despite setting an all time record in turnovers. That is a fireable offense in itself. Apparently hitting a post is rather impressive.