This month started out so DAMN GOOD too (and ok maybe my football bitterness is rolling over into my hockey moods, but hey at least it’s not a social life rant right?)…. A 7-5 month which is solid based on the average talent as a whole this team has… the way the month of January ended with some coulda/shoulda/woulda just kinda ANNOYS you as we roll into a key month of February for the Devils!

FORWARDS:

Patrik Elias:

Six goals and five assists in the month… now THIS is the Patrik we’re talking about now! Looks like that move to center has allowed him to play on lines with some good talent on both sides of him and has opened the game and the confidence back for him… hell he was even scoring when he got the temporary A, when Langenbrunner missed a game, there’s really nothing to complain about here with Patrik and his game (not to mention 5 power play points, as the Devil power play goes from bad to streaky, but mediocre)… the Devils best and steadiest offensive player all month… FINALLY!!

Grade: A

Travis Zajac:

Holy hell.. he ALSO had a six goal, five assist month (who knew we had all these offensive studs??) … and this team’s offense has been way less embarrassing this month for sure… also playing with the familiar line of Parise and Langenbrunner has helped too… even though he and Parise got called out for defensive lapses and they do HAVE to be and act like a top line EVERY night for this team to have a chance… the improvement over December was DRASTIC, and nothing to complain about there…. If Patty and Zajac can keep up those kinda numbers this team will be okay in this key run to the playoffs!

Grade: A

Brian Gionta:

Only two goals for the month (it’s nice they were on the power play), but more often then not you’d almost forget the lil fella was on the ice… and it’s not even because you were looking over him… cause we like see everything from Section 209 ya know, the problem is half the time we get distracted by all the wonderful hijinks behind us… but it’s no wonder that Gio is involved in trade rumors, because he too HAS to be better, and better then he’s been most of the year….

Grade: C-

Zach Parise:

OK, so I’m admitting I am rooting for Zach to get one of those UGLY horrific, career defining scar because seeing our main player be the object of lust of every 14-year-old girl not trying to kill their best friend over Hannah Montana tickets… but besides that (and yes dammit we need more good UGLY player… hell no 12-year-old girl ever went wild and wacky over Stephane Richer!)… again I harp on the points because for this Devils team to win the TOP SIX FORWARDS MUST PRODUCE!!! And two goals and five assists ain’t enough… guess opposing team have figured out who the star on this team is eh?? Get that scar kid and things will be okay!!

Grade: C+ (wish there was a grade between C+ and B-)

Sergei Brylin:

Damn it just gets harder and harder to say it each month… but there really is no place on this team for this guy anymore and yes it SUCKS, but it’s part of life in a salary capped league, when you have to worry about stuff like this… the dude just don’t have it anymore, delegated to mostly fourth line duties… but he’s not the physical banger we need on the line… and doesn’t have the offensive touch to make the line dangerous that way… not fast enough to be a good checker either…. *argh* it’s just not right…but it is what he is now, and it’s just painful to watch game in and game out….

Grade: D (now get me some damned Kool Aid)

Dainius Zubrus:

God I wish I could figure this guy out… he doesn’t suck, but he doesn’t score enough to be mentioned in that top six we so BADLY need to produce night in and night out (not to mention the defense corps being hideous doesn’t help either)… but this team needs more then they are getting from Zubrus, but maybe the expectations are too high…the about 48 point pace for his contract… just ain’t good enough!

Grade: C

Jamie Langenbrunner:

Much better month for him too.. steady, consistent…only played in 4 games all month that he didn’t add to the score sheet (I seem to have themes in these damn reviews and my theme this month is the top six MUST produce for this team to win)… and the team seemed dead on arrival when he’s not in the lineup… the classic lead by example guy who the Devils just can NOT replace at this point!

Grade: A

Jay Pandolfo:

Still not playing, but man anyone who has a torn ligament in the testicular area… man you got my respect and sympathies!! And damn this team needs him back….

INCOMPLETE

John Madden:

If Langenbrunner is the Devils most important forward, then Madden is not too far behind him… having the best and most productive season of his career by FAR, you saw how the team died off without him in the line-up, and boosted a little when he came back… when he’s on the Devils can roll three lines of attack at the opposition… only had three points in the month, but look at the ice time and the key face offs he takes (not to mention he averages 20 minutes a night and no player on the team can fill those minutes when he’s out), but see he’s not a top six forward (he’s seventh.. nyah!)… so it’s not all about the points with Madden.

Grade: B

Aaron Asham:

Wow can you describe any player more accurately then WHATEVER when it comes to this guy… just seems lost on this team… least he’s been hitting now… but I can’t see how this guy had 11 goals and 11 assists on the Island last year… man that Ted Nolan is just magic I guess!… 1 assist… no fights, and while he’s had some nifty hits on this make-shift fourth line of him Rupp and Pelley… Cam Janssen is due back soon and he brings tons more energy then this stiff does and his time here could be short….

Grade: C-, the classic whatever grade!

Mike Rupp:

I swear both him and Eli Manning sold their souls to Satan to have good months in January (thank God the Super Bowl is in Feb and Satan can do that classic heel turn on Eli and I can enjoy the damn Super Bowl!)… scored both his goals (including that comical classic almost I score on accident on you in front during the power play goal against the Penguins)… Seems less useless on the hitting line (it will be a COLD DAY IN HELL before I call a line with Rupp and Whatever-Man a Crash Line)… but still, there’s gotta be better options out there somewhere, but we’re probably stuck with him this year…..

Grade: B- ( I don’t like him but he was serviceable this month but I NEVER need to see him on a power play again!)

David Clarkson:

One goal, three assists and three fights, and getting about 13 minutes of ice time a night… not terrible for an energy kid in his first full season (he too could use a nice lil’ scar on the face to annoy the hockey hoes in their training bras!)… shame he wasted his nicest goal scoring move in that Young Stars skills game… but still shows the signs to be so much better then he’s been so far… maybe he needs some more wrap-around chances!!

Grade: B-

Rod Pelley:

Mister bad angle scoring chance indeed… in fact if we ever could try a wrap-around from a bad angle, oh would Clarkson and Pelley be UNSTOPPABLE! Well he had an assist during Mike Rupp sold his soul night… and he gets decent ice time cause he kills penalties and stuff too…he doesn’t go out and make the big mistake (Lord knows this team has enough who DO)… but he’s not gonna win games for ya either….he’s good at what he does though, maybe one day he can grow up and put up say Dennis Pederson numbers (ah the memories!)
Grade: C

DEFENSEMEN:

Colin White:

Wow, Colin tripled his offense in the month… okay he went from one assist to THREE, but still… I kid because I can… he’s not the total defenseman he was before the eye injury, and I’ll avoid the evening news level of wacky pun about that, but if we had more defenseman as solid and steady, if not spectacular and game-breaking… we’d be an okay team… struggled a bit over the month… but his bad is still better then most of our D’s good at this point!

Grade: B

Paul Martin:

Wow, 2 goals and 6 assists from a DEFENSEMAN on this team!!! The kid really stepped up this month, and not to mention playing 22 minutes a game… he’s really growing into the role of top defenseman on this team, the +2 on the month is a little deceiving cause he’s always out there against the good players and hell he’s carrying Johnny Oduya in a top minute eating role as well, so what the hell else can you say about him?
Grade: A

Johnny Oduya:

Maybe has some of the best games of his career while playing with Paul Martin, I still think anything over 15 minutes a night is too much for him (not to mention he’s second in scoring for defenseman) and a scary +6 on the month and only two minus games in that span… there’s really not as much to rip on this guy for… maybe some of that upside we knew was there is showing through… hell he’s also got the best shot from the blue line on the power play for this team!

Grade: A-

Andy Greene:

How was he EVER benched for Rachunek? I know we paid dumb money for the stiff.. but I’ll get to him later…..maybe six minus rating games in the month didn’t help, but he’s so important to the future of this team that you almost need to let him play through this stuff and let him learn and grow out there (and anyone who thinks this team is a legit Cup Contender… I want some of the drugs you’re on!).. even added a little offense this month too, but needs to grow into that secondary semi-mobile defender we so badly need….

Grade: C+

Sheldon Brookbank:
Did not play the entire month… guess we should get used to that when the D is healthy… can’t even send him down cause some team will ninja him on waivers… so he’s really stuck in limbo now, and it will be tough to just stick a kid in there who’s not seen live action in a month….

INCOMPLETE

Mike Mottau:

Remember even up to last year, when we’d call up a guy or two from Albany or Lowell and we’d get some good production from them and we’d all feel good about the farm system? Well sadly this is the best we got this year.. not that I wanna kill the kid, but he could use some speed skating drills….and just doesn’t seem like the right guy to play 23+ minutes like he is with Colin White right now (damn I’d love Andy Greene to be good enough to be the balancing defender for White’s skills)… but still due to lack of talent in the defense corps is being forced to over play the role he’d be best at… but he’s doing ok with the absurd amount of ice time he’s gotten this month (my eyes still pop out when I see 26 minutes like he did in Montreal!)

Grade: B-

Vitaly Vishnevski:

Wanna talk about a guy IMPOSSIBLE to figure out… it’s still this guy! -7 on the month (egads!) and is now a team WORST -9… doesn’t line up the big hits as well as you’d like to see… and really doesn’t do a lot much else… even in such a thin market of looking for defensemen as the off-season was, this shot in the dark looks like a clear MISS.. just an awful month and it shows in the massive drop in ice time… maybe it’s time for him to sit a night or two?

Grade: D

Karel Rachunek:

What the hell do people see in this guy? I mean maybe once or twice a month he shows you something… but all I see in him is some slow, retarded version of Brian Rafalski (BTW, BAD move to give him #28.. even my Ranger fan friends who came this week kept thinking he was Rafalski… until he touched the puck)… I’m rarely impressed by this guy, and it’s gonna take a LOT for that to change!

Grade: C-

GOALIES:

Martin Brodeur:

11 of 12 games is still too much in a month for him (I don’t wanna hear that excuse that we need him to play every game to win and make the playoffs, because the more you put off Weekes’ rare starts the worse he ends up looking)… but you can’t argue with the level of play and the results… extra points given for skipping the all-star break and the extra playing time that would come from the young stars game and the other events aside of the actual one period in that overrated skills contest on ice (yes I hate all All-Star games!), still he’s not been the problem this month (in fact he’s the one given on this team)… I just worry about him burning out again like he did last year and this month ahead is going to be BRUTAL….

Grade: A

Kevin Weekes:
Now why won’t they let the black man play a game at home?? Talk about missing a marketing moment!!! Not that wonderful in his last game almost a month ago, but when your last two starts are Jan 5, and Dec 10.. what can you expect??

INCOMPELETE

COACHING:

I have to admit I’m getting a bit annoyed at the constant line changes, and the beating down of the team (Sutter REALLY has to learn to take the hand off the throttle sometimes… you can’t push an average team to extra-ordinary results all the time).. but all the annoyances aside he’s done a great job with inferior talent, especially on the defensive side of the roster… hopefully with some experience and learning when and when NOT TOO beat on the team and Sutter will be here a long time and possibly get kicked up to be the next in line when Lou does hang up the GM’s cell phone….

Grade: B

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