Lichtenstein: Defense, Not Goalies, To Blame For Devils' Recent Problems
By Steve Lichtenstein
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Two weeks ago, I hit a sensitive nerve in some of my fellow Devils fans by suggesting that the injury to All-Star goalie Cory Schneider gave the club an opportunity to evaluate their depth at the position.
If perhaps backup Keith Kinkaid could shine in his audition, I argued that trading the Devils' backbone over the past two seasons for multiple assets over the summer would be a viable long-term strategy for a team with so many needs.
MORE: Lichtenstein: Devils Should Ponder The Unthinkable — Trading Schneider
It turned out that Kinkaid's performances since have appeared to make my point moot. As noted by coach John Hynes prior to the Devils' 2-1 home victory over Columbus on Sunday, "(Kinkaid's) been a little all over the map," in his six starts since Schneider went down in Dallas with an MCL sprain in his right knee.
However, while Hynes said Kinkaid needed a "mental break" when explaining why Scott Wedgewood made his first NHL start on Sunday, he also emphasized that folks should look deeper than just who is in net to understand why New Jersey has been so giving to its opposition over the last month or so.
After Kinkaid's 1-0 win over Los Angeles on Feb. 14, the Devils were first in the league in goals allowed at 2.28 goals per game. In the ensuing 15 games before Sunday, they yielded 58 goals, or 3.87 per game.
In case you don't remember, Schneider was in net for eight of those games, during which the Devils surrendered 3.75 goals per game, including empty-netters. In the seven games that featured some Kinkaid/Yann Denis combination, the difference was only a quarter of a goal more allowed per game.
Schneider may have been magnificent before he went down, but not even he was immune to the misadventures of many of his co-workers in front of him.
And that would include any Devils defenseman not named Andy Greene or Adam Larsson.
The 1948 Boston Braves battle cry was "Spahn and Sain and pray for rain!" to depict the dropoff between top pitchers Warren Spahn and Johnny Sain versus their other starters.
If you've been watching the Devils play recently, it's "Larsson and Greene and turn off the screen!"
Oh, if only the Devils' top pair could play all 60 minutes. I agree with those who say plus/minus numbers are not all-telling, but in this case I don't believe they do Greene and Larsson enough justice.
As of this writing, Larsson is tied for seventh in the league at plus-17, while captain Greene lags a little behind at plus-9. Mind you the Devils struggle to score at even strength (a league-low 114 goals) and that Greene and Larsson are usually called upon to face the oppositions' top guns every night.
Yet the duo have been pillars on the back end. Whether it has been their defensive zone coverage or moving the puck out with skating or clean passes, they have a knack for disrupting attacks with deft stick work and body positioning.
Heaven forbid if Greene and Larsson aren't on their "A" games, though. That's how you get seven goals allowed in Anaheim a week ago and the six in Columbus on Saturday.
That's because, unfortunately, no other Devils' d-man is in positive plus/minus territory. The regular second pair -- bargain free agent signees John Moore and David Schlemko -- have seen their effectiveness drop precipitously following a solid first two-thirds of the season, and the third unit has been miserable since opening night.
Hynes has tried a litany of young players back there to often disturbing results. They're the ones usually caught on the ice for overextended shifts with the long change in second periods, which partially explains why the Devils have been outscored 64-46 in the middle sessions, by far their worst differential of any frame.
During one such shift in Los Angeles last Saturday, Seth Helgeson and David Warsofsky, both career minor leaguers, were pinned in the Devils' zone for 3:34 before Kings star Anze Kopitar mercifully scored. Another 10 seconds and a hunched-over Helgeson looked like he was about to toss his pre-game snack on the ice.
Depth on defense was supposed to be a strength, but disappointing prospect Eric Gelinas was shipped to Colorado at the trade deadline after spending a good chunk of the season watching the opposition take aim at the Devils' net. That is when he wasn't watching from above in Hynes' doghouse.
Too bad Jon Merrill couldn't have joined him on the same plane.
I don't take pleasure in continuously ripping the 24-year-old former second-round draft pick. However, the Devils have dressed Merrill in 47 of their 73 games this season, he averages about 17 minutes of ice time per game -- and he's minus-15! Only 10 NHL defensemen (Schlemko is one) are worse.
Merrill's confidence is so shot right now. Hynes benched him on multiple occasions on Thursday against Minnesota. He only received 12:47 of playing time, but that was enough for him to take two penalties that resulted in Wild power play goals and to be on the ice for their other two scores.
A glut of injuries meant Merrill was needed to dress again on Saturday, a crushing 6-3 loss in Columbus. After New Jersey rallied from a three-goal deficit to tie the game early in the third period, Merrill was sent out on the next shift. He proceeded to give the puck away in his own zone not once, but twice, before Matt Calvert fed Oliver Bjorkstrand in front for the game-winning goal 34 seconds later.
In the rematch on Sunday, Moore, Schlemko and Merrill were all scratched. Damon Severson, who has shown potential to be a Marek Zidlicky-type weapon from the point but is prone to errors in coverage, and Helgeson were forced to step up in responsibility on the second unit. Warsofsky and Vojtech Mozik, who also made his NHL debut, filled in on odd shifts as the third pair.
But the Devils needed this win badly, both for their dwindling postseason hopes and to avoid the embarrassment of getting swept in the season series by the cellar-dwelling Blue Jackets, so Hynes went to his old reliables whenever he could.
Greene and Larsson each played about 28 minutes, including the entire final three minutes when Columbus was pushing to tie the score.
The Blue Jackets didn't come close.
Wedgewood was pretty good on Sunday, making a few athletic saves and was not at fault on the one deflection that got past him in the second period. Warsofsky should have either stepped in to block the point shot by Dalton Prout or turned back to contain Jared Boll at Wedgewood's side -- anything but gliding aimlessly toward the side wall would have been nice.
The difference between the two days over the weekend, though, had little to do with goaltending. The Devils' defense made the Blue Jackets look like the 1970s Canadiens on Saturday. On Sunday, Columbus looked more like, well, the punchless 2015-16 Devils.
For a FAN's perspective of the Nets, Jets and the NHL, follow Steve on Twitter @SteveLichtenst1
