Lichtenstein: Devils Just Not The Same Without D-Man Greene

By Steve Lichtenstein
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Despite a promising start to the New Year, the calendar turnover has not changed the Devils' fortunes for this season.

Just when New Jersey was beginning to find its game, posting a pair of victories to open the 2017 portion of the schedule, defenseman Andy Greene took a puck to his left wrist late in the first period of the Devils' 3-1 win at Carolina last Tuesday.

The 34-year-old captain has missed the last three contests, all defeats, including Monday's desultory 3-0 loss to Florida.

All three games could certainly have turned out differently. They were all played at Prudential Center, where New Jersey was nearly invincible at the start of this campaign (8-0-2 through mid-December). All three opponents were from outside the fearsome Metropolitan Division.

MORE: Schwei's Devils Notes: Blanked At Home, A Rare Regulation Win On The Road

Instead of making hay in their bid to rise from the lower depths of the Eastern Conference standings, however, the Devils were left to eat crow, with coach John Hynes wondering if he needed to go back to the drawing board for future lineups and combinations.

"At this point when you have that (slump), you have the opportunity of (calling) some guys up from the American League that can play, change around some lines, change around some power play units," Hynes said. "It's not like we're going to sit on our hands."

The only hand that matters as the Devils embark on a four-game road trip is that of Greene's. Hynes said that Greene will accompany the team on the plane to Edmonton on Tuesday, though he wouldn't commit to when Greene would return to duty.

Greene's absence has been palpable. Oh, you might argue that the results show that the Devils' defense, outside of a hellish first period on Friday when they yielded four goals in a loss to Toronto, has been somewhat stout in front of goalie Cory Schneider, who allowed only one regulation goal (not including Florida's two empty-netters) in each of the last two games.

What you would be missing is Greene's impact on offense, where his skating and passing often initiates the Devils' attack. Not only is Greene one of the league's best shutdown backliners, he is equally adept with the puck. He probably would be running the New Jersey power play if not for Hynes' concerns about overdoing Greene's total workload.

New Jersey, which has also been without the services of more offensive-minded defensemen John Moore (concussion) and Johann Auvitu (lower body), had difficulties navigating through a clogged neutral zone on Monday once the Panthers netted a power play goal with 3:05 remaining in the first period.

As for their 2-1 overtime loss to Edmonton on Saturday, the Devils were hemmed in their own zone for a large chunk of the night. Credit Schneider's brilliance (41 saves) for earning the Devils a point in a game where they could only muster 20 attempts on goal.

"Andy's a real smart player," Hynes said. "He's a guy that really does everything for us. He moves the puck, he skates well, he plays big minutes for us. So any time you lose a player like that, sometimes when you get in game situations, you'd like to be able to go to a veteran player like that to either settle things down or get things going. When he's out, we do miss that element at times."

Of the holdovers, only Damon Severson would be rated as at least an average puck-mover, and he's had just a miserable season (minus-25 in 42 games) in his own end. Ben Lovejoy, Kyle Quincey, John Merrill, Steve Santini and Seth Helgeson are not players who routinely skate pucks out of danger and unleash counters.

MORE: Lichtenstein: If Allowed To Stay, Santini Could Help Cure Devils' 'D' Woes

At least Santini has used the Devils' injury bug to showcase his considerable defensive talents to Hynes, who can sometimes be hesitant to trust rookies. Against Florida, Santini was credited with five hits and two blocked shots in just 13:40 of ice time. He was a plus-5 in his first 60 minutes of playing time since his call-up from Albany on New Year's Day.

"Steven's played very well since he's come up," Hynes said. "In managing younger players, you want to see a guy like that gain his confidence, get better, be an impact player -- and Steve has done that -- and we'll continue to increase his opportunities to be able to play as long as he keeps doing what he's been able to do."

What to do with Santini once the ailing Devils' defensemen return to health is just one of several decisions Hynes will be faced with on what star left wing Taylor Hall called "a road trip that's probably going to define our season and make or break it."

Getting Greene back in the lineup would at least give the Devils a fighting chance.

For a FAN's perspective of the Nets, Jets and the NHL, follow Steve on Twitter @SteveLichtenst1