The Aftermath of Peter DeBoer's New Jersey Devils

Hello.  It's been a while.  Things are much different than they were when I did this blog thing regularly, and that isn't exactly a good thing.  Well anyway, that was then and this is now and right now, the New Jersey Devils are going through a coaching change...again.  By the time I finish typing this, they may have already named the successor to Peter DeBoer, but if not, perhaps this will be worth a few moments of your time.


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You're still here.  The Devils haven't hired a new coach yet?  Okay then.

So the DeBoer era is over, much to the delight of I would estimate a fairly significant majority of Devils fans, yet I cannot help but feeling that this is an unfair reflection of DeBoer's time in New Jersey.  By Lou Lamoriello's standards, DeBoer stuck around for quite some time.  It is hard to imagine any coach surviving as long as DeBoer did after missing the playoffs in back-to-back seasons and on their way to a third straight season of golfing in April, but he has and there is something to be said for that.

Stanley Cup Finals PREVIEW: NJ Devils vs. LA Kings

Read on for my Devils-Flyers Kings Stanley Cup Finals preview.

Well, here we are, seven weeks into the NHL playoffs.  It's Memorial Day weekend and the Devils are still playing hockey.  I don't think either team's fan base truly expected to be here right now, but hey, I'm not complaining.

How they got there:

If you're a Devils fan, you know the story by now.  Peter DeBoer was hired by Lou Lamoriello to help the Devils "evolve" into a more aggressive offensive team and have a chance to win the franchise's fourth Stanley Cup championship.  There were growing pains early on, and the team battled several key injuries throughout the season, but the Devils surged out of the All-Star break and finished the regular season on a six-game winning streak.

The Devils battled hard and squeezed out of the first round against Florida in the second overtime of the series' seventh game.  After few thought the Devils would stand any chance against the "mighty" Flyers, they simply destroyed the Flyers in every part of the game and knocked them out in five games.  The Rangers presented a more difficult task, but the Devils eventually got to Henrik Lundqvist and the shot-blocking Rangers' defensemen and eliminated the East's top seeded team 63 seconds into overtime in Game 6.

With heroics from Adam Henrique in rounds one and three, the Devils advance to their fifth Stanley Cup Final in franchise history and first since 2003, when they beat Anaheim in seven games.  Four more wins would give the Devils their fourth Stanley Cup championship since the spring of 1995.

By the way, have I mentioned how awesome this moment is yet?

*****

PREVIEW: #6 Devils vs. #1 Rangers

Torts?  Angry?  Get used to this sight.

"When we play our game, nobody can beat us."

You see that quote above?  That was Ilya Kovalchuk earlier this season.  Head coach Pete DeBoer insisted that the Devils are an "elite" team, and he proclaimed that many months ago.  DeBoer seems to be the most liked Devils coach in years.  This could be the best Devils team in years.  The next 4-7 games will play a huge role in determining if these Devils are as good or better than the last championship team in 2003.  Round 3 of the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs are about to begin, and of course, it's Devils-Rangers for a chance to go to the Stanley Cup Finals.  *Whew.*  Take a deep breathe everyone.

So how did both of these teams get here?

As you probably know by now, the Devils needed a second overtime of Game 7 to beat a pesky Florida Panthers team in the first round of the playoffs before dismantling a fatigued Flyers group in five games to advance to the Conference Finals.  The Devils have excelled playing 5-on-5, as they're scored 24 of their 36 goals this post-season 5-on-5, and they've surrendered 13 goals against 5-on-5.  That 1.85 5-on-5 goals for/against ratio is the best of the 16 playoff teams.  Basically, the Devils will succeed if they stay out of the penalty box and continue their dominant forechecking game.

Proof that it is, in fact, possible to score on Henrik Lundqvist.

True to form, nothing comes easy for this year's edition of the New York Rangers.  This isn't your "older brother's" Rangers, who boasted the likes of Shanahan, Jagr and mega-free agents (although they rely on Gaborik and Richards for much of their offense).  This is a very hard-working, "blue-collar" hockey team that likes to play physical and wear down their opposition.  They ran into two opponents who have tested them to the brink of elimination, in #8 Ottawa and #7 Washington, but the Rangers squeaked by both series in seven games each, and now face the Devils in the Conference Finals.  The Rangers have scored 19 times 5-on-5, while allowing 17 this post-season so far.

How the Devils are preparing for the Eastern Conference Finals

Despite beating the Flyers in 5, Pete DeBoer knows he failed as a coach by letting Zac Rinaldo escape the series uninjured.

The annoying part about winning a short series is waiting to find out who your next opponent will be.  The Kings, Coyotes and Devils have advanced to the Conference Finals, but the Rangers and Capitals are still battling out their series, as Game 7 will be Saturday night.  The Devils have already begun preparing for the Eastern Conference Finals, despite not knowing who they'll be playing.  So what exactly are they doing?


David Clarkson - He's decided that if scoring goals while skating right in front of the goaltender when he is trying to clear puck doesn't work, he'll screen the goaltender and wave his stick in the air like an idiot.  Or did the league outlaw that?

Ilya Kovalchuk - After all the times he helped the red light go on behind Ilya Bryzgalov, he's forced Bryzgalov into a habit of flopping and throwing his hands up every time he drives up to a red traffic light.

Anton Volchenkov - Since he can't practice due to injury, he sends Brayden Schenn a get well soon postcard.  Every day.

Ryan Carter - Purchased a New York Rangers inflatable punching bag and drew a #41 "Bickel" on the back.

Zach Parise - Has been looking at real estate in northern New Jersey, because apparently the Devils winning probably bodes decently as far as Parise's future in New Jersey.

Lou Lamoriello - He's working very hard to inform the media of various Devils injuries.  Marek Zidlicky is "day-to-day with an undisclosed injury."

Comparing the Devils start from this season to last season

Besides the obvious (the Devils have two more wins than at this point one year ago), the Devils are off to a much better start than last season.  If you don't believe me, and even if you do, just see below for proof.


Last season: Ilya Kovalchuk thinks he's set up for a breakaway pass, but then realizes that he's in the defensive zone while the play is at the other end of the rink.
This season: Ilya Kovalchuk has fixed the play in the other end of the rink part, but he's taking shots at his own goalies now.


Last season: The Devils tried everything last season: getting blown out, not scoring and blowing two-goal leads.
This season: So far, the not scoring is still a problem and they haven't yet had a two-goal lead...to blow.


Last season: The Devils cleared a roster spot to call up a forward to replace healthy scratch Ilya Kovalchuk.
This season: Adam Henrique was just sent down to Albany, which clears a roster spot for.......oh please, not again.


Last season: John MacLean had the team work extremely hard in practice, in the sense that renting a party bus for the night is hard work.
This season: Peter DeBoer is working much harder than MacLean, such as trying to figure out how long Cam Janssen will last on the ice without being called into Brendan Shanahan's office.


Last season: Johan Hedberg pulls to within 610 wins on the Devils' all-time goaltender wins list.
This season: With his opening night loss to the Flyers, Martin Brodeur pulled to within one loss of the all-time goaltender loss record.


Last season: Mattias Tedenby is thought of by some Devils fans as the Swedish Prodigy, but obviously not by Jacques Lemaire.
This season: Tedenby is stripped of that title, as Adam Larsson is now the Swedish Prodigy.  As for Jacques Lemaire, well he's retired......for the time being.


Last season: In his usual hatred for the Devils, Scott Burnside predicted that this would be Zach Parise's final season as a Devil.
This season: Okay, well some things haven't changed since last season........


Last season: The coach gave Ilya Kovalchuk a lot of ice time late in the season because he scored a lot.
This season: The coach is giving David Clarkson a lot of ice time because he falls a lot.


Last season: "Let's throw that out" was John MacLean's favorite saying after a blowout loss.
This season: "Let's throw that out" is Peter DeBoer's way of saying that he wasn't happy with someone's shift.


Last season: Nine Devils scored their first career goals, which accounted for nearly half the team's goals last season.
This season: Adam Larsson will eventually score his first career goal, and his ice time accounts for half the game.