New Jersey Devils on a Tear: What Changed?

Without their All-Star goalie, Martin Brodeur, the New Jersey Devils had been struggling to stay afloat. Losing five of their first six games without him, the Devils were frantically searching for a way to save their season before it got too far away from them; and if possible, remain in playoff contention until the return of their number one goaltender.

Four consecutive wins later, it seems the Devils have found the answer.

Scoring 21 goals in their last four games, the Devils are back on track. While they've given up an average of three goals per game since Brodeur's exit during the Thrashers game, their offense has come alive to grab four straight wins.

So what's changed? Just look at the stats.

Dainius Zubrus—Four goals against Tampa Bay—anytime a player is hot like that, the team is in for a treat. Zubrus powered the Devils to a 7-3 win over Tampa with four of the team's seven goals.

It's nice to see that Zubrus can still play at the level he used to in Washington. It would be fantastic for the Devils if he can continue this level of production.

Mike Rupp—One goal against Tampa Bay—the first goal is always an important one, and Mike Rupp finally got his. Deflecting a shot from Anssi Salmela through the legs of Tampa Bay goaltender Olaf Kolzig, Rupp scored the early goal against the Lightning.

Helping to fill in for an injured John Madden, Rupp is plus-1 in the last five games. Not bad for someone who normally plays on the fourth line. His physical presence and ability to control pucks down low, along with Zubrus, is very important to the small Devils offense.

Patrik Elias—Three assists against Tampa Bay—arguably the most unappreciated Devil these days, Elias has been said to be having a slow start (I being one of the people who has said it).

However, he is proving all the non-believers wrong these days. Elias is on pace for a mid-30 goal season. He has 20 points so far this season, 11 of which have come in the past five games. Elias seems to be doing just fine, and hopefully will do even better once Brian Rolston returns to the lineup.

Brian Gionta—One goal against Tampa Bay—after losing Gomez and Rafalski, Gionta's niche in the Devil's offense seemed to have disappeared. However, the 5'7" forward is now on a four-game goal streak, and has eight of his 17 points this season in the last five games. It's good to see "Gio" contributing again. It'll be huge if he can continue, and maybe even improve when Rolston returns.

Jamie Langenbrunner—Many slow games and bad penalties later, the captain seems to finally have his game back.

His presence has been felt much more on the ice and the scoreboard, recently, than in the penalty box. With 11 points this season, 5 coming in the last 5 games, Langenbrunner seems to be back on track. As a leader and representative of this team, it is important that he continues to stay out of the box and put points on the board.

Travis Zajac

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