New Jersey Devils: Are They Equipped for a Deep NHL Playoff Run?

Time is winding down on the 2011-12 NHL regular-season campaign, and the trading deadline is now less than a week away.

With that event looming large in the next several days, teams are fine-tuning their rosters and shoring up their weaknesses for what they hope will be a deep postseason run that culminates with the Stanley Cup.

The New Jersey Devils won't be any different, but the question is—do they already have everything they need for the playoffs? Considering the fact that they were fourth in the Eastern Conference standings with 23 games left to play, and second in conference points, one year after missing the playoffs entirely, signs would point to yes.

A second and bigger question is, how far can they go once they get there? Besides coming up short of the postseason last year following a disastrous start to the 2010-11 campaign, the Devils haven't won a playoff round since 2007, when they bested the Tampa Bay Lightning in their swan-song season at the Meadowlands.

They would like to add another goal scorer to their lineup, for sure, or maybe an offensive defenseman to the mix—who wouldn't? But then the question arises, who would they have to give up in return to secure such commodities?

Travis Zajac isn't likely to return this season due to continued Achilles problems. If he somehow managed to return to the lineup, he has skills that could help, but that's not likely to happen.

The emergence of David Clarkson, who is closing in on 25 goals, though, has been a welcome surprise. Long noted for his physical play and willingness to drop the gloves—which he still does, as evidenced by his fighting Dion Phaneuf on Tuesday night in Toronto after a hit on Zach Parise—Clarkson has been contributing more on the scoresheet in other, more positive ways than just putting up penalty minutes.

Rookie forward Adam Henrique has had some injury troubles recently, but has 41 points so far and also been a real offensive find this season.

The Devils have scored more goals than a number of Eastern Conference teams so far this season, including the entire Southeast Division and even the front-running New York Rangers. New Jersey, though, has also given up more goals than it has in the past, and will have to tighten its belt once the puck drops in the postseason.

Playoff hockey by its very nature tends to be tighter with closer checking anyway, and the Devils will have to pull a page or two from the past and simply not allow as many goals. That's going to put pressure on Bryce Salvador, Andy Greene, Matt Taormina, Anton Volchenkov and the rest of the Devils defensemen—but the forwards will have to make sure to help out, too, both in transition and in the defensive zone. The Devils power play (16.7 percent) hasn't been phenomenal, although the penalty killing (88.5) has been very good.

In net, does Martin Brodeur (22-13-2, 2.54 goals-against average, .900 save percentage) have enough left in the tank for one last playoff run? He's slowed down a bit and suffered some injuries in recent years, and is definitely in the twilight of his storied career—but he's also played well recently and given New Jersey chances to win, which is all you can ask of your goaltender. He might have just a little magic left to turn back the clock one more time.

If not, the guarding of the Devils gate will be up to Johan Hedberg (13-7-2, 2.53, .910), who once went on a playoff run of his own long ago with Pittsburgh back in 2000 that actually ended in the semifinals against New Jersey.

The playoffs could come down to bounces and breaks, and even who the Devils play come mid-April. Two years ago they won a late game against Buffalo, when they could have lost and taken on Boston in the first round. Instead the Devils got Philadelphia, which had been playing playoff hockey for weeks down the stretch before securing a spot in a shootout on the final day of the regular season. The Flyers then bounced the Devils in five games, en route to a Stanley Cup Finals berth.

And whether or not they can sign him for next season, New Jersey should not trade Parise before or on Feb. 27. If the Devils are going to get anywhere this spring, No. 9 will be leading the way, captain's "C" and all, even if Ilya Kovalchuk and Patrik Elias currently have slightly more points than he does. Then again, Kovalchuk and Elias are "only" in the 20-goal, 60-point range, so it's not like they're blowing up the league scoring scroll (yet), although they're both in the top 20 in NHL scoring right now.

No, if the Devils are going to win this spring, it's almost assuredly going to be by committee, and not because they're loaded with superstars. For better or worse, instead of Christmas shopping with less than a week to go before the big day, the Devils should just stay the course—and be happy with what they've already got under the tree.