New Jersey Devils: Peter DeBoer Shows Confidence in Volchenkov Despite Numbers

Over the past week, there has been news flying around the web about New Jersey Devils defenseman Anton Volchenkov's struggles.

Before Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal against the Florida Panthers, Volchenkov had been on the ice for nine of the Panthers' 10 goals in the series, which was more than either goaltender. Despite the stat, head coach Peter DeBoer decided to keep him in the lineup.

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"Volchenkov, you look at the situation and he's had some bad luck, some bad timing," DeBoer told Tom Gulitti before Game 4. "He's been on the ice for nine of the 10 goals and had personal responsibility in only a couple of them. He's had a bad run. Whatever can go wrong is going wrong for him right now and he's just got to battle through that."

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In fact, Volchenkov actually saw an increase in his playing time last night—something that he hasn't seen much of in the first three games. The veteran defenseman had over 16 minutes of time on the ice in Game 4, which is significantly higher then his 11:54, 11:46, and 13:00 he posted over Games 1-3.

Granted, this increase could have been because of the amount of penalties that Florida committed, as Volchenkov was on the ice for five minutes worth of penalty-kill time. But even that statistic shows DeBoer's confidence in Volchenkov, as the Panthers power-play unit has killed the Devils through the first three games.

Another positive stat was Volchenkov's plus-2 rating. Despite not recording a goal or an assist, he was able to get on the ice for the right reasons and prevent the Panthers from scoring on him. It was also the first time this series that he posted a positive rating.

Rookie sensation Adam Larsson remains a healthy scratch for the Devils this postseason, and DeBoer has told the press that he trusts him if he had to put him in the starting lineup. Volchenkov is picking the right time to get back on track, especially with the risk of losing his job on the line.

It will be interesting to see if Volchenkov can keep up his hot streak going into the rest of the series, but for now it seems like the Devils defenseman has changed his luck.