Grading the New Jersey Devils Forward Lines Since the Coaching Change

When the New Jersey Devils fired head coach Peter DeBoer on December 26, the team had only two wins in its last 10 games.

Since the firing and subsequent hiring of Adam Oates and Scott Stevens, who are coaching alongside general manager Lou Lamoriello, the team is 4-4-1. That run is the best the Devils have had since they started the season with three straight wins.

Under Lamoriello, Oates and Stevens, the team has scored three goals or more in a game four times, no small feat for a Devils club that has struggled to score consistently this year.

So, now is a good time to assess the performances of the Devils forward lines, as put together predominantly by Adam Oates. 

These grades will consider both the performances of individual players under the new coaching staff as well as how each line has worked together as a unit.

Fourth Line: Tuomo Ruutu, Tim Sestito and Jordin Tootoo

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

Jordin Tootoo collides with a Philadelphia Flyer.

Stats since December 26:

Name	GP	Goals	Assists	Points	Plus/Minus	PIM
Tuomo Ruutu	8	0	1	1	-1	2
Tim Sestito	9	0	1	1	1	14
Jordin Tootoo	9	1	0	1	-1	22

Grade: C+

There are two ways of looking at New Jersey's fourth line.

First, one can appreciate the physical play that these players have brought to the Devils. Both Tootoo and Sestito have been willing to fight to spark the team, and their general physicality brings toughness to an aging team. 

The fact that these players can keep their plus-minus near even means that they can bring that toughness without costing the team defensively, which is key.

But, the fact that these players bring little to no scoring threat cannot be ignored. Of course, blame for this is not to be placed on the players.

Tootoo simply is not an offensive player, while Sestito is a serviceable fill-in but not a true NHL-caliber player. Ruutu is a player capable of scoring a few goals, but that is not a realistic expectation while he plays on a line with Tootoo and Sestito.

With Ruutu likely out until the all-star break (per Tom Gulitti at the Fire and Ice Blog), Joe Whitney will get a chance to prove his worth. But he will face the same issues Ruutu did, namely playing with a career AHL-er and a player whose best single-season points total is 30. 

All in all, it is a passing grade for the fourth line, which is playing its best and making positive contributions despite limited talent. But, given the limited talent, a C-plus is the highest grade this group can get.

Third Line: Dainius Zubrus, Michael Cammalleri and Michael Ryder

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

Michael Ryder celebrates his sixth goal of the season.

Stats since December 26:

Name	GP	Goals	Assists	Points	Plus/Minus	PIM
Dainius Zubrus	9	0	2	2	-3	10
Michael Cammalleri	9	3	2	5	0	0
Michael Ryder	6	2	2	4	1	4

Grade: B

This line may be the hardest to grade, because although it is New Jersey's third line, it features two players whom the offensively challenged Devils need higher than third-line production from.

Cammalleri has answered that challenge and is on the third line simply because the Devils need a player in the middle of that line whom they know will produce. At his current rate of scoring, Cammalleri would have 35 goals if he played 82 games this season. 

Ryder, on the other hand, had struggled until the coaching change. He had only four goals and 10 assists in 34 games under DeBoer this season but has four points and a plus-one rating over his last six games. 

Is this a sign of a turnaround for Ryder?

Only time will tell. Perhaps it was Ryder's relationship with DeBoer that was holding the 34-year-old back. Perhaps he is just picking up his play in hopes of a deadline-day trade away from New Jersey. Perhaps this is just an anomaly, and Ryder will soon return to being unproductive.

The third player on this line, Zubrus, has been a disappointment since the change. 

His minus-three rating is the worst of any forward since December 27, his 10 penalty minutes in nine games are unacceptable and his two points since the coaching change are underwhelming. Zubrus remains one of the hardest workers on the ice, but age has caught up to him in terms of pure ability.

In all, though, five goals over nine games from the third line is a solid output. Whether this line ought to continue to play together long-term is still questionable, but its offensive play has been good enough to warrant a B.

Second Line: Patrik Elias, Travis Zajac and Martin Havlat

Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Patrik Elias celebrates his 1,000th point.

Stats since December 26:

Name	GP	Goals	Assists	Points	Plus/Minus	PIM
Patrik Elias	6	2	4	6	2	0
Travis Zajac	9	3	4	7	-1	0
Martin Havlat	5	1	1	2	0	0

Grade: A

There might be no three Devils forwards who struggled more under DeBoer this season than Elias, Zajac and Havlat.

Elias was a minus-16 before the coaching change. Havlat was a minus-11 in only 22 games. Zajac went seven straight games without a point at the end of the DeBoer regime. 

Yet, no players have had bigger turnarounds in New Jersey's recent change of fortune than Elias and Zajac.

Elias picked up his 1,000th point and 600th assist against Buffalo on January 6 and has points in four of his six games since returning from illness. After looking like an aging player for much of the first half of the season, seeing the Elias that Devils fans have grown to love has been a huge relief.

Zajac has looked like the player he was during the height of his success playing with Zach Parise. He has been shooting regularly (15 shots in nine games since December 26), normally something he lacks the confidence to do. As a result, Zajac has found three goals.

While Havlat's play has not turned around as much as Zajac or Elias, he has not been the possession and defensive black hole that he was earlier in the year.

Surely playing with two defensively responsible forwards has helped cover up for his deficiencies, while allowing him to occasionally show his offensive prowess.

If this trio keeps up its reliable play, it could easily remain together for the rest of the season.

First Line: Adam Henrique, Scott Gomez and Jaromir Jagr

Juan Ocampo/Getty Images

Scott Gomez leads a breakout with temporary linemate Steve Bernier.

Stats since December 26:

Name	GP	Goals	Assists	Points	Plus/Minus	PIM
Adam Henrique	9	1	3	4	-1	2
Scott Gomez	9	2	5	7	1	2
Jaromir Jagr	8	4	1	5	2	12

Grade: B-

The Devils' new first line made a name for itself against the Philadelphia Flyers on January 3, one of its first games together. 

On that night, Jagr picked up a hat trick, Gomez had a goal and two assists and Henrique had two assists. As impressive as that game was for this trio, they have been average in most other games. 

In fact, if that game comes out of their stat lines, the result is this:

Name	GP	Goals	Assists	Points	Plus/Minus	PIM
Adam Henrique	8	0	2	2	-5	2
Scott Gomez	8	1	3	4	-3	2
Jaromir Jagr	7	1	1	2	-2	12

Of course, manipulating the numbers in this way gives a somewhat skewed picture of the way the top line has played, as does using only one game to praise its contributions. 

But it is clear that this line's offensive production has not been consistent enough to warrant major playing time unless things change. The trio's plus-minus when removing the Flyers game from the statistics is particularly alarming.

One possible issue is the line's potential inability to keep possession of the puck. Jagr leads the team in Corsi, a statistic that measures possession by comparing the number of shots a team faces when a player is on the ice against the number of shots a team takes while that player is on the ice.

Conversely, according to Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com, Gomez's Corsi is 14th on the team among Devils who have played 20 games this season. Henrique's is 17th. 

With Jagr likely out until after the all-star break, New Jersey's coaches will have to wait to see if the play of this line can improve.

But for now, it is a decent line with potential to be much more than that. Therefore, it gets a B-minus rating.