A 1-4-1 usually leads to changes throughout a team. Coach John MacLean made maybe the most severe changes Monday, reshuffling the lineup and moving players. With the new lines comes the same question - can the Devils finally finish their opportunities and produce?

Through their first six games, the Devils offense has been futile. They've only scored ten goals, which has them in a three way tie near the bottom of the league. The team's goal differential is -11, good for last in the league. That futility made changes necessary. While MacLean doesn't expect an explosion of offense, he does want to see more energy from the lines.

"I think we get a little a little zip on each line, a little energy on each line and that’s what I’m looking for, get some goals out of that with a little tweak here," he said.

Team captain Jamie Langenbrunner believes the line change will help get the Devils back to basics.

"We have to simplify it and just get back to work," the captain said. "I think we’re trying to make something happen when it isn’t there and that goes for a lot of us. We’re trying to find a way to score every shift and that’s not the way you play hockey. You play the game and then the opportunities will come. I don’t think it’s from a lack of effort. It’s a lack of playing in the right areas and doing the little things and that’s what we’ve been missing"

So can the new line changes really "simplify it" and find the back of the net? Here are the revised lines, with our analysis of what each brings to the table.

Line 1: Zach Parise - Travis Zajac - Dainius Zubrus

Well, the "ZIP Line" experiment lasted all of six games. With Zach Parise underperforming so far this season, MacLean reunited a line that experienced success last season. While Dainius Zubrus doesn't command the offensive skill of Ilya Kovalchuk, he brings a big body that can crash the net. That should give someone like Parise more space to work with in the open zone. It'll also open up opportunities for Travis Zajac. With Kovalchuk, the line seemed too hesitant and tried to make two or three unnecessary passes while in the zone. The addition of Zubrus on the right wing should eliminate those extra passes and refocus both Parise and Zajac.

Line 2: Rod Pelley - Jason Arnott - Jamie Langenbrunner*

So far this season, Rod Pelley has been the most consistent Devil. He's brought energy and intensity, and by moving him up, MacLean is showing the trust he has in Pelley. Langenbrunner admitted that Pelley will bring energy back to their second line.

"He’s played well," Langenbrunner said. "I suppose they think that he can bring his energy and the way he has been playing to us because Arnie and I have not played well the last few games and we know that and today’s practice watching the way (Pelley is) just out there working hard is something we all need to do. I think they tried to do that by the way they put somebody on every line. They’re trying get that attitude back."

Pelley won't bring much offense to the table, but he will hopefully serve the same role as Zubrus - a body who gets to the net and creates chaos. Even if Pelley plays great, Jason Arnott and Langenbrunner need to step up their play. This line could be very underrated, but the two veterans need to play a bigger role. Both players +/- numbers are negative, and they need to play focused and productive hockey.

For more analysis on the new lines, click read more.

When the name Matt Taormina, an undrafted 23-year old rookie who played with Lowell last season, first began to make headlines, many fans were surprised.

Taormina isn’t overpowering, and at 5’10″, 185 lbs is the smallest Devils defender on the roster. It’s a good thing size doesn’t indicate a player’s skill. Despite being the smallest, Taormina is the biggest player on the Devils blue line right now. The rookie defenseman is quickly becoming the Devils best offensive defenseman.

Taormina’s success should come as no surprise. Last year, his first season with Lowell, the defenseman played in 70 regular season games, totaling 50 points (10 goals, 40 assists). He continued that production in the playoffs, collecting four points (one goal, three assists) in five games. So far, he leads all defenseman with 3 points, and sits among the team’s top five scorers.

Success, however, hasn’t gone to the head of the rookie defenseman. He’s quick to point out the team’s overall struggle and credit other players in the lineup, including his playing partner, Colin White.

“He’s helping me every day in practice, games, on the bench, during the play,” Taormina said of White. “He’s constantly talking to me, telling me what he likes, what he does and little tricks that make the game easier on myself that I wouldn’t think of.”

Taormina hasn’t only flashed his offensive skill. John MacLean trusts the rookie, and gives him ample opportunities to play in all situations. In the past three games, Taormina received over 20 minutes of ice time, including a team-high 25 minutes in Friday’s game against Colorado.

“Playing time is usually dictated by how you’re playing,” MacLan said. “He was playing really well, so he got some good ice time.”

In a season that hasn’t had many bright spots, Taormina has been a pleasant surprise. I never expected him to produce, but he’s quickly moving himself up the depth chart. He’s shown that he can not only handle playing in the NHL, but he’s played at a high level. Has he been perfect? No. He’s made some mistakes, and those will happen every now and then. But Taormina has shown he’s capable of handling the responsibilities of an everyday NHL defenseman.

His emergence has helped ease the load on Andy Greene. The young defenseman, in the final year of his contract, hasn’t met expectations to begin the season. Greene, the best offensive defenseman for the Devils last season, has recorded two points in six games. He hasn’t looked comfortable, and the team has leaned on Taormina to provide the spark on the powerplay and in the offensive zone.

Taormina isn’t the best of the Devils’ rookies or the best on the blue line. But he’s been solid so far this season, and he’s quickly becoming the Devils’ best blueline scorer.

Photo Credit: SpeakingoftheDevils.com

TSN has released their weekly "Power Rankings" and the Devils have fallen from #6 all the way to #30. Honestly though, if 1-4-1 is the worst start in 27 years, how spoiled have we been over the years??!!

The Devils lost to the Avalanche on Friday night and then got embarrassed by the Bruins in front of their home crowd on Saturday night. So the question is, what's wrong with the Devils?

After losing to Boston, the Devils dropped to 1-4-1. That’s their worst start in 27 years since 1983-84, the team’s second season in New Jersey, when they opened 1-12-0 under coach Billy MacMillan. The problem for me isn't their record because the optimist in me says the Devils could benefit playing bad hockey in the beginning of the season instead of the end, like they have in recent years. No, the problem for me is that the are dead last when it comes to "average goals/game". That isn't what I expect from a team that has guys named Kovalchuk and Parise in the lineup.

On defense, this team isn't doing well either.NJ has given up 21 goals this year which is only one less than the league worst Anaheim Ducks. It would appear the 2nd period is not our friend as the Devils have given up a league leading 12 goals in the second. This is NJ hockey??

Marty Broduer -  Maybe someone needs to explain this to me but I don't understand why Marty was even in the game on Saturday night. I thought that Hedberg was going to start one of the games this weekend and since Marty played Friday night, meant we would see Hedberg on Saturday. We didn't, Marty looked old and tired and we lost. PERIOD!!

Alex Urbom - Certainly struggling over the last couple of games, the Devils decided to ship him back to Albany and recalled Olivier Magnan-Grenier. I think the writing was on the wall Saturday night for this kid when MacLean benched him for the 3rd period.

Now, it is way too early to panic and I am not nowhere near that level. (My football team is a different story but thats not discussed here!!). MacLean was caught switching lines in practice this morning which is a very good thing because maybe it will generate some scoring, something the Devils need to do badly!!

Ilya Kovalchuk skated at right wing on a line with Patrik Elias and Jacob Josefson. Zach Parise and Travis Zajac remained with Dainius Zubrus. Jason Arnott centered for Rod Pelley and Jamie Langenbrunner and the fourth line was Adam Mair, Tim Sestito and David Clarkson.

The Devils get a couple of days to work on things and develop a good game plan. The don't play again until Thursday when the Devils head to Montreal and historically, Marty has been pretty good in front of his hometown.

The Matchup: The Boston Bruins (1-1-0) face off against the New Jersey Devils (1-3-1) at the Prudential Center. This is the first meeting between the teams this season.

The Last Bruins Game: The Bruins blanked the Coyotes, 3-0, last Sunday at the O2 Arena in Prague. After a scoreless first period, Milan Lucic gave Boston a 1-0 lead at 12:11 in the period. Nathan Horton extended the lead, putting Boston ahead, 2-0, at 19:57 of the period. Tyler Seguin then scored his first NHL goal to increase the lead and put the Bruins ahead, 3-0. Tim Thomas stopped 29 shots for the shutout.

The Last Devils’ Game: The Devils lost to the Avalanche, 3-2, last night at the Prudential Center. Despite outshooting Colorado 17-3 in the first period, the Avs took a 1-0 lead into the locker room thanks to a powerplay goal by Cody McLeod. TJ Galiardi extended the Avalanche lead to 2-0 at 11:48 of the second period. Matt Taormina cut the lead to 2-1 with his first NHL goal at 14:48 of the second period. Chris Stewart put the Avs ahead by two, scoring at 4:31 to put Colorado ahead 3-1. Ilya Kovalchuk cut the lead to one once again, scoring at 8:49 to bring the Devils’ within one. But they couldn’t finish their opportunities, and lost to the Avalanche.

The Last Bruins – Devils Matchup: The Bruins took the last meeting of the season, shutting out the Devils, 1-0, on March 30. Both teams played to a scoreless draw until overtime, when Patrice Bergeron fired home the game-winning goal with 19 seconds left in the extra period. Martin Brodeur stopped 33 shots in the losing effort. Tuukka Rask stopped 21 shots for his fifth shutout of the season.

For a full recap of the team’s historical matchup, click here.

Shaking The Rust (And Lag): The Bruins haven’t played in six days because they opened their season in Prague. That’s a long layoff, and we’ll see if that has any negative effects in tonight’s matchup.

Tonight’s Matchup: The Devils need to finish, plain and simple. They had 43 shots on Craig Anderson last night, and many were quality scoring chances. In three games, the Devils have put 109 shots on net and have only four goals to show for the effort. They need to start getting it done on the offensive end and burying their opportunities.

But last night’s game was also positive. The Devils were aggressive on the forecheck and really imposed their will in the first period. Brodeur didn’t have the best night in net, getting beat high on the three goals. But the team had another good effort last night. The Devils get to take on a team that hasn’t played in six days. Not only should the Devils have more jump in their step, but they should pressure the Bruins into several mistakes.

Game time is 7 p.m., and you can catch all the action on MSG Plus.

The Devils wouldn’t leave the game completely healthy. Early in the second period, Patrik Elias took a vicious hit from Ryan Wilson. Skating down the right side, Wilson met Elias with a shoulder to the chest. The Devils’ left-winger laid on the ice for several minutes, but waved to the crowd as he was taken off the ice.

For a full preview of the historic matchup between the teams, click here.

Finally Full - The Devils will finally have a full roster to play tonight. After the team moved injured Brian Rolston to the LTIR, the Devils recalled Jacob Josefson, Tim Sestito and Matt Corrente from Albany of the AHL. All three are expected to play tonight, with Josefson making his NHL debut.

Tonight's Matchup - Wednesday's game was the best of the young season for the Devils. They played a complete game, were aggressive on the forecheck, and made the smart plays. They only scored one goal, but that's what sometimes happens when a great goalie is in the net.

So, what does the team need to do tonight? Repeat that performance from Wednesday. The Devils need to pressure the Avs and their young forwards and defenseman and force them into mistakes. They need to be strong on the puck and make the right decision. Most importantly, the Devils need to skate hard for 60 minutes. As I said above, the team finally has a full four lines to play. That means every player should be busting it out there because they have the extra legs.

The Devils also need to pressure Craig Anderson. He's a good goalie, but he's no Ryan Miller, and he's given up at least three goals in all of his starts this season. If the Devils can cause pressure early and often, they may be able to jump out to an early lead.

Game time is 7 p.m., and you can catch all the action on MSG Plus. For more info on the Avs, check out Anything But Detroit, Bloguin's Avalanche blog.

Here's tonight's projected lines from the morning skate:

Zach Parise - Travis Zajac - Ilya Kovalchuk

Patrik Elias - Jason Arnott - Jamie Langenbrunner

Dainius Zubrus - Jacob Josefson - David Clarkson

Rod Pelley - Tim Sestito - Adam Mair

Henrik Tallinder - Andy Greene

Colin White - Matt Taormina

Alexander Urbom - Matt Corrente

Martin Brodeur

Johan Hedberg

The Devils have lost defenseman Mark Fraser 4-6 weeks with a fractured hand.

Fraser, who likely suffered the injury in his fight with Buffalo Sabres center Cody McCormick Wednesday night, had a pin inserted in the hand today. With Fraser lost, Matt Corrente will be in the lineup Friday night against the Colorado Avalanche.

The Devils now have six healthy defensemen on their roster: Colin White, Henrik Tallinder, Andy Greene, Matt Taormina, Alex Urbom and Corrente. Greene was hit in the foot by a shot during Wednesday night's game and limped to the bench, but he did not miss a shift.

Anton Volchenkov is suffering from a broken nose and stiff neck and will not play this weekend. He is still being re-evaluated as to whether he has a slight concussion. Fraser has not yet been placed on long-term injured reserve, although that is a definite option.

The Devils received bittersweet news on left-winger Brian Rolston yesterday. The bitter was that Rolston would miss the next four-to-six weeks to undergo surgery to repair a sports hernia, marking the third serious injury to Devils' regular this season.

While the Devils will miss Rolston's presence on the third line and powerplay, the team gets some much needed cap relief by assigning him to the long-term injured reserve. By moving Rolston to the LTIR, the Devils can exceed the cap by $5,062,500, giving them a significant amount of cap space to fill out their lineup. While it's another short-term solution to a major problem, the injury will finally allow the Devils to have a full roster for regular season games.

Devils president and general manager Lou Lamoriello will have a plethora of players he can call up from Albany to fill out the roster. Here's who I think should get the call.

1. Jacob Josefson - The Swedish center made it to the last round of cuts before being sent down by the Devils last week. Josefson showed some promise in the preseason, playing well and seemingly winning the third-line center job. He hasn't shown much offensively, and his faceoffs still need work. But he's shown he can handle playing at an NHL level, and should be considered for a call-up. The Devils also seem to be set at center with both Adam Mair and Rod Pelley battling it out for the third and fourth line center positions. Josefson would simply be a depth move, which may keep him in the AHL.

2. Mattias Tedenby - The Devils' other Swedish prospect began to find himself near the end of the preseason. He looked more and more comfortable on the ice, and he began to play a more confident game. Tedenby could probably use some experience at the AHL level, but sticking him on the fourth line wouldn't be a terrible idea. He can give the Devils some pop on the fourth line, and he may even net a few goals when everything is said and done. The Devils need to put together a fourth-line, so Tedenby's chances are probably better than Josefson's to make the team.

3. Vladimir Zharkov - Zharkov has already shown he can play on the big stage. Last season he played very well for the Devils, recording 10 assists in 40 games. He never lit the lamp, but he showed some offensive promise. Zharkov could always be counted on to bring a consistent effort to the ice night in and night out. While both Zharkov and Tedenby are right wingers, Zharkov is a lefty, and could make the move to left wing if needed.

4. Matt Corrente - Everyone in the organization loved what Corrente brought to the table during training camp, but the team sent him down in the last round of cuts. With the Devils able to add a few depth players, I think it's a safe bet to assume that Corrente will re-jon the Devils. The young defenseman brings toughness to the blue line, and isn't afraid to drop the gloves. He's could be a big bruiser in the mold of Anton Volchenkov, and since the team raved about him, I'd expect them to bring him back.

Those four players seem like the most likely to be recalled by the Devils. What do you think? Is there anyone I'm missing? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

Photo Credit: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

The Devils, dare I say this, needed a win tonight in Buffalo. With the injuries piling up and another game with a shorthanded team, the Devils came to Buffalo with several question marks. The teams remained scoreless, trading chances throughout regulation. When overtime started, the Devils got the better opportunity, and they finally converted, as Ilya Kovalchuk's first goal of the season gave the Devils a 1-0 overtime win over the Buffalo Sabres.

The Good

1. Kovalchuk’s First Goal Wins The Devils’ First Game

The Devils had several chances throughout the game, but Ryan Miller and some ill-timed misses kept the game scoreless. Heading into overtime, it seemed like the Devils were on the doorstop, but couldn’t knock down the door. That would all change on one shot.

The Devils, as they had for two of the three periods in tonight’s game, dominated the flow of overtime. The team already had three shots on net as Jamie Langenbrunner handled the puck at center ice. Instead of passing to Kovalchuk, Langenbrunner sent the puck to a streaking Matt Taormina, who carried the puck to the left circle. Taormina momentarily lost control of the puck, but quickly gained it back. The rookie defenseman sent a pass to Kovalchuk in the circle, who dropped to one knee and rifled a shot on net. The puck hit the crossbar but found it’s way into the net for the game-winning goal, his first of the season.

2. Martin Brodeur and Miller Duel It Out

Whenever Brodeur and Miller play on the same ice, the ability to score goals decreases dramatically. Nowhere was that more evident than at the HSBC Center tonight. Both goalies made incredible stops to keep the game scoreless until overtime. Miller made several key saves, including stoning Langenbrunner on the crease with 5:10 left in the third period. But Brodeur equaled the effort, making a game-saving stop on Derek Roy in the second period. It only seems fitting that Brodeur would shut out the Sabres for the Devils first win of the season.

Brodeur now has 111 career shutouts, 23 of which have ended in 1-0 scores. It’s also his fourth career 1-0 overtime shutout win.

3. John MacLean Wins His First Game

Coach MacLean earned his first victory as an NHL head coach tonight, which always deserves congratulations. But it was the fire he lit during the pre-game skate that laid the foundation for the Devils solid game tonight. During the morning practice, MacLean got tired of watching the Devils go through practice with a listless attitude. After a missed pass occurred in a drill, MacLean stopped practice and let go a profanity-raced tirade at the team. After practice, he continued to prod the team through the media, believing the team didn’t have “an air of professionalism that we have to be ready to play the game.”

The team came out and played their most complete game of the night, and I believe it was that tongue-lashing that made the Devils play their best.

MacLean said his first win was a relief.

“I’m excited that we got it,” MacLean said to Tom Gulitti of the Bergen Record. “It’s always good to get the first one out of the way. I’m more excited about how hard they played tonight.”

Continue reading for the rest of the recap!

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