During the break, when the world focuses on Olympic hockey, we here at RWTD decided to start a series called "Devils At The Break." Darren and I will use this series to take a look at the Devils first part of the season, analyzing everything from injuries to individual player performances. We begin the series with the injuries the Devils sustained in the first part of the season. While some players missed a game or two with injury, we're going to look at four Devils who missed significant time this season: Patrik Elias, David Clarkson, Dainius Zubrus, and Paul Martin.

Patrik Elias

The Devils all-time leading scorer has   missed a combined 22 games this season. He missed the first 13 games of the season with a groin injury, and then missed nine games after a hit from Colorado's Ryan Wilson. The hit was clean, but the outcome looked scary. Elias laid, motionless, on the ice and was eventually carried out on a stretcher. While Elias returned from both injuries without visual side effects, it never helps to have one of the team leaders sidelined for almost a quarter of the season. Elias tallied 11 goals and 19 assists before the Olympic break, but I think we all saw what the offense and powerplay looked like without him. Without Elias, the Devils lack creativity in the offensive zone. His health will be a concern going forward, because without him the Devils lack a playmaker to play with Ilya Kovalchuk.

David Clarkson

The Devils young right-winger showed promise early in the season. He got to the dirty areas, scored ugly goals and gave the Devils a gritty presence. All it took was a shot by Boston's Zdeno Chara to halt what looked to be a promising start to the season. While in his defensive zone, Clarkson stepped in front a shot by Chara from the point. He immediately crumpled to the ice and crawled back to bench. The shot fractured Clarkson's ankle, leaving him sidelined for four-to-six weeks. Clarkson attempted to return December 31, 2009, but aggravated the injury in the Devil's win. He hasn't seen the ice since, but the team expects him to be ready for their March 2nd game against the San Jose Sharks. As I said before, Clarkson brought grit to the Devils. While his offensive skills may not be what's missed most, the Devils certainly miss his physical presence. They haven't found someone willing to go into the dirty areas to score or throw down the gloves when guys are taking too many liberties with Zach Parise, Travis Zajac and Elias. It will be a welcome sight to see Clarkson doing the little things to give the Devils an edge.

Dainius Zubrus

Zubrus went down with injury November 30th, marking the third Devils forward to miss significant time. Zubrus blocked a shot from Nashville's Ken Klein, taking the brunt of the shot to the knee. His kneecap broke from the impact, and Zubrus was shelved for thirty days. While he has mostly underperformed as a Devil, the team lacked depth at center, and losing one didn't help that situation. Zubrus can also do a multitude of things - kill penalties, play physical, score goals - and the Devils missed those abilities with his injury. He's been moved around since coming back, but he's recently clicked with Zajac and Parise on the wing.

Paul Martin

Paul Martin's injury, above all the rest, has had the most impact on the Devils this season. The defenseman, who seemed to be improving every year, went down with an injury October 24th at Pittsburgh. Martin sustained the injury after taking a shot off the forearm from ex-Devil Bill Guerin.

Before the injury, Martin began to settle into his role as the leader of the defense. Last season, he played more minutes than any other defenseman (24:22) and led defenseman in points (33). He also seemed to click with Johnny Oduya, and both of them formed a strong offensive pairing. Martin's original injury diagnosis was only four-to-six weeks, but after the bone didn't heal properly, he had to have screws inserted to help the healing process.

After playing extremely well in his absence, the Devils defense came back down to Earth in the last month. One quick look at the average time on ice will show you a good indicator why:

Andy Greene:

Minutes 2008-2009: 16:17

Minutes 2009-2010: 24:29

Colin White:

Minutes 2008 - 2009: 19:01

Minutes 2009 - 2010: 20:04

Mike Mottau:

Minutes 2008 - 2009: 17:47

Minutes 2009 - 2010: 22:32

The only Devil who hasn't seen an increase in his numbers is Bryce Salvador. But giving defensmen such as Greene and Mottau extra minutes will wear them down. Greene hasn't been the offensive force he was earlier in the season, and Mottau continues to make mistakes and play terrible defense in his own zone. The Devils glaring holes at the blueline were highlighted when Martin went down. The team will be glad to see Martin back in the lineup in San Jose March 2nd.

These are the more significant injuries for the Devils this season. Elias and Zubrus both have some back to form, and adding in Clarkson and Martin will compare to adding two above-average players in a trade. Clarkson will bring back the grit and toughness this team sorely lacks, and Martin will bring an offensive presence to the blueline. Martin also allows head coach Jacques Lemaire to take some minutes away from Mottau and other defenseman. When March 2nd rolls around, it'll be the first time in a long time the Devils can say they are playing with their "regulars."

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Since the Devils have had a few days off between the Philly game and the Montreal game tomorrow night, I thought I would talk about a few news worthy items that are making headlines with the Devils right now.

Paul Martin - Lamoriello had mentioned this week that Paul Martin is not ready to start practicing with the team. Martin has been skating on his own but still has half a cast on his arm. With only 4 games before Christams, its doubtful we will see him before then. If the Devils send a defenseman down to Lowell (or waivers but I don't think they'll go that route) before midnight on Saturday, this could be a sign that Martin is ready to return durning the roster freeze. Given the success the Devils have had over the last month and a half, I am still axious to get Martin back into the lineup.

Martin Brodeur - Is going to have a special mask for the "Jersey Throwback" night on March 17th. The mask Brodeur will wear will be a replica of the mask he wore in his first NHL game. That mask was all red except for stickers—white background with “Devils” in red letters—on each side. Did you know Marty is the only member on the Devils to have worn the original "Christmas Tree" jersey?

Marty is expected to play against Montreal tomorrow night which would tie him with Patrick Roy for the NHL record for number of games played by a goaltender at 1,029. I would hope that the Devils give Marty the night off on Friday vs the Senators because the Thrashers and Penguins games following the Sens are games I want to see Marty in.

That's it for now..we will get back to our game previews tomorrow as the Devils welcome Scott Gomez and the Montreal Canadiens to The Rock. In the pre-season I had mentioned this as a game I was excited about because of the Gionta and Gomez reunion but Brian Gionta has been out since November 13 with a broken foot, so we'll have to wait until next time.

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Thanksgiving weekend is usually a weekend reserved for a parade, some turkey and some pigskin but how about those Devils. They beat the Senators the night before Thanksgiving, took care of the Bruins in a shootout on Friday and destroyed the Islanders on Saturday. That makes for a very good holiday weekend. With the 6 points earned in three games played last week, the Devils trail the Penguins by 1 point for the division lead.

Reports out today that Pandolfo and Niedermayer were skating in this morning's practice and may crack the lineup some time this week. Oduya is rumored to be joining the Devils practices tomorrow so his return may be right arount the corner.

Now the bad news on the injury front, David Clarkson will be missing the next 4-6 weeks with a non-displaced fracture about the ankle. Clarkson brings grit and toughness to a team that I don't think is all that tough at times so his place in the lineup is sure to be missed. Add his toughness and Zubrus' size to things missing in the lineup and I sit here and wonder when the injuries will catch up with the Devils.

Devils play Vancouver on Wednesday night and then Tampa Bay and Detroit on back to back nights starting on Friday. The game against Detroit on Saturday will celebrate the 1995 Stanley Cup Champion team like they did the 2003 team a few weeks ago when the Ducks cam to town.

And finally, congratulations to Marty Brodeur who welcomed a new addition to his family last week AND set the record for most minutes played by a goalie passing the great Patick Roy last weekend.

Hope everyone had a nice holiday weekend but now it's back to our regularly schedule programming here at RWTD.

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Dainius Zubrus suffered a hairline fracture of the patella (kneecap) on is right leg and will miss four to six weeks. Zubrus was injured when he blocked a shot from Nashville defenseman Kevin Klein 1:04 into the second period of Thursday night’s game. The force of the shot was so great that it broke Zubrus’ shin guard. This is a big loss for the Devils because you don't easily replace a big physical center like Zubrus.

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Lou Lamoriello will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame this weekend in the builders category. For those who don't know what it is, the builders' category includes coaches, general managers, commentators, team owners and others who have helped build the game. When it comes to success in the NHL, the New Jersey Devils over the last 20 years are one of the few teams the NHL can look at and call a "Model Franchise."

In April 1987, then-Devils owner John McMullen appointed Lou Lamoriello president of the New Jersey Devils. Lamoriello named himself general manager just before the start of the next season, a move that surprised many NHL observers. He had never played, coached or managed in the NHL, and was virtually unknown outside the New England college hockey community. Lou has done a fantastic job for this organization since the day he got here. In his first season as GM, the Devils notched their first winning season in franchise history (dating back to their time as the Kansas City Scouts [1974–76] and the Colorado Rockies [1976–82]) and reached the Wales Conference Finals. They have made the playoffs in all but two of his 20 seasons as GM and appeared in the Stanley Cup finals in 1995 (won), 2000 (won), 2001 (lost), and 2003 (won). Jeff Vanderbeek bought the Devils in 2004 but has wisely left the Devils' operations in Lamoriello's hands.

With the way salaries and team payrolls spiraled out of control in the early 2000's, which eventually led to the 2005 lockout, Lou Lamoriello never changed his views on player contract negotiations. He takes a hard nosed approached to this and believes in paying a third-line player as much as a first-line player if he feels they have the same value to the team. While some players have opted to leave the organization for bigger paychecks, a number of players seem to agree with Lamoriello's views, especially those who always find their way back to wearing a Devils uniform. When it comes to the NHL draft, he's drafted some guys that have gone on to become NHL superstars (Broduer, Guerin and Niedermayer just to name a few). He's also gone and found players that somehow missed getting drafted into the NHL and turned them into some of the league's most respected players (Madden and Rafalski). Lou also has a knack at finding guys in free agency who fly under the radar of other GM's but become important pieces in the Devils organization.

Lamoriello's time in NJ hasn't been without controversy though. It's no secret that Lou has been through a number of head coaches during his time here, even taking over the coaching duties himself twice but Lou knows what he wants out of his coaches and if they aren't getting the job done Lou will do whatever needs to be done in order to get the job done. There's no better example of that than the Spring of 2000 when Lou fired Robbie Ftorek with 8 games left and turned the team over to Larry Robinson who went on to bring home the Devils second Stanley Cup.

I was too young to understand the business of hockey back in 1987 but whatever it was that John McMullen saw in Lou Lamoriello, I am certain thankful he saw it. Lou has many admirers throughout the league but despite all the accolades from his peers, Lamoriello insists that his success is not about him, but rather a collaborative effort from everyone in the organization. I thought Brian Burke said it best in an interview about Lou. "They're people I owe professionally and people that I owe personally, but there is probably nobody I owe in both areas of my life as much as I owe Lou Lamoriello. The influence he has had as a coach and as a mentor on my life has been tremendous."

Congratulations Lou, this is a WELL deserved honor and as a Devil fan, I thank you for the passion you put into this team and making the fans feel like every season the Devils have a chance at the cup because of the product you put on the ice. no comments

The NJ Devils are off to their best start ever when talking about playing games away from the Prudential Center. They are currently 7-0 and only the Buffalo Sabres of 2006-2007 did better then they won 10 games on the road to start a season.

Now, how do they do what they are doing away from NJ while they are in NJ? It doesn't make a whole lot of sense. One could say that they are playing better teams at home than on the road but that's not very accurate. Yes, they've beaten Tampa Bay twice and a depleted Boston Bruins sqaud but they also knocked of Washington, NY Rangers and Pittsburgh in these 7 games. If the Devils are going to be succesful, they will need to start looking better at home. It's cliche to say but its alway very accurate.

The task of winning at home doesn't get off to an easy start on Wednesday as they host one of the conferences best teams, the Washington Capitals, who oh by the way have the leagues scoring leader (if his injury from yesterday isn't too severe) and then host the Islanders who, every time I watch, seem to look better and better.

The good news we got this morning was that Patrik Elias was one the ice practicing with his teammates for the first time this season. We knew this was coming because Matt Halischuk was a healthy scratch on Saturday afternoon against the Lightning and then was sent to Lowell (AHL) on Sunday. I don't think Elias would be available to play against the Capitals on Wednesday but I have to believe he's close to returning and maybe he'd do so this weekend. Elias skated with center Travis Zajac and right winger David Clarkson for this practice session, which is a line I would like to see him on.

There's no word on Johnny Oduya other than that "he's close" and a "maybe" for Wednesday nights game. Jamie Langenbrunner also missed practice but its believed he's not injured but just needed a rest. no comments

Paul Martin will be out 4-6 with a non-displaced fracture of his lower left arm above the wrist. The good news is that this break won't require surgery. A broken bone that requires nothing but a cast is easily healed. Martin isn't a guy that I want to lose for 6 weeks but it happens. After the Penguins game I was fearing he might be a long term injury. Not sure what this does for him in terms of the Olympics but time will tell.

Pandolfo is also slated to be out 4-6 weeks with a shoulder injury. Pandolfo’s right shoulder popped out on a hit from behind from former Devil Mike Ruppand the Devils are going to try and rehab it first before deciding if he needs surgery to fix. Pando's injury seems less severe than Martin's but in the end it might be more complicated.

We will have to see who comes to replace Martin but I wouldn't be surprised to see the Devils call up Ekford and Corrente for a couple of games. Hopefully Mottau can return to the lineup ASAP so the Devils aren't forced to call Cory Murphy back to NJ. What does that say when I am hoping to have Mottau in the lineup?

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This is surprising but Brendan Shanahan will not be a NJ Devil this season. Shanahan issued a statement through the Devils.

"I have decided not to continue with the New Jersey Devils for my 22nd NHL season," Shanahan said. "When I signed this past summer, Lou Lamoriello, Jacques Lemaire and I agreed that if I were unable to find a suitable fit in which I would be able to compete and contribute at the level I expect from myself, then I would simply step aside.

"I have great respect for Lou, Jacques, and the entire Devils' organization. This decision is both mutual and amicable. I am planning to spend the next couple of weeks with my family to reflect on and evaluate my plans for the future.

"Most importantly, I would like to thank my former teammates and wish them the best of luck for this season."

I'm failry sure that it will come out that this is a youth movement and that Shanahan either didn't fit on the team or didn't fit in the top lines where Lemaire wanted him to be. Whatever the reason, I am a bit stunned. I'm sure more will come of this story.... stay tuned!!

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The Devils have announced the final roster cuts (not that they cut anyone today) this afternoon. The 2009/2010 NHL season is here!! For a handful of teams it begins tomorrow night but for the Devils, it begins on Saturday night when the division rival Philadelphia Flyers come to town, but we'll get to that.

As for the final roster, it looks like...

Goaltenders (2): Martin Brodeur, Yann Danis

Left wings (5): Pierre-Luc Letourneau-Leblond, Jay Pandolfo, Zach Parise, Andrew Peters, Brian Rolston

Centers (4): Rob Niedermayer, Rod Pelley, Travis Zajac, Dainius Zubrus 

Right wings (5): Niclas Bergfors, David Clarkson, Matt Halischuk, Jamie Langenbrunner, Brendan Shanahan

Defensemen (7): Andy Greene, Paul Martin, Mike Mottau, Cory Murphy, Bryce Salvador, Johnny Oduya, Colin White

that leaves Ilkka Pikkarainen, Mark Fraser and Patrick Elias on IR to start the season. Congrats to Halischuk and Bergfors for making it to the big leagues.

Over the last five seasons, the Devils have a winning record on opening night, going 3-1-1 so I feel pretty confident going into Saturday's game against the Flyers.

October 10, 2008: Devils 2 - Islanders 1 - Brodeur stopped a penalty shot and finished with 25 saves and the Devils spoiled Scott Gordon's NHL coaching debut with a 2-1 victory over the New York Islanders. Marty looked good in this game and Devils fans were filled with hope.

October 4, 2007: Lightning 3 - Devils 1 - The Brent Sutter era got off to a very bad start. In fact, if you go back and look at this game, the story in this game would be a major sour note for most of Sutter's career in NJ. The Devils were tied with the Lightning with 3:52 to go in the third when Vinny Lecavalier put home the tie-breaking and winning goal. How many times did the Devils lose a close game late, like this one, during Sutter's tenure?

October 6, 2006: Devils 4 - Hurricanes 0 - The last time the Devils met the Hurricanes prior to this game, the Canes knocked them out of the playoffs en route to their first Stanley Cup. This time, the Devils left Carolina in a much better mood.

October 5, 2005: Devils 5 - Penguins 1 - The lockout is over and its back to watching hockey. Sidney Crosby has dominated at every level of hockey he's played. This night, the night of his life, he wasn't even the best rookie on the ice. Zach Parise, New Jersey's first-round draft pick in 2003, scored a power-play goal and assisted on one of Brian Gionta's two goals in an outstanding debut that led the Devils to a 5-1 victory over Crosby's Pittsburgh Penguins.

October 8, 2003: Devils 3 - Bruins 3 - I remember very little about this game, it was all about the pre-game ceremony as the Devils raised their third Stanley Cup Banner to the rafters. This was the final opening game before the 2004/2005 lockout and before all the rule changes. It's funny, you look back at the schedule prior to the lockout and the tie games look funny now.

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The Devils announced their first round of cuts and sent 13 players back to Lowell and 5 players back to their junior teams. The good news for guys named Matt Corrente, Nik Bergfors, Matt Halischuk, amd Patrice Cormier is that they were not among the guys cut. As I mentioned last week I thought guys would get cut based on their one game performance against the Rangers but that doesn't seem to be the case. If you played in that game, you're still fighting for a roster spot.

A big scrimmage in Training Camp happened with Lemaire coaching the "white team" which consisted of veteran forwards and young defense and Tremblay/Stevens coached the "red team" which consisted of young forwards and veteran defense. Lemaire lost 4-1 and was quoted as saying "Defense wins again, I thought I would be fine with the forwards, but that's not enough. Defense and goalies (win)." which makes me a little nervous.

11 Days until the start of the season and the Devils have 4 preseason games within those 11 days. I'm certainly looking forward to the start of the season.

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