What's Wrong With New Jersey?

Aside from the obvious cliche punch-lines...

Marty Brodeur came back from a severe arm injury after missing 4 months and it looked like he never left. In an almost super-human effort, he rattled off nine 9 wins in 10 games en route to the all-time wins record among goaltenders in NHL history. A week ago the Devils looked like the force that dominated the late '90s and early 2000's with their stifling defense and disciplined system. 

So what happened? Since New Jersey's 4-0 win over the Minnesota Wild at home on March 20th, they have lost six games in a row. Granted they lost to playoff bound teams like Boston, Philadelphia, Carolina and Chicago, the Devils suddenly look lost. In those losses they have failed to score 2 goals in 4 of those losses. 

If you take a closer look at the Devils last 6 losses it's obvious they are losing the special teams battle... BADLY.

Devils on the power play: 1 for 21

Opponents on the power play: 9 for 27

So the power play isn't executing and the penalty killing units aren't doing their jobs. What's even more astonishing is that New Jersey has had 3 power plays or less in 4 of these contests. If you watch the games closely you might question the officials but power plays are typically created by outworking the other team and putting them out of position. The Devils clearly aren't doing that.

Obviously Devils coach Brent Sutter's closed-door team meeting on Tuesday didn't help as the Devils were thumped by the Penguins last night, 6-1.

So the team didn't respond to the coach and Brodeur wasn't able to bail them out. Luckily for New Jersey, the Flyers failed to show up in Toronto, so they remain 6 points ahead of their division rivals. If the special teams play can Though with teams like Carolina and Pittsburgh playing very strong hockey down the stretch, it might be time to panic if you're a Devils fan, especially since this was the case one year ago for Team Lamoriello.

While the Devils are fizzlin' in the East, check out who's sizzlin' Out West:

• St. Louis Blues (won 6 in a row) 
• Vancouver Canucks (won 3 in a row)

And for the weather patterns that don't make any sense...

Hot Out East:

• Carolina Hurricanes (won 6 in a row) 
• Boston Bruins (won 4 in a row) 
• Pittsburgh Penguins (won 3 in a row) 

Cold Out West:

• Chicago Blackhawks (lost 3 in a row)
• Detroit Red Wings (lost 2 in a row)
• Calgary Flames (lost 3 of last 4 games)