[Daryl Shilling]

I said before the season that I'd be surprised if the Oilers were much above or below .500, and that is currently where they are. And THAT's with horrendous injury problems.

Daryl

[Amoroq]

My team is right on pace for where I thought they would be. Struggling to stay with the bottom feeders.

[Shinedown]

I honestly wasn't expecting Dallas to be in 3rd place in the league, I was expecting to see them at the bottom of the standings for a while...

But I'm very excited nontheless!

Pros:
Zubov- I won't even hesitate to say that I think he is the best defenseman in the league right now. He's playing well above my expectations and the fact that he is underrated makes it easier for him to sneak up on people.
Morrow- Doing great offensively, and finally starting to act like a team captain.
Niskanen- He's looking good so far, and playing on the first line with Zubov is even better for him. He'll be great in the future
Joikinen- Finally starting to develop, and he's a shootout force.
Smith- Should be starting over Turco. He's playing great, allowing few goals, and getting the Stars wins.

Cons:
Turco- I'm pretty sure his Vezina running days are over. He's still not a bad goalie but he buckles under pressure faster that butter melts in the oven, and with Dallas' relatively poor offense, that's not what we need at all. Not to mention the only reason Dallas wins shootouts is because we have Jussi, Hagman, Modano, and company...
Boucher- Could be alot better. He isn't producing like he should be.

[Russian Bullet]

Originally Posted by MadDevil

Considering the changes the Devils went through in the offseason, I thought there would be a transition period early on, and that they might struggle a bit. I figured going into the season that they'd hang around .500 the first 20-30 games until things started to come together. They're 8-10-2 and through 20 games, so it's not far off. I thought they'd have a couple more wins, but that's about it.

Pros:

*Zach Parise - he's been the Devils MVP so far this season. Leads the team in scoring, his energy and work ethic are amazing.
*Jay Pandolfo/John Madden - who would have thought these two would lead the Devils in goal scoring? They scored a combined 25 goals last year, they already have 13 so far this year.
*Jamie Langenbrunner - he's only been back for 2 games and he's already given the team a shot in the arm.
*Marty Brodeur - his record is deceiving, mostly because the Devils don't usually give him much goal support. He's looked much more like the old Marty lately.
*Paul Martin - considering the role he's being asked to play, I think he's done a good job playing #1 minutes. Unfortunately he's missed the last couple games with injury.

Cons:

*The offense - to say they've been inconsistent would be putting it lightly. Interesting stat brought up against the Flyers, the Devils are 8-0-1 when scoring 3+ goals, and 0-10-1 when scoring 2 goals or less.
*Patrik Elias - he's looked much better lately, but still wildly inconsistent for being the team's highest paid player. Hopefully this recent stretch of good play is a sign of him turning the corner and getting back his old form.
*Brian Gionta - like Elias he's looked good at times, but still needs to score some more goals.
*Special teams - 29th in the league on the PP, and 27th on the PK. The latter is very un-Devil-like, and it needs to change the rest of the season.

As for the new additions to the team, I think they've all been pretty solid so far. Zubrus is starting to find his scoring touch, Rachunek is moving the puck well (although he still makes too many mistakes), Vishnevski has been okay, Asham has been great, and Weekes has given the Devils some solid backup goaltending with Marty getting off to the worst start of his career. None of them have looked utterly horrible, which is an upgrade over some of the Devils more recent UFA moves.

I don't really know what to say about the rest of the season. If the offense can find some consistency, and guys like Elias and Gionta get going, I think the Devils can still easily make the playoffs. The defense, which right now is probably about AHL caliber, is a big question mark. Greene has played very admirably for a second year player who has basically become the Devils #1 defenseman with Martin out. But you can only ask so much from guys like Greene, Rachunek, Vishnevski, Oduya, Mottau, and Brookbank...and yes that is currently the Devils defense.

This whole season is a transition season, so my expectations of the Devils have changed. I realize what Lou is trying to do by bringing in a guy like Sutter to change things up, and I know that kind of change isn't going to come quickly or easily. Basically I look at this as a "feeling out" process for Sutter and the players. It's Sutter's first year coaching in the NHL, and he's being asked to change up a system that has brought a lot of success to an organization that expects to win. And the players are being asked to buy into a new system. There are going to be ups and downs along the way, so I wouln't be surprised by the Devils winning the division, fighting to make the playoffs, or missing them entirely.

An eight game win streak and suddenly its not a transition season anymore. In fact, i can even see a stanley cup run.

Brodeur is playing lights out once again. Yes he gave up 3 goals in the first period yesterday but shutout the Bruins in the final two periods and overtime.

Parise is looking like a possible MVP this season. 2 goals last night and a hattrick two games ago. He is near the top of the league in scoring and is developing quickly.

Everything elso is coming together aswell. Motto and the defense is picking up strong. Elias and Gionta are playing well. The whole team is coming together.

Id say the Devils are right where they want to be.

[leafsguy24]

The leafs are where I expected them to be. Battling to stay above .500 and close to a playoff spot. Seems like they picked up where they left off for the past couple seasons. I didn't expect Sundin to be carrying the team so much though, or Nik Antropov to have a career year. I did expect to see them in this position in the standings though. Lets face it fellow leafs fan, our team sucks!

[Daryl Shilling]

Originally Posted by Russian Bullet

Parise is looking like a possible MVP this season. 2 goals last night and a hattrick two games ago. He is near the top of the league in scoring and is developing quickly.

Please don't talk about him.

It only give me bad feelings about the Oilers scouting staff, who were adamant that Marc-Antoine Pouliot was going to better, and traded UP to get him instead of Parise.

Now look, you've made me cry! heh

Daryl

[nittanypucker]

Originally Posted by gagne22

Pretty much where I expected...

Pros:
MIKE RICHARDS- hes been so important to this team...hes putting up points, fighting, hitting, and overall being a great leader for this team. Ive been waiting fo rhim to start playing like this for a while now...

Martin Biron- Hes been a little better than I expected...he plays a solid positional game and doesnt give up too many rebounds.

Scottie Upshall- Fast, physical, and with some nice moves...better than I expected, and I expected a lot.

Joffrey Lupul- I heard a lot of bad things about him, and none of them turned out to be the case.

Braydon Coburn- Man, its a thing of beauty when he carries the puck through the neutral zone. Still needs to work on clearing the zone though.

Denis Tolpeko has been a nice callup as well...

Cons-

Scott Hartnell- He hasnt been producing at all...hes played solid, but you expect more than solid with that kind of price tag.

Mike Knuble- Stone hands. Too slow to keep up with guys like Briere and Gagne. Still a good player though.

Ben Eager- Only because I had expected more from him...production-wise as well as in the physical play. I can see him as a 20-30 point guy who brings a physical edge, but that isnt what hes showing right now.

First in the Atlantic...a lot higher than I expected! I'm happy with their beginning to the season and I'm excited to see how Steve Downie will fit in with the team.

[Russian Bullet]

Originally Posted by Daryl Shilling

Please don't talk about him.

It only give me bad feelings about the Oilers scouting staff, who were adamant that Marc-Antoine Pouliot was going to better, and traded UP to get him instead of Parise.

Now look, you've made me cry! heh

Daryl

Sorry sir, but thats why the Devils will always be great. They develop some of the best young players. They DONT get them as superstars, but turn them into stars.

Parise is a good expample

[Daryl Shilling]

Originally Posted by Russian Bullet

Sorry sir, but thats why the Devils will always be great. They develop some of the best young players. They DONT get them as superstars, but turn them into stars.

Parise is a good expample

Oh, that's absolutely the case.

For a long time, the Oilers and their fans blamed everything under the sun for their woes, all of which ignores the fact that teams like New Jersey and Detroit were drafting much later than them, but were consistently coming away with better selections.

*Sigh*

Daryl

[leafsguy24]

It's not the scouting staff's fault, the Devils keep finding players like Zajac, Oduya ETC who turn out to be great players. It's the devils' old wait 'till they develope attitude.