Brodeur Breeds Success, Right?

Have you ever had one of those friends that just seems to be a little more successful than the rest of your group? He’s the kind of guy that is dedicated to his job, works hard and is smart with his money. Now imagine that friend hitting the lottery! Since he’s the kind of guy that’s always been good with his money and made a lot of the right moves, this should only make him MORE successful. Everything should come a lot easier now—but will it? Will the good fortune make things better for him? Or will the windfall of money change him and the way he does things?

Martin Brodeur returning for the last month and a half of the season is the hockey equivalent of hitting the lottery. Your successful friend is this year’s version of the New Jersey Devils. Will the good fortune of having a Hall-of-Fame goaltender return HELP the Devils? By all accounts, it really should make them one of the most dangerous teams in the league. But that’s only if the Devils continue to play the same brand of hockey that’s been so successful for them this season. Will they continue to be one of the more exciting teams in the league or will they let their foot off the gas now that their all-world goaltender is back in the mix?

Getting Brodeur back for the playoffs is like the Devils won the lottery!

As it stands, the Devils are 3rd in the Eastern Conference and are only 2 points behind the Capitals for the 2nd spot. Not bad for a team that has been missing their starting goaltender since he tore a tendon in his left bicep on Nov. 1. For a successful team that has been built on goaltending and defense for the last decade, it’s amazing that the Devils have been able to keep their head above water. Not only are they surviving, they’re THRIVING. Hell, they were able to beat the Bruins and the Sharks last week. Not bad when you can beat the #1 seeds from each conference in the same week.

It’s not a fluke either—they have the 2nd best goal differential in the east, scoring 31 more goals than they’ve given up. They are scoring more than half a goal more per game than they did last season (up to 2.95 goals per game). Can you imagine a team that is capable of scoring goals in front of Martin Brodeur? That’s a luxury he’s only had a few times in his career—and he’s won a few Stanley Cups in his career too. I’m sure there must be some sort of correlation there.

I admit that I didn’t think this current group of players was good enough to win without their superstar goalie leading them to 2-1 wins. At some point, without telling anyone, the Devils have become an OFFENSIVE team (shutouts versus the Islanders not withstanding). The forwards in New Jersey have taken a huge step forward in Brodeur’s absence this season. Zack Parise is blossoming into a bonafide superstar. He already has 35 goals and 70 points in only 60 games. The Team USA veteran also earned his first trip to the all-star game this season. The rest of the league is starting to take note that this guy could be a force in the league for years to come.

Parise is leading a new brand of hockey at The Rock

Helping carry the load for Parise are youngsters like Travis Zajac and Brian Gionta. When you consider the Devils are adding them to proven veterans like Patrick Elias and Jaime Langenbrunner, it looks like the Devils will have 2 lines that are capable of putting goals in the net. And then you have the most important veteran of all their forwards as they were able to pick up Brendan Shanahan as a free-agent in the first half of the season. All the sudden, the Devils have firepower! Where did this come from?

It’s important to note that the Devils have had good goaltending in Brodeur’s absence though. Career back-up Scott Clemmensen has 25 wins so far this season. His save percentage and goals against are both good enough to start on most teams in the league. Funny thing, they aren’t even the best on his own team! Kevin Weeks has a 2.32 goals against and .924 save percentage, both of which are slightly better than Clemmensen. It’s hard to believe that he’s technically the Devils third-string goalie! You have to wonder if one of these guys will be on the trading block next week.

Speaking of the trade deadline, this is the time that playoff teams start adding those final few pieces they think they need to make a run towards the Stanley Cup. There are rumors out there that guys like Jason Spezza, Vinny Lecavilier and Ilya Kovalchuk could be changing teams within the next week. But no matter which teams get which players, it looks like the Devils are going to be adding the biggest piece for this year’s spring run. It must be nice to add a Hall-of-Fame goaltender to your team for the stretch run. And the best part, Martin Brodeur is free! It’s kind of like winning the lottery, isn’t it?

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