The Devils have been the very definition of mediocre so far this year. Win some, lose some, with no real consistency. 3 game win streaks and 3 game losing streaks. Inconsistent offense and defense. The one constant has been Schneider, playing all 20 games to start the season and breaking Martin Brodeur's team record. That's saying something considering how often Brodeur played in his prime, so you would think that on the second night of back to back games on the road, and the team's 3rd game in 4 nights, the Devils would opt to go with the backup tonight, but DeBoer is still unsure as to who will start, and you would have to imagine that Schneider will play unless he is so tired and dehydrated that he cramps up and falls over. Somewhere Kiprusoff is smiling.
They've had to ride Schneider because they have no real option at backup. Scott Clemmensen, the 37 year old career backup, has looked downright awful in limited action, sporting a 6.49 GAA and a .765 Sv%. I would imagine he doesn't have the coach's confidence. The other option is the 25 year old Keith Kinkaid, who has 3 games of NHL experience, none of them starts. However, he has decent numbers this year (2.22 GAA, .909 Sv%) and had a really solid year last year in the AHL (2.29 GAA, .912 Sv%), so he might be the backup option going forward. Unfortunately, Kinkaid is currently in the AHL, so he'll have to wait a little longer to get his shot.
The Devils' defense has been adequate at 2.75 GA/G (18th rank), with some nice surprises in Severson (4 goals, 8 points, +4) and Gelinas (7 points, +2), but are now missing their veteran stabilizer and captain Bryce Salvador. When Andy Greene is on your top pairing you're likely going to struggle a little bit, although he does currently lead the team with a +9 rating. Still, when a 23 and 20 year old defenseman can step into the lineup and give you quality minutes every night along with a little offense, that's pretty amazing. A 42 year old Jagr still leads the charge on offense, but Mike Cammalleri has been a valuable piece for them. Squid is leading the team in goals and 2nd in points despite missing 6 games with an injury. On the disappointing side is Damien Brunner, who had just 1 goal in 14 games and is now a healthy scratch, along with Jordin Tootoo. Travis Zajac has just 7 points in 20 games, despite top 6 minutes and playing a lot recently with Jagr.
Looking at the Devils roster, it's pretty amazing they have won as much as they have. They have the 2 young kids on defense and then some veterans who are past their prime. Salvador is 38 and Zidlicky is 37. They rely a lot on players like Jagr (42), Elias (38), Cammalleri (32), Havlat (33), and to a lesser extent Zubrus (36), Ryder (34), Ruutu (31), Clowe (32-injured), and even Steven Gionta is already 31. This team's average age is 30 years old, last in the league, and if not for a few really young players in the lineup, could be even older. It's going to be tough for this group to win a lot over a long season, but they always play a strong team game, evident by their 1.10 5 on 5 ratio, so they'll take their share of points off bottom feeders. The problem had been their terrible PK, 2nd last in the league, but have recently figured that out killing 20 of their last 20 penalties.
The Flames are coming off two of their strongest performances of the year against both the Ducks and Blackhawks, 2 of the elites of the league. The 'Hawks got some well earned revenge against Hiller, scoring a goal off a bad turnover late to take the win in an otherwise extremely even game that I would say the Flames were the slightly better team in. They held the Blackhawks to 22 shots, well below their season average of 37, and kept most of the shots to the perimeter. They also continued to score, with 3 goals, 2 on the power play against the best PK in the league, keeping their PP in the top 10. The penalty kill continues to be a sore spot at just 74.6%. The Flames need to sort this part of their game out in case the offense ever dries up. 5 on 5 the Flames are still quite good with a 1.16 ratio.
They need that offense to continue what it's been doing. Wideman is red hot again with 3 goals in his last 2 games. Giordano started another point streak last game and still has 4 points in his last 5 games. Markus Granlund has quietly amassed 9 points in 10 games, and has 5 points in his last 3. Glencross has continued to produce despite a bunch of nagging injuries, and has 4 assists in his last 5 games. He hasn't scored a goal of late, but a lot of that has to do with injuries affecting his shot. Paul Byron had another 2 point night against Chicago and now has 5 points in his last 4 games. Monahan's point production has been hit or miss so far, but his game has grown in leaps and bounds, taking on and shutting down the other team's top line and winning his share of face-offs. Particularly impressive was his ability to shut down Jonathan Toews and Ryan Getzlaf in the last 2 games. Remember, he's only 20.
With Knight's call up and Reinhart's demotion, along with the fact that I can't see a reason to put Setoguchi or McGrattan in the lineup, these lines are total guesses and will be updated throughout the day. No updates for Russell yet, but he could be back for this one. Ramo is the confirmed starter. Unless Schneider is too tired to skate, he will start for the Devils.
Flames
Glencross-Monahan-Bouma
Gaudreau-Granlund-Hudler
Ferland-Jooris-Byron
Baertschi-Knight-Bollig
Giordano-Brodie
Smid-Wideman
Diaz-Engelland
Ramo
Devils
Cammalleri-Zajac-Jagr
Elias-Henrique-Havlat
Ruutu-Josefson-Ryder
Zubrus-Gionta-Bernier
Greene-Severson
Gelinas-Zidlicky
Larsson-Helgeson
Schneider
*I hope there is a sighting of the traveling Jagrs tonight!
Go Flames Go!
***Small confusion, the game is now being broadcast on CBC, not Sportsnet. Or not, I'm not sure. If someone (highwayman19) can confirm this for me I would appreciate it.
Edit: confirmed by highwayman (Thanks!), game is on Sportsnet.