NJ Devils Scoring Chances: Weekly Post: Part 8

This week we will just cover one game, and it was the most lopsided scoring chance results I have seen thus far in my brief tenure as scoring chance counter. The Devils got absolutely crushed in this game. This was just game 7 of the season for NJ, and their results up to this point had been fairly good overall. The Penguins really exposed a lot of the Devils lack of forward depth up front, and this was certainly one of the games that caused Lou Lamoriello to go out and begin his season long parade of acquiring depth forwards to varying levels of success.

As we begin, if you would like a refresher on Scoring Chances 101, here is a link to my introductory post which reviews the definition of a scoring chance.

This was one of the early season games where CBGB was a third line still. The fourth line for this game was actually Barch-Josefson-Harrold, which is laughable. One of the more amazing things about this game was that only one Devil came out positive in scoring chances on what was just a brutal day overall, and that was Jacob Josefson (+3/-1 +2). Besides the one positive, Henrik Tallinder was even (+3/-3 0). There were a couple of players that were just absolutely crushed in this game. Mainly, the aforementioned CBGB line (particularly Carter and Gionta), and Bryce Salvador.

Perhaps some of you remember that I mentioned at some point we would see some really, really, really, just awful numbers out of old 'Sal. Consider this exhibit A : Salvador (+3/-12 -9). Onto the CBGBs. Bernier was easily the best of the bunch coming in at +2/-5 -3. Carter (+3/-10 -7) and Gionta (+1/-9 -8) put up Salvadorian like numbers. Pete DeBoer had decided this game would be a good opportunity to deploy the CBGBs extensively against Crosby, Malkin, and in some cases both Crosby and Malkin. I know he didn't have the last change in this game, but he sought out that matchup, which proved to be a huge tactical error, and Dan Bylsma gladly obliged.

The brunt of the damage in all these cases took place during a wretched showing of a 2nd period, when the Devils were out-chanced 13-1 overall, and 12 - 0 at even strength. The only scoring chance of the entire middle frame came off the stick of Andy Greene, and it was a shorthanded goal. This game, if any of you remember, had a very funny dynamic, because the Devils were literally getting abused on the ice, yet they only trailed 2-1 going into the third, despite the Penguins onslaught. Then, in the third period, Pittsburgh got rewarded for their efforts as the puck began to find the back of the net with regularity, and the game got out of hand over the first 10 minutes of the third. The Penguins cruised to the 5-1 victory.

Please check out the charts below to see what I have to believe desperately hope will be the worst result of the 2013 season.

If you have any thoughts at all about this one, please, by all means share. Together, we can heal.