All About The Jersey - New Jersey Devils vs. Florida Panthers: Game Stream #50A world class blog for Jersey's team: the New Jersey Devilshttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47083/lou-fave.png2015-02-01T00:25:52-05:00http://www.allaboutthejersey.com/rss/stream/77195902015-02-01T00:25:52-05:002015-02-01T00:25:52-05:001 Good Period, 2 Bad by NJ in 3-1 Win Over Florida
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<figcaption>An awkward looking high-five seems appropriate for how the Devils won this game. | Jim McIsaac/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>The New Jersey Devils had a competent first period where they took ten shots and scored two lovely goals. The following forty minutes had four shots total by the Devils, as the Florida Panthers were largely denied by Keith Kinkaid. This is a recap of another ugly Devils win.</p> <p>For the first time in a while, the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/">New Jersey Devils</a> won their weekly schedule. For those of you who do not follow the weekly Metropolitan Division snapshot every Sunday, this means that the team earned more than half of the available points for that week of games. The Devils ensured this feat with a 3-1 regulation win over the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.litterboxcats.com/">Florida Panthers</a> tonight. That's a record of 2-0-1 to close out of the month; five out of a potential of six points. Normally, this would be great. However, the Devils managed to achieve this record by playing some of the worst hockey possible.</p>
<p>The Devils actually played a relatively competent period of hockey in this week. Fortunately it was tonight and it was enough to get two points. That would be the first period. In spite of an awful start, the Devils were able to move the puck somewhat effectively against Florida. They won some pucks. They hit some passes. They got the puck with control to dangerous parts of the ice and made <span>Roberto Luongo</span> work. It led to ten shots on net to Florida's five; two power plays, where the Devils went one-for-one; and two absolutely beautiful goals.</p>
<p>I must highlight the goals. They were goals so good looking, the <a target="_blank" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gS6Np-g_h5w">legendary goal calls of soccer color commentator Ray Hudson</a> should be spliced in fan-made videos. <span>Jaromir Jagr</span> took the puck off a cycle from the corner, took it to the middle, and sniped the top of the net for the game's first goal. A struggling power play situation turned stupendous when <span>Steve Bernier</span> made a brilliant between-the-legs, backhand pass to <span>Mike Cammalleri</span> for a one-timer no one was going to stop. Wonderful goals. And they came as a result of actually decent play by the Devils. The first few minutes weren't good, the team was still not at all sharp on their breakouts, but they were actually looking like a team that knew what it was doing and could occasionally do it.</p>
<p>That would not last. The Devils followed up that period with nineteen minutes and fifty-seven seconds of shotless hockey. I know about score effects. I know about playing to the score. It's one thing to be out-shot when up two goals. It's simply unacceptable to narrowly avoid being the first Devils team to go without registering a single shot on net in a period since the early 1980s. The weird thing about it was that there were some offensive shifts and some attempts. They just all missed or got blocked. But those were few and far between because of the on-the-puck play by the Devils. Defensemen just botched clearances and breakout passes. The neutral zone was largely Florida's and they took it to <span>Keith Kinkaid</span> with twelve shots on net. Chip-ins, shallow dump-ins, deep dump-ins, and even carries yielded next to no offense. Even odd man rushes were left shotless as every decision going forward was fouled up in some way or form. For a shift, OK, it happens, whatever. For nearly a period? Well, something's clearly rotten. Like Friday night, the only player I can praise in that second period was the play of the goaltender, Kinkaid. He was sound as usual and stopped an array of shots with and without traffic. Still, the period was tilted heavily in one-direction. The only other positive was that it was still 2-0 New Jersey.</p>
<p>The Devils regrouped in intermission and, well, did more of the same. Florida wasn't as crisp at getting forward as they were in the second, so the game became just difficult to watch from purely a hockey standpoint. The Devils would get a shot on net just before the five-minute mark in the third period. But the second would only come on Steve Bernier putting in an empty net goal at the 17:28 mark. Again, the Devils simply could not generate anything resembling legitimate offense. It's simply not fair to Kinkaid, who put the team on his back for another period. It's simply unacceptable from a fan and even an entertainment perspective. The Devils didn't decide this, they just couldn't execute breakouts or make enough clean passes or even have <i>initiative to shoot the puck when you have a clear look at the net</i>. The Devils' issue tonight was not passing it too much or just holding on, it was their woeful execution. They had no choice but to hold on <i>because</i> they could not control the puck effectively. My lament is not that they didn't score more goals, it's that they couldn't even try to make the play more even, force the Panthers to sit back on defense, or anything like that.</p>
<p>What of Florida? Well, Florida put up ten shots in the period because they figured that attacking would be a good thing to do when down two goals. They would get a consolation goal. A close shot off a 3-on-2 was stopped by Kinkaid. As Jagr blindly backhanded the puck away, <span>Peter Harrold</span> barreled into Kinkaid. <span>Brian Campbell</span> retrived Jagr's clearing attempt, tossed it over to <span>Brandon Pirri</span>, and Pirri got the puck inside the right post. Kinkaid would've made the stop if he wasn't recovering from his own man crashing into him. At least they can say they didn't get shutout. They can also say they were the better team for the majority of the game. But they did lose largely because of that first period and that hurts their cause for a wild card spot.</p>
<p>Going back to the team that matters on this site, the Devils did have a successful week but they did not play well at all, goaltending excepted. This is a problem from a viewer standpoint. I don't see how anyone can watch this and think this is acceptable unless they don't know much about what good hockey looks like. Seriously, four shots on net in two periods after ten says a lot on it's own. This is a bigger problem for the team. Kinkaid and Schneider aren't going to be awesome every single night. They conceded only four goals in the run of play in these last three games. But the Devils also only scored four goals against a goalie in those same games, while they were heavily out-shot by the end of each game. The root of the issue was what Peter DeBoer couldn't solve and I fear the co-coaches won't be able to solve: moving the puck effectively. The Devils demonstrated that they can do it on some degree for a period tonight and then showed they really couldn't for two. This is not going to lead to more competent hockey. When the goaltending isn't near-perfect, then this kind of play is going to lead to a lot more losses, and potentially ugly ones on the scoreboard as well as on the ice. So while getting a regulation win to close out a week at 2-0-1 is normally a good thing; I cannot honestly say this was a good win.</p>
<p><b>The Game Stats: </b>The <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20142015/GS020731.HTM">NHL.com Game Summary</a> | The <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20142015/ES020731.HTM">NHL.com Event Summary</a> | The <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20142015/PL020731.HTM">NHL.com Play by Play Log</a> | The <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20142015/SS020731.HTM">NHL.com Shot Summary</a> | The <a target="_blank" href="http://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20142015/TH020731.HTM">NHL.com Devils Time on Ice Log</a> | The <a target="_blank" href="http://naturalstattrick.com/game.php?season=20142015&game=20731">Natural Stat Trick Corsi Charts</a></p>
<p><b>The Opposition Opinion: </b><a target="_blank" href="http://www.litterboxcats.com/2015/1/31/7958297/new-jersey-devils-3-florida-panthers-1-nhl-cammalleri-pirri-kinkaid-jagr-bernier-wrap">Kevin Kraczkowski has this recap of the game at Litter Box Cats.</a></p>
<p><b>The Game Highlights:</b> From <a href="http://www.nhl.com" target="_blank">NHL.com</a>, here are tonight's game highlights. Watch the first two Devils goals:</p>
<p align="center"><iframe height="395" width="640" frameborder="0" src="http://video.nhl.com/videocenter/embed?playlist=2014020731-X-h"></iframe></p>
<p><b>I Need This Awful Lack of Offense Noted in Numbers: </b>New Jersey was out-shot 14-27, out-attempted in all situations 33-51, and out-attempted at even strength 29-48. Don't let anyone tell you the Devils played a good game tonight. A good period, sure. But not a full game; that's not even close to reality.</p>
<p><b>Changes in Lines:</b> For this game, Jaromir Jagr was moved down to play with Mike Cammalleri and <span>Dainius Zubrus</span>, while Steve Bernier moved up to play with <span>Adam Henrique</span> and <span>Scott Gomez</span>. It's hard to say whether this change worked. Sure, Jagr scored off a cycle in the first period. Beyond that, that line didn't do too much good. It did not help that Jagr and Cammalleri each took penalties; Jagr's was especially annoying as he got caught setting a pick in front of a referee on a Devils power play. As for Gomez's new linemate, Bernier didn't look too out of place. Of all of the forwards, I would single Bernier out for praise as he picked up his first assist of the month, he iced the game, and he was one of the few Devils with multiple shots on net (2) and attempts (5). The new Gomez line didn't get pinned back nearly as much as some of the other lines, which was a plus. The problem with them - and with the team as a whole tonight - was that there should've been some more selfishness and initiative. If things aren't going well, just throw something easy at Luongo and force a freeze. That's way better than boring him for forty minutes.</p>
<p>I suspect we'll see this for another game since the Devils won this one in regulation. Would I continue this switch? Sort of. I'd swap Zubrus and Henrique. This way Gomez can be limited to the 14-16 minutes he should be getting as it's becoming clearer by the game that he's not as useful as originally thought. Cammalleri gets a more prime spot with two offensive wingers instead of one and Dainius Zubrus. But given that the <span>Travis Zajac</span> line didn't contribute much and the fourths did nothing as a unit, I would consider changes throughout the twelve utilized.</p>
<p><b>Jordin Tootoo Does Not Belong in the Middle of a 1-3-1: </b>This was witnessed for about 3:22 of power play time tonight. If it were up to me, he'd receive about 3:22 less than what he got. I can sort of see him as the set screener; the guy who's willing to get down and dirty. Not the man in the slot hoping to get a good pass for a one-timer. I'd much rather have Adam Henrique there. Or Michael Ryder, who was scratched again. Or even Peter Harrold.</p>
<p><b>Repeat from Friday:</b> Good defense is not standing about to clean up rebounds, completely miss open teammates with passes, and turning the puck over. The Devils did not play good defense as a unit yet again. They didn't concede more than forty shots, but they gave up quite a bit while not giving much back to Florida. The offensive issues are directly tied into the defensive issues, as defensive stops (like the ones Florida got a lot of) tend to lead to offensive movement (which Florida done for forty minutes tonight). Peter Harrold and <span>Mark Fraser</span> were especially bad. You can even blame Harrold for ruining the shutout effort by Kinkaid. Seriously, who piles into their own goalie after not making a play on the guy who just took a close shot right in front of you? <span>Eric Gelinas</span> isn't that much better, but surely he has to get into the lineup now. Right?</p>
<p><b>Florida Standouts: </b> Yet again, I need to praise a number of Panthers who stood out as the Devils stood largely in the background for another game. Their lone goalscorer was a threat all night long; Pirri put up five shots on net and was constantly seen going forward. <span>Aaron Ekblad</span> is a very good defenseman now and he's going to get better, which frightens me as a fan of a team in his conference. Campbell and <span>Erik Gudbranson</span> were steady while playing a lot of minutes; they looked good to my eye. While they didn't get much on net, I saw a lot of <span>Jonathan Huberdeau</span> and <span>Tomas Fleischmann</span> get into spaces with ease and nearly coming close to getting something past Kinkaid. Their fourth line was rather effective; a stark contrast to New Jersey's, which did very little. I guess Luongo did well not to lose himself from the boredom.</p>
<p><b>I'll Repeat Myself Again: </b>Kinkaid was great. I sure wish he had a functional offense for more than a period to support his efforts tonight. Or that one of his own teammates doesn't take him out of a play.</p>
<p><b>Lastly: </b>In my opinion, this is the post-game quote of the season. Here's what Lou said, <a href="http://fireandice.northjersey.com/fire-ice-1.174987/despite-losing-shutout-llate-devils-kinkaid-happy-just-to-get-win-in-3-1-victory-over-florida-1.1262382" target="_blank">as reported in this Fire & Ice post by Tom Gulitti:</a></p>
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<p>"It's funny. We had opportunities to shoot. I think we passed them up for whatever," Lamoriello said. "But, I think that's what you look at: are we getting the opportunities? We're not telling them not to shoot. That's certainly an understatement. But, we have to generate more shots, there's no question. The bottom line is what it is. We're here to win and we did that."</p>
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<p>If there was any doubt that the team's issues lied beyond the coaching, then this quote being said now in light of this past week should erase plenty of it. But if Lou wants to keep going for wins, then the coaching council and the players have to really sit down and figure it out.</p>
<p><b>Your Take: </b>The Devils did win in regulation and did so in a bad, bad way. My take is that the process was odious enough to overtake the result. What about you? Did you think the second and third periods would be so bad after that good first? What do you think the Devils need to do to have fewer periods and long stretches (e.g. ten or more minutes) without a measly shot on net? Did anyone not named Kinkaid impressed you all game long? At least the two Devils goals were wonderful; how did you react to those? Please leave your answers and other thoughts about tonight's win in the comments.</p>
<p>Thanks to everyone who commented in the Gamethread and those who followed along on Twitter with <a href="http://www.twitter.com/inlouwetrust" target="_blank">@InLouWeTrust</a>. A special thanks to Alex for taking care of this game's preview. Thank you for reading.</p>
https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2015/2/1/7958539/one-good-period-enough-for-new-jersey-devils-to-defeat-floridaJohn Fischer2015-01-31T18:00:02-05:002015-01-31T18:00:02-05:00Devils vs. Panthers: Gamethread #50
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<p>This is the gamethread for today's game between the New Jersey Devils and the Florida Panthers. This is a post where users can discuss what happens before, during, and after the game until the recap is up.</p> <p><strong>The Time:</strong> 7:00 PM EST</p>
<p><strong>The Broadcast:</strong> TV: MSG+, Radio: 660 AM & 101.9 FM WFAN</p>
<p><strong>The Matchup:</strong> The <a style="background-color: #ffffff;" class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/">New Jersey Devils</a> (18-22-9) vs. The <a href="https://www.litterboxcats.com/">Florida Panthers</a> (21-15-10) SBN Blog: Litter Box Cats.</p>
<p><strong>The Game Previews: </strong>Alex's preview from earlier <a href="http://www.inlouwetrust.com/2015/1/31/7955539/new-jersey-devils-vs-florida-panthers-game-preview-50" style="color: #c8181d !important; text-decoration: none !important; background-color: transparent;">is right here.</a> For the opposition's point of view, feel free to drop by <a href="http://www.litterboxcats.com/" style="color: #c8181d !important; text-decoration: none !important; background-color: transparent;">Litter Box Cats.</a></p>
<p><a href="http://www.pensburgh.com/" style="color: #c8181d !important; text-decoration: none !important; background-color: transparent;"></a><strong>The Song for Tonight: </strong><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgmZvf3sGx4">"Devilhead" by Lungfish.</a> "<span>Devilhead putting devilhead on tonight. </span><span>The fit's just right and it straps on tight. </span><span>It's a big devilhead and it's black and it's red." All joking aside those are the <em>actual</em> lyrics to the song....who knew?</span></p>
<p><span></span><strong>Gameday Info:</strong> <span>Keith Kinkaid</span> will get the start in net tonight for the Devils. <a style="background-color: #ffffff;" href="http://blogs.northjersey.com/blogs/fireice/">Check in</a> with Tom Gulitti for this and all the latest NJ Devils news.</p>
<p><strong>The Reminder of Rules: </strong>This is a place where you can comment about this game before, during, and after it's played before the recap is up. This is a place where we <em>primarily</em> discuss the Devils game. An odd mention of other NHL games is OK, but it shouldn't dominate discussion. All comments will be clean, respectful of each other, relevant to the game, and legal (read: no streams). Please refrain from super-big pictures (640 x 480 max) and NO .GIFs whatsoever to keep the gamethread moving for everyone. If you do post pictures make sure to post a title in the comment. Go Devils.</p>
https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2015/1/31/7957449/new-jersey-devils-vs-florida-panthers-gamethread-50JT Sroka2015-01-31T07:00:03-05:002015-01-31T07:00:03-05:00Devils vs. Panthers: Game Preview #50
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<p>The back end of this most recent back to back has the Florida Panthers coming into Newark. Perhaps tonight the Devils can produce more than 14 shots on net and really test the opposing goaltender. At least, that is the hope here.</p> <p style="text-align: left;" align="center">The 50<sup>th</sup> game of the year, and 22<sup>nd</sup> home game, will see the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/">New Jersey Devils</a> playing host to those cats from Sunrise.</p>
<p><b>The Time: </b>7:00 PM EST</p>
<p><b>The Broadcast:</b> TV - MSG+; Radio - WFAN 660 AM and 101.9 FM</p>
<p><b>The Matchup:</b> The New Jersey Devils (18-22-9) vs the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.litterboxcats.com/">Florida Panthers</a> (21-15-10, SBN Blog: <a href="http://www.litterboxcats.com/">Litter Box Cats</a>)</p>
<p><b>The Last Devils Game:</b> Last night, the Devils began this current back-to-back set by playing host to the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.pensburgh.com/">Pittsburgh Penguins</a>. The Pens were struggling somewhat, having gone 3-4-3 heading into the tilt. The Devils also usually play well against the Penguins in New Jersey, and the Devils were coming in as the hotter team with a 5-4-1 record in the previous 10 games, so there were positives to look for. Unfortunately for the home team, however, these auspicious signs would not aid them. The Devils put up a rather pitiful performance. The one stat that describes the entire game: the Penguins had 20 shots in the third period, while the Devils had 14 shots for the entire game. Yes, the Penguins had 6 more shots in the third period alone than New Jersey had in the whole game. <span>Cory Schneider</span> was absolutely brilliant, and if it were not for him, this game would have been a total joke. He was truly an all-star tonight, and the fact that he did not get the win is very telling. Interestingly enough, <span>Steve Bernier</span> would open the scoring for the game in the third period, but a late goal in regulation plus a goal in overtime would give the Penguins the overtime victory with the score of 2-1. <a href="http://www.inlouwetrust.com/2015/1/31/7955271/cory-schneider-ruled-new-jersey-devils-sucked1-2-ot-loss-pittsburgh-penguins">John had the recap here.</a><i></i></p>
<p><b>The Last Panthers Game: </b>Thursday evening, Florida finished up a 5 game home stand by playing host to the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.jacketscannon.com/">Columbus Blue Jackets</a>. Florida was winless in their previous four games in that timeframe, going 0-3-1, and they were on a 5 game losing streak overall. This, however, would be the one game where they finally gave their home fans something to cheer about. Florida had some great chances in the first period, but were ultimately stymied by <span>Curtis McElhinney</span>, who was the third star of the game for his efforts. He had some amazing stops to keep it 0-0 going into the second. Columbus would even score first, with a blast from the blue line by <span>Jack Johnson</span> just over a minute into the second. Florida would answer quickly, with a nice feed from <span>Brad Boyes</span> to <span>Jonathan Huberdeau</span> right in front of the net. <span>Aaron Ekblad</span> would give Florida the lead later in the second with a slapper from the right side of the blue line that was screened in front, but the lead would not last. Near the end of the period, Columbus tied it up with some amazing hand-eye coordination from <span>Alexander Wennberg</span>, who poked at a puck in midair to get it past <span>Roberto Luongo</span>. But Columbus would not be able to take the lead, as <span>Sean Bergenheim</span> would deflect a shot past McElhinney over halfway through the third for the game winner. Florida would finally get their home win, taking it 3-2. It was reviewed <a href="http://www.litterboxcats.com/2015/1/30/7950331/florida-panthers-columbus-blue-jackets-game-forty-six-recap-nhl">the following morning over at Litter Box Cats</a>.</p>
<p><b>The Goal:</b> Play a solid team game. What I mean by that is Florida is not a team built on superstars. They only have three skaters who have double digit goals this season, with the highest, <span>Nick Bjugstad</span>, having 16. <a href="http://www.nhl.com/ice/playerstats.htm?fetchKey=20152FLASASALL&sort=points&viewName=summary">He is also their points leader, with 29</a>. However, everyone participates. Aaron Ekblad has 28 points, Huberdeau has 26, <span>Jussi Jokinen</span> has 25, and so forth. They all work together and produce at a fairly equal clip, which means that everyone on the Devils needs to work against them. It is not simply a case of the top defensive pairing stopping their top line. The fourth line of New Jersey needs to be able to contain theirs, everyone on defense needs to play well against everyone on their team, and so forth. Florida is a very balanced team, and that requires the Devils to play a balanced, smart, solid team game.</p>
<p><b>Hopefully the Rust is Completely Off</b>: As a season ticket holder, I attend most home games. The game on Wednesday was rather tough and boring to watch. The Devils were certainly full of rust after having the week off. Passes were not crisp, attacks and scoring chances were limited, and so forth. Last night was not really any better, as the Devils got thoroughly beaten everywhere except in the crease, where Schneider was brilliant. I really do hope that by tonight the Devils can return to playing smoother hockey where it does not look like they have no idea how to string passes together and get clean chances on net. They will never be as crisp of a hockey team as the more quality teams in the league, but they still can be better.</p>
<p><b>Most Likely Kinkaid: </b>With Cory Schneider playing against Pittsburgh last night, it is pretty certain that <span>Keith Kinkaid</span> will start. At this point, there is nothing wrong with him getting starts. Yes Cory Schneider is the number one and the better goalie, but Kinkaid has had a great season, certainly better than most would have expected in October. So to have him between the pipes should not make anyone feel like the Devils have much less of a chance to win. At least I don't feel that way.</p>
<p><b>A Quality Opponent: </b>The Florida Panthers have been an above average hockey club this season. Currently they sit at 21-15-10, good for 5<sup>th</sup> in the Atlantic Division and 9<sup>th</sup> in the Eastern Conference. They are a little ways behind Boston, the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.blueshirtbanter.com/">Rangers</a> and the <a class="sbn-auto-link" href="https://www.japersrink.com/">Capitals</a> for the final playoff spots in the East, but there is still time and they definitely have a chance to make up some ground and get a playoff berth.</p>
<p>The main killer this season in terms of getting more points has been their overtime and shootouts. They currently have 10 losses between the two, which is a fairly large number at this point. This is the highest number in the East, and third highest overall in the NHL. If they can win some more games that go beyond 60 minutes, they have a chance to jump up in the standings.</p>
<p><b>Their Young Guns: </b>Currently, Florida is being led by their young talent, some of whom are like to become stars in the league one day. As mentioned before, Nick Bjugstad is their leading goal scorer and leads the team in points. He is only 22 years old. Their second highest point getter, Aaron Ekblad, was this year's first overall pick, and is only 18 years old. Despite this, he has 7 goals and 21 assists as a rookie defenseman. That is exceptionally good for someone that age, and it looks like Florida really got a gem with him.</p>
<p><span>Jimmy Hayes</span>, their second highest goal scorer with 13 goals, is only 25 years old, and Jonathan Huberdeau is only 21 years old and is third on the team in terms of points. Indeed, while the Panthers have 8 players with at least 15 points this season, only 3 are over the age of 25. They have done a great job of amassing young talent recently, and it is only beginning to pay off. They could get better and better.</p>
<p><b>The Elder Statesmen: </b>While Florida definitely has a plethora of young talent to work with, they also have some quality veteran pieces to both help the team win now and also provide those young skaters with much needed leadership and advice. Brad Boyes and Jussi Jokinen, both over the age of 30, provide a quality veteran presence while simultaneously producing a good number of points. Sean Bergenheim has also done a decent job this season with 17 points. So while the young skaters are certainly the present and future of the Panthers organization, their veterans are nothing to scoff at either.</p>
<p><b>A Quality Possession Team: </b><a href="http://stats.hockeyanalysis.com/teamstats.php?disp=1&db=201415&sit=5v5&sort=CFPCT&sortdir=DESC">The Panthers are just that</a>, with the 9<sup>th</sup> best Fenwick and Corsi in the league, at 52.1% and 51.8% respectively. As it turns out, they are much better at preventing events than they are at producing them (much like the Devils used to be). The biggest disparity can be seen with Corsi, where the Panthers are 22<sup>nd</sup> in the league in terms of the number of Corsi For events that they produce at 5 on 5 action. Meanwhile, they are the 4<sup>th</sup> best in terms of Corsi Against events. So while they may not produce many attempts forward, they are very stingy with allowing events to happen in their own zone. This means that when the Devils actually do get something happening on offense, they need to make it count.</p>
<p><b>Not So Great Special Teams: </b>The Panthers do not have great special teams, but have an especially bad power play. They score on only 14.2% of their opportunities, good for 27<sup>th</sup> in the league. While I would never suggest taking as many penalties as they did against Toronto, the Devils should be able to handle Florida when down a man. The Panthers' kill is better than their power play, but it is far from great. Right now, they kill off penalties at an 81.8% clip, good for 15<sup>th</sup> in the league. That is about as average as it comes. Considering the Devils still have the 9<sup>th</sup> best power play in the league, if they get a power play, they really need to take advantage.<i></i></p>
<p><b>Their Goalies: </b>Their starter is none other than Roberto Luongo, who spent much of his early career down in Sunrise before heading to Vancouver. As any Devils fan would know, one of the main reasons Schneider is a Devil and not a Canuck is because of Luongo and his contract. The funny thing is that he still ended up off of the team, and Vancouver now employs <span>Ryan Miller</span>.</p>
<p>Luongo has been solid for the team that first employed his services back in the 2000-2001 season. He is 18-11-8 with a .920 save percentage and a 2.42 goals against average. That save percentage is almost identical to Schneider's. He is definitely keeping Florida in many games.</p>
<p>Their backup is <span>Al Montoya</span>, who is 3-4-2 with a .891 save percentage and a 2.96 goals against average. While he is the one the Devils would obviously prefer to see, most likely it will be Luongo.</p>
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<p><b>Your Take:</b> While tonight's game is not an easy one, it is one that the Devils can have if they take advantage of their opportunities. What do you think will happen? Do you think the Devils have a good shot? How do you feel about Florida this season? Please leave your comments in the section below, and thanks for reading.</p>
https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2015/1/31/7955539/new-jersey-devils-vs-florida-panthers-game-preview-50Alex Potts