This criticism of the Power Rangers Movie is pretty much the only thing harsher than the Devils’ last week.
ESPN This week: 24
Last week: 13
Reasoning: The Devils are winless in seven after a shootout loss to Buffalo on Sunday and have scored 12 times over that period. They begin the week in ninth place in the East and there’s no way this team makes the playoffs with its current level of play.
CBS
This week: 21
Last week: 15
Reasoning: Good news: Ilya Kovalchuk has to come back at some point, right? But seriously, they’re still in the race for a playoff spot. Bad news: They’ve lost seven games in a row. That and they have the fewest goals in the East.
Sports Illustrated This week: 20
Last week: 14
Reasoning: Thank goodness for those three-point games, otherwise Lou Lamoriello’s lads would be making plans at golf courses across the globe. Fact is, though, the Devils have been playing bad hockey for a while now, with their last happy ending on March 23, a 2-1 win over the sadsack Panthers. Ilya Kovalchuk, out since March 23 with a shoulder injury has started skating, but it may be too late. New Jersey is on the outside looking in at the top eight. The year has not been kind to the defending Eastern champs.
FOX Sports This week: 19
Last week: 12
Reasoning: Martin Brodeur’s return certainly wasn’t a panacea. The Devils have won two games — the veteran starting goalie’s first two games back, to be precise — since his return on March 21 and have fallen from seventh place to ninth with seven losses in a row.
ESPN This week: 15
Last week: 16
Reasoning: The Devils are tied with the Leafs in points and, like the Leafs, are trying to dig their heels in before sliding completely out of the playoff picture. The absence of Martin Brodeur and paucity of scoring loom large for the Devils, who have won just four of 15.
CBS
This week: 16
Last week: 17
Reasoning: They haven’t been the same since Martin Brodeur went down. Johan Hedberg is not a No. 1. That said, they’re also 23rd in goals per game. Brodeur isn’t at the point that he can make up for low scoring often.
Sports Illustrated This week: 19
Last week: 22
Reasoning: Martin Brodeur practiced for the first time since his last game, Feb. 24, and could return to his rightful throne in the Devils net on Thursday. “I’ve skated for the last week or so, but this is the first time I’m doing it as hard as that,” he told reporters. “It’s definitely the best I’ve felt so far on the ice, but I don’t know how my body will react, so we’ll go from there.” The Devils haven’t played well in his absence, but are hanging in there for a playoff spot. Obviously, Brodeur’s return would give a boost to the defending Eastern Conference champs and not a moment too soon.
FOX Sports This week: 15
Last week: 14
Reasoning: New Jersey was leading the Atlantic and had the second-best record in the East on Feb. 21. By no coincidence, that’s the last time goalie Martin Brodeur (back) played.
With the Rangers on the docket Tuesday night and Martin Brodeur finally ready to return, a history lesson seems appropriate.
ESPN This week: 16
Last week: 9
Reasoning: Tough times for the Devils without Martin Brodeur as they have only one win in their past seven games. They have only 12 goals in that seven-game stretch.
CBS
This week: 15
Last week: 9
Reasoning: Boy, Martin Brodeur can’t come back fast enough. Since injured a little more than a week ago the Devils have played four times with Johan Hedberg and lost all four. Overall that’s five losses in the last six games and they’re getting close to no-playoff land.
Yahoo! Sports (3/1)
This week: 9
Last week: 4
Reasoning: They’ve hit the skids with losses in five of six games, a span that basically coincides with Martin Brodeur’s time on the sidelines with a sore back.
FOX Sports This week: 11
Last week: 9
Reasoning: New Jersey has lost four in a row minus veteran goalie Martin Bordeur, the last by way of a shootout to the lowly Sabres on Saturday. His ailing back can’t get better soon enough.
Times certainly appear dire for the Devils, but nothing is as bad as it seems, right Alpha?
ESPN This week: 4
Last week: 4
Reasoning: The Devils were stung by the Islanders on Saturday but are still within a point of the top spot in the conference. Impressive 6-1-1 home record.
CBS
This week: 3
Last week: 13
Reasoning: OK, so losing 5-1 at the Islanders is ugly, but they stay up here because they’ve still won six of their last eight … all in regulation, too.
Yahoo! Sports (2/16)
This week: 4
Last week: 6
Reasoning: David Clarkson’s power forward prowess is (deservedly) the hot topic in Jersey, but 36-year-old Patrik Elias is leading the team in scoring (18 points in 14 games) and plus/minus (plus-10). Not to mention, the octogenarian goaltending tandem of Martin Brodeur and Johan Hedberg are playing like they’re half their age.
FOX Sports This week: 4
Last week: 2
Reasoning: Penalty-kill troubles, including allowing three goals Saturday in a loss to the Islanders, need to be solved quickly. David Clarkson also has yet to have back-to-back multi-point games this month.
Sports Illustrated This week: 5
Last week: 3
Reasoning: A 5-1 spanking by the Islanders and a 2-1 shootout loss to the Senators on Presidents Day has cooled some of the buzz in Newark. Alexei Ponikarovsky was brought back last week for a second stint with the team and scored a goal in his first game. The Devils could use a bit more offensive punch, particularly from their defense, which has contributed just three goals this season. “You’re not going to win many hockey games scoring just one goal,” Devils veteran Patrik Elias told reporters after the loss to the Sens.
This week’s video is a sign of when I started to realize what I was watching and became more realistic about my childhood heroes. The same goes for the Devils at this point — are we seeing bumps in the road or legitimate cracks in the armor? Time will tell.
After a week off, the Mighty Morphin Power Rankings are back! After a week in which they won five straight games, the Devils, are unsurprisingly near the top of everyone’s rankings. There’s no “1″ ranking though — stupid Blackhawks.
ESPN This week: 9
Last week: 5
Reasoning: A home-and-home sweep of the Pittsburgh Penguins is the perfect way to inform the world that the 2012 Stanley Cup finalists can contend despite the loss of Zach Parise. Pete DeBoer for the Jack Adams? He’s my pick right now.
CBS
This week: 3
Last week: 12
Reasoning: Can you have a better weekend than the Devils just had? Taking four points in two games from the division-rival Penguins to extend their winning streak to five games? They are two points head of the Bruins for the top spot in the East but have also played two more games.
Yahoo! Sports (2/8)
This week: 6
Last week: 8
Reasoning: Patrik Elias leads the team in scoring and Martin Brodeur keeps winning and winning. In other news, grunge is back and did you hear about Monica Lewinsky?
FOX Sports This week: 2
Last week: 6
Reasoning: In the span of eight days, New Jersey knocked off the Penguins (twice), Islanders, Rangers and Lightning — allowing just five goals in those six games.
And as for this week’s video, I chose it because the Devils may not seem like much when you look at their individual talent, but they are much stronger under Pete DeBoer’s system and coaching. SYMBOLISM!
With a week of the season gone by, it’s time to evaluate those completely meaningless forms of measuring which teams have suddenly won or lost a couple games within a week, it’s POWER RANKINGS TIME!
ESPN This week: 5
Last week: 16
Reasoning: OK, I know they lost in Montreal on Sunday, but I want to give the Devils their due. Missing 52 goals after the exits of Zach Parise and Petr Sykora, New Jersey made a statement in the opening week that life will go on. It’s the Devils’ way.
CBS
This week: 11
Last week: 14
Reasoning: They’ve picked up points in every game so far. Perhaps they could be higher, but I’m still in wait-and-see mode. … If early indications say anything, Martin Brodeur’s tank still isn’t empty.
Yahoo! Sports
This week: 5
Last week: N/A
Reasoning: This perpetual winning machine captured the Stanley Cup the last time the NHL force-fed us a 48-game season &ndash: and with the very same goalie, if you can believe it.
FOX Sports This week: 6
Last week: 21
Reasoning: It’s way too early to talk about a repeat trip to the Stanley Cup Final. The Devils haven’t lost yet in regulation, but they’ve faced either non-contenders (Canadiens and Islanders) or sputtering teams (Flyers and Capitals).
As for the clip above — Since the only thing more ridiculous than these rankings and the outsized uproar they cause was everyone’s favorite 90′s super heroes, expect a different Power Rangers clip every week. The awesome intro seemed the best fit for the first run.
Sports Illustrated released their first power rankings of the still-to-be-played season. The Devils come in at 16, behind the Avs and ahead of the Panthers. Here’s SI’s reasoning:
I’m giving them a low ranking spot to start, probably too low. But I felt they were something of a fluke team while reaching the Cup Final last year and I see a decline coming here. Can Marty Brodeur really have another good year at his age (40)? I have my doubts, but in a short season? Could be tailor-made for him, too. Yet I just don’t see another year like the last one for the Devils.
ESPN has posted their weekly power rankings. The Devils have moved up 5 spots from last week to the 8th spot. The Devils have been playing better from last week including winning their last 3 games over the Blackhawks, Lightning and Hurricanes. They are hitting stride at a good time right before the playoffs.
ESPN has posted their power rankings for the week. After how well the Devils have been since the All Star break it should not surprise anyone that they have cracked the top 5 in the power rankings and 4th place in the East. The Devils offense has been phenomenal, scoring almost at will. ESPN points out at the Devils have not given up 3 goals in almost a month. The Devils can thank the strong play of their defense and Martin Brodeur returning to a form we have come to know from the future Hall of Famer.
ESPN has posted their weekly power rankings. The Devils are ranked 14th despite losing two straight to the Bruins and Flyers. There is one more game for the Devils before the All Star break against the Sabres tomorrow. If the Devils can notch a victory against the Sabres and then rest going into the break there should be no reason why the Devils can’t come out of the break and make an even more serious playoff push to advance in the standings.
