head coach: Jacques Lemaire

roster: C - Doug Gilmour, Bob Carpenter, Bobby Holik, Denis Pederson, Petr Sykora. LW - Dave Andreychuk, Brian Rolston, Valeri Zelepukin, Krzysztof Oliwa, Patrik Elias. RW - John MacLean, Randy McKay, Bill Guerin. D - Scott Stevens, Scott Niedermayer, Lyle Odelein, Kevin Dean, Brad Bombardir, Ken Sutton, Sheldon Souray. G - Martin Brodeur, Mike Dunham.

injuries: 11/20 - C Bob Carpenter, bruised right knee, day-to-day. 11/28 - D Brad Bombardir, bruised knee, day-to-day. 11/29 - D Sheldon Souray, charley horse, day-to-day. C Petr Sykora, sprained left ankle, day-to-day.

transactions: 11/18 - Removed C Sergei Brylin from IR and assigned him to Albany (AHL). 11/21 - Re-signed RW free agent holdout Bill Guerin. 11/22 - Assigned LW Jay Pandolfo to Albany (AHL).

standings:

Eastern Conference - Atlantic Division   
Team         GP   W   L   T   PTS   GF   GA   
New Jersey   25  17   8   0    34   73   46   
Philadelphia 27  15   8   4    34   79   62
Washington   27  13  10   4    30   80   71
NY Islanders 26  11  11   4    26   70   70
NY Rangers   28   8  11   9    25   71   76
Florida      26   7  14   5    19   61   77
Tampa Bay    25   4  17   4    12   50   86

game results:

11/20 Islanders       W 5-1
11/22 Florida         L 2-1
11/26 at Anaheim      L 2-0
11/28 at San Jose     W 4-2
11/29 at Los Angeles  L 4-1
12/02 St. Louis       L 3-1

team news:

by Phil Aromando, New Jersey Correspondent

Bill Guerin ends his holdout. Martin Brodeur and Scott Stevens are selected to play for Team Canada at the upcoming Olympics. Scott Niedermayer is not. Jacques Lemaire blames himself for the loss that ends Jersey’s franchise record eight-game winning streak. Brian Rolston is "flaming with anger" over a recent benching. John MacLean asks to be traded. Injuries mount.

Scott Stevens by Meredith Martini

What a difference a week makes. After extending their team winning streak to eight games (a franchise record) and rolling merrily along, there seemed to be a sudden return to the past. An eight-game winning streak has turned into one win in four games and not a tie in sight. A return to the disorganized, drifting Devils post-Cup ’96. Is Guerin the ghost of underachieving seasons past? The Bringer of Mediocrity and Disorder? THE Devil?

Homestand
The Devils closed out their most recent homestand with a convincing win against the Islanders and a defeat at the hands of the Panthers. The win against the Islanders was their eighth in a row, a new franchise record. It was Brodeur’s twelfth consecutive win.

Ziggy Palffy put the Isles up 1-0 on a short-handed goal near the end of the first period but the Devils scored five unanswered goals - two in the second, three in the third - to seal the victory. The Devils played with a confidence and precision we have lately come to expect. Bobby Holik scored twice, Petr Sykora scored his ninth and Doug Gilmour had the game-winner. They even got one on the power play from Denis Pederson. They took 43 shots on net. All looked well.

Even Bill Guerin unexpectedly ended his holdout on the 21st (for a number of reasons) and was in the lineup for the next game against the Panthers. One day of skating and he was ready. The Devils and Panthers played a typical low scoring defensive game even with Mike Dunham in net. It seems whenever he plays the Devils defense plays less efficiently. Tied 1-1 going into overtime, it looked as if the Devils may notch their first tie of the season. But with less than one minute remaining in the overtime, Lemaire left Brian Rolston out on the ice to take a faceoff in the defensive zone (he was playing center for the first time all season) instead of going with his gut and putting out Bobby Holik. Unfortunately, Rolston lost the draw and Dunham was subsequently screened on an Ed Jovanovski shot from the point. The shot was a knuckler and floated past Dunham and into the net. The goal was Jovanvoski’s second of the game.

After the game, Lemaire lamented the fact that he hadn’t trusted his instinct and put Holik out to take the faceoff. Either way, the winning streak would have ended - he just didn’t want to take a loss - especially so late in overtime in a game that was hard fought and evenly matched. It was only the second overtime the Devils have played this season; it was their first OT loss.

Western Conference Blues
A dismal trip by any stretch considering how well the team had been playing up until last week. Save the San Jose game, the Devils played as if nothing counted.

Brian Rolston was benched for the Anaheim game and began wondering aloud where he fits in with this team. Lemaire complimented Rolston’s play at center against Florida but still sat him. There is a feeling among the Devil brain trust that sitting out the preseason did Rolston more harm than good. They still believe in his abilities, they just don’t see him playing to his potential right now. That story overshadowed the fact that Guy Hebert played a great game in goal for the Ducks.

The Devils started slow - only three shots in the first period - but slowly warmed to the task. Unfortunately Mark Janssens goal early in the first held up. Bill Guerin and Patrik Elias had a few good chances apiece but Hebert stopped them and Brodeur’s twelve-game winning streak came to a dead stop.

It looked like it would be the same in San Jose. The Devils spotted the Sharks two goals early and looked as flat as they had in Anaheim. Bobby Holik brought them within one on a power-play goal late in the first on a nice play off a Niedermayer shot. Guerin set up at the point and passed to Nieder for a one-timer. Nieder’s shot went wide, hit off the end boards and deflected right to Holik who managed to stuff the puck in at the side of the net. It was the Devils' first goal in nearly a week.

Guerin tied the game early in the second on a nice breakaway move that beat Vernon low. He looked as if he’d been playing all season. Sykora and Holik (again) scored late in the second to put them up two. Brodeur made the goals hold up with a few acrobatic saves midway through the second and with the help of the post in the third. On one sequence he made three saves while on his back and then nearly had his head snapped off as Kevin Dean fell on him.

The whole game was very physical and filled with penalties. Doug Gilmour "accidentally" tripped Vernon at the very end of the first. Even Scott Stevens got into a fight. First real one of the season. He went crazy after Owen Nolan suckered him from behind in the middle of a scrum after Dave Andreychuk was knocked down hard by Mike Rathje and Jeff Friesen went after Gilmour. Stevens called Nolan a coward and kept reminding him from the adjoining penalty box that he knew who did what to him. They met up again at the end of the game.

A very "old time hockey" type of game. A very important win too, not only because it was their first in a week - but also because they came from behind, matched the physical play of the Sharks and stuck up for each other. Brad Bombardir left the game early with a bruised knee but the defense held it together (Scott Niedermayer had another two-assist game; his play continues to become more and more assured) and managed to raise their play and not allow too many breakdowns. Unlike the next night in LA.

The Kings did to the Devils what the Devils normally do to their opponents. The game was close through the first period and a half until Luc Robitaille’s power-play goal put the Kings ahead for good. By that point the Devils were playing without defenseman Sheldon Souray or Petr Sykora and a sense of desperation took over.

Desperation combined with a lack of focus is a dangerous mix. It led to odd-man rush after odd-man rush for the Kings. The Devils, especially Niedermayer, in an attempt to get some offense going took chances. And twice those chances turned into Los Angeles goals.

The Devils' only goal was scored by Andreychuk on a power play. Stephane Fiset managed to stop everything else. He had 19 saves.

The loss to the Kings was understandable considering how physical the game against San Jose was the night before. The Devils looked tired. But they had two days off to prepare for the St. Louis Blues.

Chris Pronger scored midway through the second to put the Blues ahead but Patrik Elias scored his first goal in nine games five minutes later to even it up. The Devils had some excellent chances but Grant Fuhr kept the puck out of the net and Craig Conroy assisted on two more Blues goals within a span of three minutes early in the third period to put the game out of reach. The win snapped a five-game winless streak for the Blues.

The Devils had good chances but their scoring touch, so prolific only two weeks ago, has suddenly left them. It also didn’t help that John MacLean went public with his trade request earlier in the day. Suddenly the Devils are in disarray.

The Devils now have a 4-5-0 record against Western Conference teams and were swept by the Los Angeles Kings in a season series for the first time in five seasons. What’s most troubling is that they have managed to score no more than one goal in each of their last four losses. And two of those came on the power play.

The Price of Gold (or at least, a place in the lineup)
Mark Messier’s absence from the Canadian Olympic roster hasn’t generated the proclamations of support that could lead to an international incident but Bill Guerin’s Olympic status almost did. Maybe that’s why he quickly ended his holdout and signed for less money than he wanted to.

There seemed to be no end in sight for Guerin. After all, Devils GM Lou Lamoriello is one of the hardest hard-line negotiators in the NHL. But as the deadline for the final six spots on the U.S. Olympic roster approached with no guarantee that Guerin would be selected and perhaps not wanting to provide a tailor-made excuse for Lamoriello by not having played a single hockey game at any level this season, emotion won out, the business logic of a contract holdout evaporated and a compromise was reached.

In a way, everyone wins. Lamoriello can claim a small victory in getting another valued Restricted Group 2 free agent signed for less money than was expected; Guerin was named to the Team USA roster and perhaps, if he means what he asks, provide for an opportunity to be traded by actually playing hockey instead of being a sidelined holdout that no one wanted to take a chance on this far into the season. Most importantly, they avoided any ugliness and supposition that may have surfaced had Guerin not been selected while still holding out. That certainly would have cooled any future contract talks and made Lamoriello look like he was using the holdout as a bargaining chip.

Guerin is still not happy. His first day back with the team he reiterated his trade demand. And it hasn’t changed yet. But Jacques Lemaire seemed to think that Guerin was just talking - after the Florida game, Guerin’s first, Lemaire said Guerin didn’t play like someone who wanted to go anywhere.

His desire to represent his country cost him close to $340,000. That’s how much he had lost by not playing yet this season, and won’t recover had a new contract, more to his liking, been struck. Although it was assumed he took the three-year, five- million dollar offer that was originally on the table, he actually signed for two years at $2.8 million. ($1.3 mil this year, $1.5 mil next year.)

The memory of the ’96 World Cup and the reality of being the last man cut from the ’92 Olympic team provided more than enough fuel for Guerin to get back and play regardless of the money. As he said after Monday’s roster announcement, "I’m just thrilled. It’s been a dream of mine for a long time. I’m honored to represent the country. I think I did what I had to do to get on the Olympic team. If playing at the top level and being in shape was the only thing standing in the way, I took care of that."

Brodeur
What a month. A twelve-game winning streak (franchise and personal records), a spot on the Canadian Olympic team, NHL Player of the Month, and a new contract in the works after firing his agent. What can’t Brodeur do? Aside from winning the Cup, this has to be one of his proudest and most distinguished months ever in the NHL.

Despite two losses on the recent West Coast trip, Brodeur has never played better. Some stats from his twelve-game unbeaten streak: 1.08 GAA, 13 goals allowed for a .953 save percentage, two shutouts. Hard to believe but he still thought, up until the Olympic team was announced last Saturday, that he wouldn’t be chosen. In many ways, playing for his country was a strong motivation. His father was the goalie for the 1956 Bronze medal winning Canadian Olympic team.

Here’s another random stat: since 1993-94, Brodeur’s rookie season, only Patrick Roy has recorded more victories. Brodeur has 133, Roy 134.

As for Brodeur’s agent: he’s history. But published reports have stated that Brodeur had negotiated his own four-year deal worth between $13.2 and $15.2 million. He denies it and says that nothing has happened yet - since money hasn’t even been discussed. Hopefully there is some truth to the rumors and he’s signed at least before the season ends. He’s the one Devil Group 2 free agent that may be too attractive a franchise player to let slip by. It wouldn’t be surprising to see a team try a Ranger-like ploy (for Sakic) and stack a contract that would handcuff the Devils with a prohibitively expensive signing bonus. It’s well documented that the Devils are a cost-conscious team. Maybe they will realize the utter importance of keeping him here (not only for his game - he’s a genuine star; and his boyish nature has endeared him to many a Devil fan - young and old) and make sure they can avoid any situation where they could lose him through some type of contractual neglect or opportunism from a team willing to shell out the cash.

Other Contracts, Other Headaches
It’s also been rumored that Scott Stevens has signed a new deal. An announcement was supposed to be made upon return from the West Coast swing, but none has. According to published reports Lamoriello is concentrating on signing Brodeur, Stevens and Gilmour first among the number of Devils that join the ranks of free agency after this season.

The other unrestricted free agents are John MacLean, Randy McKay and Steve Thomas. Scott Niedermayer is a Restricted Group 2 free agent.

It is believed that Gilmour can be signed for three more years at a total of $12 million. He has said he wants to end his career here in Jersey and that’s a good thing considering how well he’s complemented this team.

John MacLean’s contract may not even need to be thought about. The man who scored the most important goal in Devils history, pre-Lemaire era, and who’s been a Devil his entire career along with Ken Daneyko has had it. He wants out. He attributes it to the negotiating process but it may have something to do with his changing role. MacLean considers himself a scorer - he leads the Devils in every major career franchise scoring category - but lately he has been eased into playing a more defensive role; seeing time mainly on the Bobby Carpenter line with Valeri Zelepukin.

He may see the writing on the wall. With all those other contracts, big ones, needing to be filled, he may feel he won’t be offered a respectable (to his mind) contract. He may be trying to head off the inevitable. A trade may give him more leverage and peace of mind. Lamoriello has said he will try and accommodate his wishes. If he leaves, a major chapter in Devils history will come to a close.

Ken Daneyko Update
Ken Daneyko is being treated at a facility somewhere in California. Devils Player Rep Randy McKay said he had not heard from him during the recent trip out west. Daneyko can contact team members if he would like. Team members cannot contact him.

The Devils met with a representative of the NHL/NHLPA substance abuse program and were told that Daneyko is doing very well. It is believed he will return at some point this season although no one is sure when.

In Conclusion
Suddenly things don’t look too good for the Devils. What will it take for them to get out of this funk? What’s so shocking is how quickly everything seems to be falling apart around them. After last season’s early playoff exit many people expected the Devils to start the season much like they are playing right now. But after such a strong start the letdowns and growing disarray seem to be magnified.

The discipline that got them off to such a strong start seems to have been cast aside. With so much flux in the lineup - whether through injury or plain discontent - different players seem to want to do too much or not enough on any given night. Where this schism started is hard to pinpoint. But suddenly all hell is about to break loose.

These next few weeks will be important. The team needs to concentrate on the game at hand and not on ancillary issues surrounding players that may be staying or leaving. Although Lemaire is concerned about his team’s lack of emotion and desire he points out that he will assess players like Guerin and MacLean and if he thinks they are a distraction or not capable of contributing, he will sit them. Unfortunately, things are getting interesting in New Jersey.

Devils at Nagano
Team Canada
G Martin Brodeur
D Scott Stevens

Team USA
RW Bill Guerin

USA opens against Sweden, defending Olympic Gold Medalists, on February 13th.

Team Russia
LW Valeri Zelepukin

Although Petr Sykora and Patrik Elias may be named to the Czech roster, Bobby Holik won’t be. Not because of politics or anything; after all, his father is/was one of the most respected hockey coaches in Czechoslovakia. It’s because he’s now a bona fide American citizen.

RECENT LINES
Andreychuk-Gilmour-Sykora
Elias-Holik-McKay
Rolston-Carpenter-MacLean
Oliwa-Pederson-Guerin

DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS
Souray-Odelein
Dean-Stevens
Bombardir-Niedermayer

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