October 24, 2010, Atlantic Division Notebook for HockeyPrimeTime.com

Brodeur not be-Deviled by slow start in Jersey

Atlantic

Written by Denis Gorman

Saturday, October 23, 2010 00:00

'All offense' isn't working right now, the veteran goaltender concedes. After five days off, the Devils defeated the Canadiens 3-0. Hopefully for Brodeur, it won't take a shutout to win every night. The most venerable Devil of them all had seen enough. New Jersey had dropped five of its first six games, to start a season that most considered a possible Stanley Cup campaign. Instead, the Devils had been outscored by an aggregate 21-10 while attempting to implement a new, attack-first philosophy. Sometimes what looks good on paper does not transfer to reality. This was just such a case. And it was time for Martin Brodeur to speak his mind. AROUND THE ATLANTIC “I know everybody thinks we’re all offense now but our ‘all offense’ is not working right now. "So I think if we get it back to playing a solid defensive game, we’ll get more opportunities,” Brodeur told the New York Daily News after last Saturday’s 4-1 loss to the Boston Bruins at The Prudential Center. “The past is a good thing to look at because we know that when we have had solid defensive teams, usually we had good offensive teams. We have to get back to playing smart hockey.” Five days later, Brodeur and his mates took the first steps in righting their way by shutting out the Canadiens, 3-0, in the goaltender’s hometown of Montreal. Brodeur has been in the net for both Devils wins, the first a 1-0 decision in Buffalo on Oct. 13. He's also been in net for all five losses, allowing 18 goals in those games. Overall Brodeur has a 2.70 goals-against average --28th in the league through Friday -- and a .904 save percentage. Notes The Islanders have won four of seven games, including back-to-back 2-1 and 3-2 overtime wins in Toronto and Tampa Bay, respectively. After a 10-minute review Thursday night, it was determined that Matt Moulson scored the game-winner in Tampa. ... Following the Rangers' third straight loss, Brandon Prust told Metro Newspaper in New York City that he and his teammates were "trying to be fancy. We need to get pucks deep and crash and bang. We have to start doing that.” The Rangers responded by blocking 30 shots and leveling 32 pucks at Maple Leafs netminder Jonas Gustavsson in Thursday’s 2-1 win in Toronto. … Chris Pronger welcomed old friends to his new stomping grounds Thursday night as his former employer, Anaheim, topped the Flyers, 3-2, at the Wells Fargo Center. The day prior to the loss, Flyers coach Peter Laviolette experimented with a first power-play unit of Pronger, Kimmo Timmonen, Jeff Carter, Danny Briere and Scott Hartnell, according to the Bucks County Courier Times. Pronger told the newspaper that “We have to use them in a game to see if they work. It's new. Whenever you're struggling to score goals on the power play ... A, you've got to simplify it and B, you've got to work on it. It just doesn't happen overnight. There needs to be that chemistry; everyone needs to be on the same page,” Pronger said. “It's all based around the shot from the top. Over the last 15 years, if you look at Detroit's success on the power play ... it's all based on one thing, shooting from the top. It's a mindset that when you get the puck, it has to go high (to the blue line) quickly. You don't have time to not move your feet, look around, then pass it. The guy (defender) is already at the point. It needs to be bang-bang. Everything needs to happen quickly and seamlessly.” … Sidney Crosby was reunited with Shea Weber, a teammate on the gold-medal-winning Canadian Olympic squad, before the Penguins’ 4-3 overtime win in Nashville. Crosby told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that he and the defenseman roomed together in Vancouver and that the two engaged in competitive ping-pong matches. Twitter: @DenisGorman Photos by Getty Images

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