To anyone that knows me it is not a secret that I am a huge New Jersey Devils hockey fan. My following of the team goes back to the beginning here in 1982. I have been a fan through the bad years and the great Championship years, and everything in between.

 

This lockout shortened NHL season has been a strange one for the Devils, who started out strong, then recently have hit a rough patch where they were struggling to win a game. They broke that losing string with a win in a shootout over Buffalo last night at The Rock.

 

The coincidence is that their struggles began when Martin Brodeur, their legendary goaltender went down with a back injury. My observation as a fan going into this season was that the Devils goaltending would hold the key to the season. Brodeur and his backup Johan Hedburg are one of the oldest tandems in the league.

 

Hedburg is a very good veteran goaltender, but he has been used a lot in a short period of time in a compressed lockout shortened schedule of games. He has played very well and been a tough luck losing goalie in some recent games.

 

Myself and my fellow Devils fans have always asked the question of “what happens when Brodeur retires? What is the plan for the position in the short term?” The team has not committed to an answer to that, and they also don’t seem too confident that the guy to fill Brodeur’s place is in their system either.

They brought up rookie Keith Kincaide who played well in a short relief stint against Tampa Bay, and then they sent him down to Albany the next day.

 

Now, Jeff Frazee is up from Albany to backup Hedburg and will probably get a look in game action here in the next week or so. But, the Devils goaltending age looks like it could really hurt their playoff chances this year.

 

The hope is that Brodeur will come back soon and return to the excellent form he exhibited earlier this season. Until then the Devils defense will have to play tighter and their offense has to improve on the power play. They have to shoot more on the power play instead of over rotating the puck, they need to become a volume shooting team on the power play.

 

My hope is that Brodeur and Hedburg can find the magic they had last year and the Devils can have a sustained playoff run. Only time will tell.