Lack of Offense Halts Devils again in Lose to Oilers

Without Martin Brodeur for the next three to four months, the Devils expected a slight decrease in goaltending. However, it is not their defense that's struggling; its their offense. Zach Parise scored the lone-goal for the Devils for the second straight night, as the fall to the Edmonton Oilers 2-1. Scott Clemenson made 26 saves, but didn't receive any help from the offense, taking the loss.

The first period ended after being pretty evenly matched. Edmonton had a slight edge in goals, but neither team could break-through. The period ended scoreless.

The second period brought some more action from both sides. However, despite the Devils out-shooting Edmonton 20-11, the Oilers are the ones that found the back of the net. Sheldon Souray and Ales Hemsky scored for the Oilers, to give them a 2-0 lead. The Devils were not able to connect, being shut-down by goalie Jeff Drouin-Deslauriers. They took this lead into the third period.

Zach Parise continued to be the Devils savior for scoring, cashing in on his 11th of the year just three minutes into the game to try and get the Devils rolling. However, despite out-shooting the Oilers for the second straight period, they Devils were not able to tie the game. They got 38 shots on goal, but were only able to capitalize on one. They need to find a way to find the back of the net.

The number of injuries the Devils are facing is starting to get ridiculous. Brian Gionta and Bryce Salvador, both of whom left the game in the second period of Saturday's game, were scratched from tonight's game as well. No team ever wants to make excuses for losing, but at this point the Devils have lost so many players it seems like a completely different team than the one that started the season 5-1. The Devils are 2-4-2 since their great start. Granted they have lost a lot of close games, they still are not doing enough to win. They need to find a way to win these close games that the team has always been so accustomed to winning. If they can stay in the playoff race during the next few months, hopefully when they become healthy again they can make a move. They can only hope to not fall too far behind before they have a chance to make a comeback.

Notes:

Devils powerplay continues to struggle, going 0-2.
Devils penalty kill continues to struggle, allowing another powerplay goal in only three chances.
Devils will face rival NY Rangers Wednesday, who they've had trouble with defeating lately.