Avalanche 2 – Devils 0
Without spark or spunk, the Devils’ need for a sniper is now certified. The cannons have been reduced to shutout fodder.
Patrick Roy lunched at that New Jersey trough yesterday afternoon, so pleasingly fed that he can tie the modern NHL record of four straight shutouts when the Stanley Cup champion Avalanche visit the Garden tomorrow.
“You don’t become the best goalie in the history of the NHL by luck,” Avalanche coach Bob Hartley said after Roy beat the Devils, 2-0, yesterday at the Meadowlands.
But it wasn’t all Roy. New Jersey ran its losing streak to four (one in OT), winless in five, mostly because its offense has vanished.
The Devils completed their weekend Matinees of Truth with one goal in two home games, the offensive production even worse with the A Line reunited yesterday than it was with it separated Saturday.
It’s time for Lou Lamoriello to rectify his summertime mistake of losing Alexander Mogilny.
“I’m not in charge of that,” Larry Robinson said. “Right now, we have to keep going with what we have. It’s the same personnel, minus one person.”
That one minus makes all the difference. The Devils need scoring support for their A Line, which has scored 23 goals this season, but only three of those on the road, where they play their next five. Robinson indicated he will likely leave the A Line intact tomorrow in Philly, and it could get ugly quickly.
The Devils have now won eight and lost nine, receiving a point in each of two OT losses. They were struggling similarly at this point last season, but then, they were missing Jason Arnott and Scott Niedermayer. They have no such situation this time, only the hope that Lamoriello will bolster the offense with someone like Tony Amonte.
Until then, Robinson wants his team to take a page from the Avalanche, which has played in five straight shutouts, winning the last three. There have been no more than two goals scored in any of Colorado’s last six games.
“You’re talking about the Stanley Cup champions. With two goals today, they’ve only scored five in six games, while only giving up three. That’s the attitude we have to take,” Robinson said. “You have to walk before you run.”
Roy seems to have figured that out recently. At 36, he has posted three straight shutouts for the first time in his career, and tomorrow can match Montreal’s Bill Durnan’s 1948-49 modern record of four. Ottawa’s Alex Connell holds the pre-red line, pre-passing mark of six, set with Ottawa in 1927-28.
Roy said now-retired Ray Bourque hounded him to lighten up.
“I think I deserve to finish my career having fun,” Roy said. “Whether I have one, two or three years left, I want to go to the rink to have fun.
“I’m trying to enjoy myself and not worry.”
