3 The numbers of players on the Devils’ roster that weren’t even born yet when Jaromir Jagr made his NHL debut in 1990. Projected Roster HEAD COACH: PETER DE BOER LW C RW 1st Line: Mike Cammalleri Travis Zajac Jaromir Jagr 2nd Line: Dainius Zubrus Patrik Elias Martin Havlat 3rd Line: Ryane Clowe Adam Henrique Michael Ryder 4th Line: Tuomo Ruutu Stephen Gionta Damien Brunner D D #1 Andy Greene Marek Zidlicky #2 Bryce Salvador Eric Gelinas #3 Jon Merrill Adam Larsson G Starter: Cory Schneider Backup: Scott Clemmensen Scoreboard 13 12 11 10 09 PLAYOFF FINISH DNQ DNQ Cup Finals DNQ Conf QF REGULAR SEASON 35-29-18 19-19-10 48-28-6 38-39-5 48-27-7 POINT TOTAL 88 48 102 81 103 SHOOTOUT RECORD 0-13 2-7 12-4 3-2 6-5 GOALS SCORED 197 112 228 174 222 GOALS ALLOWED 208 129 209 209 191 POWER PLAY % 19.50 15.91 17.23 14.35 18.75 PENALTY KILL % 86.36 81.07 89.58 83.40 84.82 goals, despite his 36-year old body, and Damien Brunner is a solid fourth-line player who can also help out on the power play. Defense New Jersey suffered a loss in this area, when Mark Fayne left via free agency. While not a huge scorer, Fayne provided stability along the blue line and was a part of the team’s outstanding penalty kill. New Jersey has options to replace him and should again have a stout defense, but that means some younger players have to step up. There shouldn’t be any trouble with the first pairing. Andy Greene and Marek Zidlicky are veterans, who while not overpowering, are certainly capable. Zidlicky was the more productive of the two from an offensive end, registering 12 goals and 42 points, while leading the Devils in penalty minutes—although 60 isn’t exactly a huge total. Greene had a plus-three rating and demonstrated his ability to set people up from the point and help out on the power play. The second unit is stout, too, although it does present a bit of a dichotomy. Captain Bryce Salvador is a substantial presence on the blue line, even though he played only half of the season. He’s tough and experienced (he turns 39 in February), while Eric Gelinas has the size (6-4, 210) but not the veteran’s perspective. He’s only 23. Jersey could run into trouble with its third pairing, since Jon Merrill and Adam Larsson combined are as old as Jagr will be in February. While the Devils have high hopes for both, neither played an entire season last year. Merrill had the most experience, registering 11 points in 52 games and producing two game winners. Larsson, who will turn 22 in November, played in only 26 games. At 6-3, 205, however, he appears to have the heft necessary to be a factor. It’s not a perfect sextet, and it could be augmented at times by veteran Peter Harrold, but it should help Jersey keep things tight in front of Cory Schneider.
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