Devils Preseason

Things are looking up for the New Jersey Devils as they begin to wrap up the preseason.

On Tuesday, the Devils signed former Red Wing Damien Brunner. Brunner, 27, has played in three preseason games with New Jersey so far and has notched two assists.

Another good sign for the Devils is that 41-year-old Jaromir Jagr is practicing again. After leaving the first day of training camp with “soreness”, he was back to the ice on Tuesday. Now that he is back, he is currently on a line with Michael Ryder and Adam Henrique– a potentially lethal mix of youth and experience for the Devils.

According to their General Manager Lou Lamoriello, Mattias Tedenby and Andrei Loktionov are also expected to be back soon.

As far as the preseason games have gone, they have currently won three and lost two. While the outcome doesn’t matter much in preseason, a definite upside for the Devils is that they have been scoring. Putting the puck in the net was a big issue for the Devils last year, especially in the latter half of the season. So far, they have scored a total of 12 goals from 11 different players in five games. So, as heartbreaking as the Kovulchuck retirement was for most Devils’ fans, it has forced everyone else to step up. Without Kovy, they won’t have one person to rely on. It will need to be a more balanced effort from the rest of the team, which is how it has looked in preseason so far.

Cory Schneider has also been on top of his game. He has played in three games so far and stopped 60 of 61 shots faced.

With only one preseason game left, the Devils will want to get as many of their new faces on the ice as possible to get ready for their October 3 season opener in Pittsburgh. The Devils have a ton of talent on their team this year; now, it’s about finding the chemistry and bringing everything together.