Devils' Line Changes Re-Spark Offense

You might not have noticed while the Devils have made a case for themselves as legitimate Stanley Cup contenders, winning 16 of their last 19 games and residing squarely amongst the league's top-10 offenses, but the team has gone through a bit of crisis of identity with their offense lately.

Basically, the line of Travis Zajac, Zach Parise, and Jamie Langenbrunner had been carrying the team. Entering Saturday, that line had combined for four of the team's six goals in the team's last four games including two ugly shutouts by Florida and the Islanders. Coach Brent Sutter reshuffled his bottom three lines in the most recent contest against the Panthers. Judging by the box score of Saturday's 7-2 win, it seems to have worked.

Devils 7, Panthers 2: Recap | Box Score | Eastern Conference Playoff Race

Granted, the top line continued to do damage today, getting two goals from Parise (who is worming his way into the Hart Trophy discussion) and another from Zajac. But by being unafraid to tinker with his lines in practice and game situations, he also opened up offensive roadblocks elsewhere. The team got three goals -- one apiece -- from the newly-formed line of Brendan Shanahan (first goal in 10 games), Brian Rolston (first in three games with another potential tally that bounced off the crossbar), and David Clarkson (first in five games), and Dainus Zubrus added the other, only his second in 18 games. Zubrus remained with Patrik Elias and Brian Gionta in the game despite a demotion to the fourth line in practice, which has clearly motivated all three.

Another factor in the spread of offense is, of course, the looming trade deadline, as there are no shortage of rumors that link Zubrus, Gionta, and/or John Madden out of town in a package for a second-line center or first-pairing defenseman. It's becoming ever realer with each passing day that the job of practically every NHL player is on the line, and a few of the Devils are starting to play like it again.

That being said, Sutter has to get credit for playing it right with his roster all year despite tough situations with a slew of early-season injuries, the mid-season addition of Shanahan, and the return of Martin Brodeur. Last year he was criticized for being too impatient with his lines and not allowing them to forge a cohesion. This year, he's more patient pressing the buttons, making the moves he does make more impactful.