PITTSBURGH — There will be decisions on defense to be made soon, when Paul Martin returns after New Year’s.
Whether to sit down rookie Mark Fraser will be the big one that will have to be made, and how does Jacques Lemaire leave out his backline plus-minus leader?
As the Devils visit the Penguins tonight in a showdown for the league lead, Fraser stands at plus-11, third among Devils only to Zach Parise’s tied-for-NHL-best plus-17, and Travis Zajac’s plus-12.
After the Devils nipped the Thrashers 5-4 Saturday in Atlanta and he went plus-2, that plus-11 led the league’s rookies in that tell-tale stat, and stood tied for sixth among all the league’s defensemen.
“It’s simply our team’s success,” Fraser said. “The more we win and the more offense we produce, the more our stats are going to go up collectively.”
Perhaps so, but Fraser’s figure has risen more noticeably than that of others. He hasn’t had a minus game in more than a month, since Nov. 14, a solid defensive-defenseman for New Jersey.
His solid play has been a reason the Devils have survived and prospered during their spate of injuries, the team moving into the league-lead in point-percentage at .750, sharing the league-best of 51 points with Pittsburgh in two fewer games.
He made the other sort of points with his teammates Dec. 4 by going straight after Tampa Bay’s Ryan Malone, without hesitation, when Malone started working over Patrik Elias.
But the 23-year-old is the non-vet on the backline, even if he is 6-foot-3, 220. New Jersey’s third-rounder in 2004 says he isn’t going to take anything for granted.
“Basically, right now, it’s continue to work hard but not get too comfortable,” Fraser said.
“I don’t ever want to hit ‘Cruise.’ Although I want to feel comfortable out there, I don’t want to sit back and feel as if everything’s finalized.”
He remained on the roster after suffering a suspected concussion in being KO’d by Flyer Dan Carcillo in preseason, and made his season debut here Oct. 24. It was something of a surprise, except to him.
“Where I am right now, and where I was a few months ago, is where they expected me to be, as far as breaking into the league goes,” Fraser said. “Although I got my opportunity through injuries and broke into the lineup that way, both the myself and the team, I think, felt this was going to be a big year for me.
“Being able to step onto the roster wasn’t going to be too big a surprise.”
He’s going to make Lemaire’s decisions difficult next month, and don’t be surprised if he remains in the lineup.
Tonight is the Devils’ third and final visit here this season. The won both previous games by 4-1 scores, Oct. 24 and Nov. 12. Jay Pandolfo suffered a dislocated shoulder and Martin a broken arm in the first game.