It’s the recent results, or more precisely, the lack of them that prompted coach Jacques Lemaire yesterday to break up his Z-men — Zach Parise and Travis Zajac.
Whether he tries it out in earnest, when the Senators visit Newark tonight (7 p.m., MSG+, WFAN), remains to be seen, but it had an effect by just of doing it in practice yesterday.
Parise only leads the league’s point percentage leaders with 15 goals and 35 points, and after the Devils won their sixth in seven with a 2-1 triumph over the Canadiens in Newark on Wednesday, shared the league lead with 140 shots and a plus-minus of plus-17.
All that is despite being mired in an eight-game goal drought. So Lemaire pulled the plug on his bread-and-butter duo of Batman and Robin. He put Parise on the left of Rob Niedermayer and Vladimir Zharkov, while Brian Rolston and Jamie Langenbrunner flanked Zajac.
It’s not as if Parise has been dragging down the team. On the contrary, he’s been his usual energetic and imaginative self. And the Devils are 6-2 in his drought, as they complete the five-game homestand tonight.
“He’s not playing his best game. But he’s working,” Lemaire said. “It’s not only one player. It’s the whole line that’s not going as well. You can’t blame one guy.
“He’s one of the reasons why we’re where we are right now. You have to be careful.”
He’s hoping to motivate, or at least refresh, Parise, rather than discourage or annoy the team’s leading scorer the past two seasons. Just doing it for practice might even be enough.
“He’s a smart guy, so he’s trying to get some guys going, including myself. At this point, I’m willing to try anything,” Parise said.
“You could probably say we’re been guilty of [pressing]. Unfortunately, it’s second nature to try to force things when things aren’t going in. You take a step back, relax and take a breath.”
Parise seemed to accept the move.
“Right now, things aren’t going great. Rather than trying to figure it out or wait it out, it’s probably the right time to make a switch,” Parise said.
Lemaire might decide against it by tonight, or it could last a few shifts. But it’s about the last combo he had remaining, relatively intact.
⇒ The Devils will honor the memory of Jersey City detective Marc Anthony DiNardo, who was killed in the line of duty in July, tonight. . . . Martin Brodeur is expected to break the record he shares with Patrick Roy of 1,029 games played by a goalie.