PITTSBURGH — Jamie Langenbrunner expects Lou Lamoriello to do something now about this Devils disaster, even if it’s almost too late. But the captain said the players should be the victims, not the coach.
“We all know Lou well enough to know something’s going to happen. And deservedly so,” Langenbrunner said after last night’s 2-1 loss to the Penguins.
Langenbrunner said coach John MacLean doesn’t deserve to be the casualty of the Devils’ 8-17-2 record.
“Not at all. That’s the furthest thing from it,” Langenbrunner said. “That is not the angle that deserves to happen. It’s in this room and it should be one of us.”
The Devils don’t play again until they visit Ottawa on Friday and these three days are an obvious time for a coaching change.
The Devils are effectively capped out and have nine players owning no-trade or no-movement contracts. It will be difficult for Lamoriello to make a deal significant enough to turn the season around. The coach may be the one to pay, as usual.
With Lamoriello attending the Board of Governors meetings in Florida, and not scheduled to return until late this afternoon, any move may not happen before tomorrow, if at all.
But time has run out, and if the Devils have any hope of a miracle comeback to make the playoffs, it must change now. They must go 37-18 the rest of the way to reach 92 points. Even that lucky total of 88 of last season will require a 35-20 record, and that strains credulity.
The Devils weren’t humiliated last night, but they lost anyway, their 19th in 27 this season, and sixth straight on the road while the Penguins matched their franchise’s second-longest winning streak of 10 games.
Last night was the chance for the Devils to do something. They held the Penguins to two goals and even led for 81 seconds. But for the 14th time in their 27 games, they could not score twice, this team that was supposed to be an offensive powerhouse but ranks dead last in offense.
“We’re not generating enough offense,” MacLean said. “We need more goals.”
Even the one they managed was flukey, 14:20 into play. Jason Arnott broke his stick on a right point, and the flub hit Brian Rolston wide at the right side of the net. Rolston had Marc-Andre Fleury out of position for the Devils’ third road power-play goal in two games, after they went 1 of 43 in their first 13 road games.
Chris Kunitz quickly erased that lead, ripping Sidney Crosby’s feed past Johan Hedberg’s glove. With that assist, Crosby stretched his point streak to 16 games.
In the Penguins’ nine straight previous victories, Crosby had scored 11 of their 31 goals, and he made it 12 of 33 to put Pittsburgh in front at 12:47 of the second, stationed to the right of Hedberg to convert the rebound of Alex Goligoski’s left-point shot. Crosby’s league-leading 24th was his ninth goal in five games.
And the Devils couldn’t manage another goal. It can’t go on any longer, not if the Devils intend to claim they can still extend their 13-year playoff streak. These next few days will be ones of dread for the entire outfit.
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Martin Brodeur backed up Hedberg last night after not dressing for 9-of-12 with a right elbow bruise. He hopes for his first action since Nov. 18 on Friday.
Former Devil and Islander RW Bill Guerin, who scored 429 goals with eight teams over 18 seasons, announced his retirement yesterday and was honored by the Penguins before last night’s game.
Guerin, 40, was drafted by the Devils fifth overall in the first round in 1989 and after starring at Boston College, made his NHL debut in 1991-92 with New Jersey. He won the 1995 Stanley Cup with the Devils, but demanded a trade in 1997-98 and was shipped with Valeri Zelepukin to Edmonton for Jason Arnott and Bryan Muir.
Guerin went 108-106-214 with 469 penalty minutes in 380 games with the Devils. He played with the Penguins last season, but he failed to receive a contract following a training camp tryout with the Flyers this season. He went 429-427-856 in 1,263 NHL games with New Jersey, Edmonton, Boston, Dallas, St. Louis, San Jose, Pittsburgh and the Islanders.
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The Devils hope rookie defenseman Matt Taormina can start skating next week in his recovery from a high ankle sprain suffered Nov. 12. He missed his 10th straight game last night.