Jaromir Jagr currently leads the New Jersey Devils in points. He did it last year too.
And while logic would dictate that the Devils would be a better team with him in the lineup, recent evidence appears that this isn't the case.
Last week I wrote about how the 42 year old (he'll be 43 in February) has actually hurt the team in some ways, with his deteriorating speed in a very fast game. He's been turning the puck over every night and takes costly penalties. I briefly wondered if the Devils were better off without him on the team.
Well we got a chance to see the Devils without Jagr on Wednesday night as the aging forward stayed home because of sickness during the team's West Coast road trip.
The result? A nice win against the defending champion Los Angeles Kings. The Devils looked pretty good at times during the contest and even scored 3 goals in the span of 1:08 en route to a 4 goal second period.
Final score?
Whaddya know? A Jagr-less Devils squad went on the road and beat a dangerous LA club.
That got me thinking. This was the second game that Jagr missed this season, the first absence occurring at the beginning of December.
Just out of pure curiosity, I decided to look up the results of that contest and-WAIT A MINUTE WHAT IS THIS?!?
Same.
Exact.
Score.
The Devils must really love playing without what many (blindly) believe to be their best player. Outside of the first two games of the season, which we all just assume were imaginary at this point, the Devils only have one other 5 goal game in their schedule.
Okay, true the Devils shot 25% against the Kings and 19% against the Maple Leafs and that just doesn't usually happen (the Devils shooting percentage on the season is an average 8.85%). The Devils, in addition to being outshot in each game, also were out possessed in the respective matchups.
What I'm basically saying is that these results won't continue with Jagr, a player who actually has the best possession stats on the team (and it's not really close). But this is a fun coincidence.
Devils who have flourished in these games without Jagr though? Well Mike Cammalleri has 3 points (2 goals, 1 assist), Jon Merrill has 3 points (all assist), Michael Ryder has 4 points (1g, 3a) and Steve Bernier has 4 points (3g, 1a).
Again, this is nothing more than coincidence and that will be confirmed when the Devils visit the Ducks (winners of 6 of their last 7 games) and will probably lose by 4.
And while logic would dictate that the Devils would be a better team with him in the lineup, recent evidence appears that this isn't the case.
Last week I wrote about how the 42 year old (he'll be 43 in February) has actually hurt the team in some ways, with his deteriorating speed in a very fast game. He's been turning the puck over every night and takes costly penalties. I briefly wondered if the Devils were better off without him on the team.
Well we got a chance to see the Devils without Jagr on Wednesday night as the aging forward stayed home because of sickness during the team's West Coast road trip.
The result? A nice win against the defending champion Los Angeles Kings. The Devils looked pretty good at times during the contest and even scored 3 goals in the span of 1:08 en route to a 4 goal second period.
Final score?
Whaddya know? A Jagr-less Devils squad went on the road and beat a dangerous LA club.
That got me thinking. This was the second game that Jagr missed this season, the first absence occurring at the beginning of December.
Just out of pure curiosity, I decided to look up the results of that contest and-WAIT A MINUTE WHAT IS THIS?!?
Same.
Exact.
Score.
The Devils must really love playing without what many (blindly) believe to be their best player. Outside of the first two games of the season, which we all just assume were imaginary at this point, the Devils only have one other 5 goal game in their schedule.
Okay, true the Devils shot 25% against the Kings and 19% against the Maple Leafs and that just doesn't usually happen (the Devils shooting percentage on the season is an average 8.85%). The Devils, in addition to being outshot in each game, also were out possessed in the respective matchups.
What I'm basically saying is that these results won't continue with Jagr, a player who actually has the best possession stats on the team (and it's not really close). But this is a fun coincidence.
Devils who have flourished in these games without Jagr though? Well Mike Cammalleri has 3 points (2 goals, 1 assist), Jon Merrill has 3 points (all assist), Michael Ryder has 4 points (1g, 3a) and Steve Bernier has 4 points (3g, 1a).
Again, this is nothing more than coincidence and that will be confirmed when the Devils visit the Ducks (winners of 6 of their last 7 games) and will probably lose by 4.
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