New Jersey Devils: Drew Stafford Deserves One More Game

The New Jersey Devils made the odd decision to healthy scratch Blake Coleman for tonight’s game against the New York Islanders. While that’s not necessarily the right decision, it’s okay to give Drew Stafford one more game to prove himself.

Head coach John Hynes is trying something different to get the New Jersey Devils going. This team is coming off an awful performance against the Philadelphia Flyers. That loss makes six in a row for a team still holding on to third in the Metropolitan Division by a thread.

Some of the lineup changes has fans scratching their heads. A second line of Marcus Johansson – Travis Zajac – Drew Stafford seems like it may be closer to the fourth line. Many fans would much rather have Pavel Zacha’s and Brian Boyle’s lines on the ice.

Another questionable decision was sitting rookie Blake Coleman for the first healthy scratch of his season.

Coleman has been very good in his first full season in the NHL. He’s scored 11 points, while providing a spark to a team that needs it. His play on the penalty kill has been very good. There’s not a lot to complain about with how Coleman has played this season.

However, I’m not heartbroken that Coleman is missing one game. The Devils are instead starting Stefan Noesen, who’s surprisingly younger than Coleman and has more points in less games.

Obviously, fans would like both players in the lineup. In fact, I’m sure many fans would rather Stafford be the player to sit in the owner’s box tonight. So here me out on this next point.

Stafford went on an epic pointless streak prior to being the usual suspect for healthy scratch. He went 16 straight games without a point from November 16th to December 21st. Then, he didn’t see game action until this past Saturday.

In Saturday’s game, he actually scored a goal. Yes, the goal was pointless, as it made it a two-goal game with 46 seconds left, but it ended that streak either way.

It’s hard to explain what ending a streak like that can do to a player’s mentality. Especially a veteran like Stafford. It was a simple play on the power play. After a shot by John Moore hit off the post, he took a pass by Damon Severson off the boards, and used a Miles Wood screen to throw it five-hole past Brian Elliot.

As Ken Daneyko said during the broadcast, maybe this can be a silver lining for the Flyers loss.

Hynes needs to see whether that goal could get Stafford scoring again. He was a main component of the Devils red-hot start. If he can get going, he could be a part of the solution to this Devils slide.

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If not, then it could be the end of his short Devils career. With the trade deadline just around the corner, and the Devils about to have a logjam of players, it’s time to really look at everyone in the lineup. Jimmy Hayes seems to be the odd-man out, but that’s not enough. With Mirco Mueller returning soon, the Devils have some major lineup decisions to make.

It would be a disservice to not at least give Stafford a chance to earn his way back into the lineup. At the time, it was the right decision to sit him.

If Stafford can find his scoring touch again, that makes the Devils decision even harder. Who should they sit? Obviously, Coleman won’t sit for long, but it will likely be a rotating few.

Honestly, in my opinion, I feel like Hynes should look into sitting Kyle Palmieri and Johansson at times. No, not because I think they are bad (but Palmieri certainly should be better), but more because I need them to stay healthy.

Either way, Stafford needs to play well starting tonight if he wants any chance to stay in this lineup. If he can build off Saturday’s goal, then the Devils may be in a much better spot offensively.

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