Devils not heading to MSG participate in Inter-Squad Scrimmage this Afternoon

Before the Devils opened up their preseason schedule against the Rangers, members of the roster who were not going to play tonight had a scrimmage in the afternoon.

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The remaining players on the roster were split into two teams, Red & White. The Red team was lead by Tommy Albelin and Mike Foligno, against the White team coached by Sergei Brylin and Dave Barr.

The Red team

Forwards: Brandon Baddock, Damien Brunner, Connor Chatham, Ryane Clowe, Stephen Gionta, Scott Gomez, Chris McKelvie, Rod Pelley, Tuomo Ruutu, Mike Sislo, Ben Thomson, Scott Timmins, Joe Whitney, Kelly Zajac. Defense: Joe Faust, Corbin McPherson, Bryce Salvador, Renat Mamashev, Reece Scarlett, Marek Zidlicky. Goalie: Scott Wedgewood

The White Team

Forwards: Graham Black, Myles Bell, Steve Bernier, Mike Cammalleri, Ryan Carter, Jaromir Jagr, Ben Johnson,Ryan Kujawinski, John Quennevile, Paul Thompson, David Wohlberg, Darcy Zajac, Travis Zajac. Defense: Brandon Burlon, Andy Greene, Peter Harrold, Raman Hrabarenka, Seth Helgeson, Ryan Rehill. Goalie: Cory Schnieder

The Red squad went on to win this scrimmage 6-5 in a shootout. The game featured a great dealing of scoring as we saw great production offensively from both sides.

The Red squad got goals from Tuomo Ruutu, Kelly Zajac (2), Reece Scarlett & Stephen Gionta. While the White team was lead by goals form Ben Thompson, Brandon Burlon, Jaromir Jagr, Mike Cammelleri, and Graham Black.

The ironic part of this scrimmage was it ending in a shootout. One of the New Jersey’s biggest flaws last season was the “talent contest” as they could not win one of them. Fortunately for the Devils, this time one of their squads would have to get to win.

The shootout took five rounds, and was not that encouraging. In the ten available shooters, only Ryane Clowe was able to find twine. The other nine players who got a chance, Mike Cammalleri, Tuomo Ruutu, Travis Zajac, Scott Gomez, Jaromir Jagr, Ryan Carter, Damien Brunner, Andy Greene, and Marek Zidlicky, all could not convert.

Dec 2, 2013; Montreal, Quebec, CAN; New Jersey Devils right wing Damien Brunner (12) before the game against Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre. Mandatory Credit: Jean-Yves Ahern-USA TODAY Sports

The season has is in less than 18 days, and the Devils shootout needs a bit of work. Some of the possible players who could be asked to shoot could be playing in New York tonight and did not get a shot, like Patrik Elias, Martin Havlat, or Adam Henrique. Aside from the shootout, the Devils did show a lot of encouraging signs of an improved offense.

Damien Brunner was effective on the ice today for the Red squad, as he was able to connect for two nice assists. Also, Devils’ prospect Kelly Zajac stood out as he was a potent offensive threat with 2 goals on the afternoon.

The biggest plus to come away came from the white squad, with the play of the New Jersey’s potential top line. Mike Cammalleri, Travis Zajac and Jaromir Jagr look to be forming a truly devilish line, that could help lead this offense to success it has not seen in years. Zajac and Jagr had tremendous chemistry all last season, but could not find another true scorer on the roster to complement them. Cammalleri was brought in this off-season with the thought using of him to be that final piece atop the first line. The line combined for 2 goals, with scores from Jagr and Cammalleri, and almost had a third but Cammalleri put it off the crossbar. It will be a real treat when we get to see them compete in their first pre-season game, hopefully later in this week.

Whether they played in Newark this afternoon, or playing in New York tonight, its nice to know that hockey is back everybody! Now if October 9th could only come a little bit quicker! Enjoy the game tonight & Go Devils!

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