The New Jersey Devils have won 10 of their last 11 home games and 13 of 18 overall at the brand-new Prudential Center, nicknamed “the Rock.” Accepting that the first few games at their new digs included an inevitable feeling-out process, it’s clear that home ice is proving to be a great advantage to the Devils. Though it appeared early on that first-year head coach Brent Sutter wasn’t planning to do much line-matching, as the season has progressed he has been far more apt to make use of the advantage that shutdown checking-line center John Madden provides (particularly at home, when Sutter gets to make the final line change).

Making things particularly interesting, because New Jersey began the year on a nine-game road trip, they will play a disproportionate number of games at home in the second half, so they have a nice opportunity to build upon their Atlantic Division lead. They have 23 home games remaining (as opposed to only 17 games on the road), and if the current trends continue, it’s likely that they’ll finish the regular season ahead of the Ottawa Senators and atop the Eastern Conference.

Currently ranked fifth in our Power Rankings, the Devils’ charge has predictably been led by goaltender Martin Brodeur, whose play this season has been typically stellar. After a rocky October, during which he posted a 3–6 record and stopped only 89% of the shots he faced, Brodeur has re-emerged as the league’s most dominant netminder. Since the beginning of November, he has posted a .930 save percentage while allowing fewer than two goals per game (1.86). Not coincidentally, his record has been a stellar 19–7–2 over that stretch of time, including four shutouts. And though Brodeur has been very solid on the road (.915 SV%, 2.26 GAA), it’s clear that he prefers the now-friendly confines of the Prudential Center (.924 SV%, 2.01 GAA).

The high rate of turnover the Devils have dealt with over the past half-decade makes Brodeur’s continued excellence all the more impressive. In the early stages of his career, Brodeur’s success was attributed primarily to the strong defensive nucleus in front of him, but the second half of his career has shown him to be unequivocally one of the finest athletes ever to lace up skates.

Please note that the data is up to and including games played on Tuesday night, and that our statistics for special teams effectiveness also take shorthanded goals into account.

1. DETROIT RED WINGS (LW: 1): Chris Osgood’s career has had more ups and downs than the Coney Island Cyclone, but his strong play of late has made him essential in Motown; yesterday, he was rewarded for his efforts and signed to a three-year contract extension.
REC PTS GS GA PP% PK%
33–8–3 69 148 87 19.60% 87.50%

2. OTTAWA SENATORS (2): Martin Gerber keeps tightening his grip on the starting job in goal, so backup netminder Ray Emery is a good bet to be dealt in exchange for scoring depth; the Los Angeles Kings are the most likely destination.
27–10–4 58 147 113 18.67% 88.46%

3. SAN JOSE SHARKS (3): Evgeni Nabokov has started all 41 of the Sharks’ games thus far, and, perhaps with an eye toward giving him some rest, talented prospect Thomas Greiss was called up from the AHL affiliate in Worcester yesterday.
23–12–6 52 103 89 12.70% 88.89%

4. VANCOUVER CANUCKS (5): The Canucks are possibly the NHL’s hottest team, and the contributions of rapidly emerging young defenseman Alex Edler (team-leading plus-18 rating, shootout winner over the Islanders on Tuesday) shouldn’t be ignored.
24–14–4 52 109 91 15.76% 85.57%

5. DEVILS (6): Patrik Elias has scored three goals and seven points in his last six games and appears finally to be acclimating to life in New Jersey without former linemate Scott Gomez.
24–15–3 51 100 97 11.11% 84.71%

6. MONTREAL CANADIENS (8): Rookie backup goalie Carey Price was reportedly in tears in the Habs’ locker room after a recent loss to the Washington Capitals; not surprisingly, he was demoted to the AHL soon afterward, with Jaroslav Halak called up to replace him.
21–13–8 50 128 115 24.35% 82.46%

7. PITTSBURGH PENGUINS (13): Marc-Andre Fleury’s high-ankle sprain hasn’t been very consequential; Ty Conklin has stepped in admirably and is riding an eight-game winning streak that has the Pens surging toward the top of the Eastern Conference standings.
24–16–2 50 117 114 16.58% 82.07%

8. DALLAS STARS (4): Mike Ribeiro has developed into the Stars’ top offensive threat (21 goals and 44 points in 40 games), and he was rewarded yesterday with a lucrative five-year, $25 million contract extension.
24–16–4 52 125 113 17.54% 91.30%

9. ST. LOUIS BLUES (11): The Blues trounced the division rival Blue Jackets 6–1 on Tuesday night, with recent acquisition Andy McDonald leading the way (two goals and an assist). In seven games with the Blues, McDonald’s scored eight points.
21–14–5 47 102 98 10.40% 87.22%

10. CALGARY FLAMES (14): It was announced yesterday that Jarome Iginla was voted by the fans into this year’s All-Star game (January 27th in Atlanta) for the first time in his career; teammate Dion Phaneuf will join him in the Western Conference’s starting lineup.
22–15–7 51 129 127 14.21% 80.68%

11. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS (10): A violent collision with teammate Derian Hatcher on Saturday night has knocked Joffrey Lupul out of the Flyers’ starting lineup for at least two weeks with a spinal cord contusion and a concussion.
21–15–4 46 122 108 20.73% 85.57%

12. MINNESOTA WILD (7): Marian Gaborik’s effort level has been inconsistent of late, and head coach Jacques Lemaire called him out in an interview with the Minneapolis Star-Tribune: “Gabby’s working, but it’s not hard enough — plain and simple.”
23–17–2 48 111 115 15.79% 84.36%

13. COLORADO AVALANCHE (9): Jose Theodore has given up only four goals in his last three appearances, stopping 67 of 71 shots during that stretch, and has suddenly started pushing Peter Budaj for the starting goaltender’s job.
22–17–3 47 117 118 11.73% 82.35%

14. ANAHEIM DUCKS (21): The Ducks’ offense could be getting a nice boost soon. According to a report in the Los Angeles Times, Teemu Selanne has begun a skating program at Anaheim Ice to determine whether he is mentally up to returning to the NHL.
22–17–6 50 108 114 14.14% 82.99%

15. PHOENIX COYOTES (23): Though Ilya Bryzgalov was certainly the catalyst behind the Coyotes’ turnaround, once-maligned head coach Wayne Gretzky has done a nice job of silencing his critics by getting his young team to skate in lockstep.
22–18–1 45 105 107 13.56% 85.63%

16. BOSTON BRUINS (19): Captain Zdeno Chara clearly prefers to play away from Boston; on the road, he’s posted a stellar plus-13 rating, but at home, he’s an atrocious minus-8, a nothing-short-of-shocking 21-point differential.
21–17–4 46 107 107 16.34% 80.92%

17. ISLANDERS (15) : The reeling Isles have lost four straight games on their ongoing road trip, and things will get no easier this weekend, when they take on the red-hot Flames in Calgary and the Eastern Conference-leading Senators in Ottawa.
20–17–5 45 99 115 12.00% 88.12%

18. CAROLINA HURRICANES (20): With Justin Williams out of the lineup for the foreseeable future, the ‘Canes wisely claimed winger Sergei Samsonov off re-entry waivers. At a cost of just over $800,000, it’s a low-risk maneuver that could yield a great reward.
22–19–4 48 134 140 15.81% 77.34%

19. NASHVILLE PREDATORS (25): The Predators walloped the Kings 7–0 on Tuesday night, starting things off in grand fashion by scoring the fastest three consecutive goals in franchise history (a 1:15 span in the first period).
21–19–2 44 119 120 11.52% 85.87%

20. RANGERS (12): Tonight, the Rangers will be looking to snap a four-game losing streak when they host the Flyers; making the task tougher, they might have to go to battle without catalysts Martin Straka (concussion) and Sean Avery (wrist injury).
20–18–5 45 102 106 16.11% 85.41%

21. BUFFALO SABRES (16): With seven straight losses, the reeling Sabres are falling like a rock in the Eastern Conference standings. Unfortunately, following the off-season exodus of so much top-tier talent, the sad decline of this once-great team was inevitable.
19–18–4 42 120 116 16.57% 86.86%

22. COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS (18): Seven of the Blue Jackets’ 19 victories have come in shutouts posted by emerging netminder Pascal Leclaire (.928 SV%, 1.97 GAA, 13–8–3 record), whose play has remained stellar even as the team has regressed around him.
19–18–6 44 105 103 13.37% 88.89%

23. CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS (17): Riding a six-game losing streak, the Blackhawks are hoping that the return of star forward Martin Havlat will spark a resurgence. The good news is that the no. 23-ranked ‘Hawks are still only 10 points behind the no. 3-ranked Sharks.
19–19–4 42 120 125 15.47% 87.50%

24. ATLANTA THRASHERS (26): The Thrashers have done a nice job of regaining balance after an atrocious start, but an accelerated rebuilding effort — including the trading of UFA-to-be Marian Hossa — seems the right course of action for this still-wayward franchise.
21–22–1 43 121 145 14.04% 81.82%

25. EDMONTON OILERS (28): A torn knee ligament has knocked energy winger Raffi Torres out for the season, but the good news out of Edmonton is that former Kings goalie Mathieu Garon is thriving in the starter’s role he usurped from veteran Dwayne Roloson.
19–21–4 42 104 129 11.98% 86.46%

26. FLORIDA PANTHERS (24): Nathan Horton has failed to build upon his strong 2006–07 season (31 goals, 31 assists, plus-15); the Panthers will need for him to break out with a strong second half if they’re to return to the postseason for the first time since 2000.19–21–3 41 102 117 17.20% 82.14%

27. TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS (22): The Toronto Maple Leafs have won only twice in their last 10 games, and if they don’t turn things around relatively soon, look for them to try to trade captain Mats Sundin in advance of the February 26th deadline.
16–18–8 40 119 133 10.99% 82.20%

28. WASHINGTON CAPITALS (27): With an 8–3–3 record in their last 14 games, the Caps have battled their way back into the crowded Eastern Conference playoff race, perhaps laying to rest rumors that they’re considering offers for franchise forward Alexander Ovechkin.
17–20–5 39 117 129 14.44% 82.61%

29. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING (29): The Lightning ended an ugly seven-game losing streak with their 5–3 win over the Rangers on Tuesday, but by nearly squandering a three-goal lead in the third period, their performance was hardly emblematic of a playoff contender.
16–22–5 37 124 146 17.47% 83.91%

30 LOS ANGELES KINGS (30): Following their atrocious 7–0 loss to the Predators on Tuesday night, it’s clear that Kings GM Dean Lombardi has to start entertaining trade offers for his veterans and UFAs-to-be in order to accelerate the rebuilding effort.
15–27–2 32 121 148 18.78% 80.47%

Mr. Greenstein is the editor in chief of InsideHockey.com.