Nieuwendyk

Last season, the Devils gave up too many goals. And they couldn't score. General manager Lou Lamoriello was not a happy camper. He dispatched A-liner Petr Sykora for Jeff Friesen and Oleg Tverdovsky. Blood-and-guts center Bobby Holik is gone; the Devs hope center Joe Nieuwendyk will fill his role. The bodies are there, and the points will come, but fans are worried that these Jersey guys just ain't what they used to be.

	The Big Question
	Q: Where, oh where will the goals come from? They won't. Bobby Holik took his 25 goals across the Hudson and Petr Sykora's 21 blew west to Anaheim in the deal that sent Jeff Friesen to New Jersey. Friesen does a lot of good things but isn't the natural scorer Sykora is. Even if Joe Nieuwendyk is primed to score and Brian Gionta appears ready to light it up, Pat Burns' "defense first" approach will have the Devils trying to win 2-1 games this season. -- Bill Clement
	Good: Coming off a down offensive season in Anaheim, Oleg Tverdovsky could return to his solid goal scoring numbers with proper ice time on the power play, which is likely. Don't forget this guy scored a combined 29 goals the previous two seasons prior to 2001-02. Bad: Joe Nieuwendyk's role in Jersey is likely to be a bit more defensive-oriented than what he saw in Dallas, so be careful if you're hoping for a 30-goal season. Also, at 36 we're not talking about a young player here. -- Eric Karabell
	Top Prospect
	Phil Cole, D The Devils' fourth-round pick in 2000, Cole is a big (6-foot-4, 205 pounds) defenseman, stay-at-home style, with typical Western Hockey League toughness.
	Minors Outlook
	Albany River Rats The Rowdies could be a worst-to-first story, what with coaching failure Bobby Carpenter gone and a huge influx of veteran AHL talent coming in. That list includes hometown center Craig Darby and defenseman Ken Sutton, two of the best in the minors at their positions. -- Bill Ballou

Forwards Wasn't it just two seasons ago the Devils boasted the best line in the league and the rookie of the year? They've gone from big and powerful to small and it-remains-to-be-seen. Subtract Jason Arnott, Petr Sykora, Bobby Holik and their 66 goals, and replace them with Joe Nieuwendyk (36 years old), Brian Gionta (5-foot-7, 160 pounds) and Jeff Freisen (17 goals) and you gotta wonder where the goals will come from. Patrik Elias is the only player of superstar caliber. But what they lack in quality, they make up for in quantity. John Madden, Sergei Brylin and Jamie Langenbrunner are quality role players and provide decent offensive support should the top lines falter. Eastern Conference Position Ranking: 8th Defensemen What the Devils lost offensively up front, they've made up for on the blue line. Scott Neidermayer and Brian Rafalski, already two of the top puck-moving, offensive defensemen in the league, will be joined by newly acquired Oleg Tverdovsky, making the Devils' transition game even quicker. Behind them lurks punishment at the hands of Scott Stevens, Ken Daneyko and Colin White. Eastern Conference Position Ranking: 1st Goalie Martin Brodeur didn't have a career year last year (blame it on the new contract), but he's still one of the best in the game. With John Vanbiesbrouck back among the retirement ranks, J.F. Damphousse in Anaheim and Scott Clemmensen fermenting in the minors, the Devils rehired Corey Schwab. Fortunately, Brodeur doesn't miss that many games. Eastern Conference Position Ranking: 2nd

Rankings: 1st Overall
Forwards | Defensemen | Goalies

RECORD: 41-28-9-4, 95 points Rank: T10th overall 5th East 3rd Atlantic Playoffs: Lost to CAR in first round Home: 22-13-4-2 Road: 19-15-5-2 2001-02 results 2001-02 statistics 2002-03 schedule 2002-03 roster OFFENSE DEFENSE GOALS FOR/AVG. Overall: 205/2.50 (20th) Home: 112/2.73 (15th) Road: 93/2.27 (23rd) POWER PLAY Overall: 16.9/44-261 (9th) Home: 19.9/ 27-136 (4th) Road: 13.6/17-125 (19th) GOALS AGAINST/AVG. Overall: 187/2.28 (3rd) Home: 88/2.15 (6th) Road: 99/2.41 (8th) PENALTY KILL Overall: 83.8/43-265 (19th) Home: 82.9/22-129 (25th) Road: 84.6/21-136 (11th) STATS LEADERS GOALS Patrik Elias (29) Bobby Holik (25)* Jason Arnott (22)* ASSISTS Brian Rafalski (40) Scott Gomez (38) Elias (32) POINTS Elias (61) Holik (54)* Petr Sykora (48)* Gomez (48) PENALTY MINUTES Colin White (133) Jim McKenzie (123) Holik (97)* PLUS/MINUS Sergei Brylin (+21) Rafalski (+15) Scott Stevens (+15) 3 tied (+12) GAA (MIN. 20 GP) Martin Brodeur (2.15) SAVE PERCENTAGE Brodeur (.906) * - no longer with team