The New Jersey Devils have a 0-1-2 record after surrendering a three goal lead in the third period of last night’s game against the Edmonton Oilers, so it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that coach Pete DeBoer has shaken up his lines a bit.
Defenseman Mark Fayne will be inserted into the lineup for tonight’s game against the Vancouver Canucks while 20-year-old Adam Larsson will be a healthy scratch. Larsson has a minus-four rating in three games, which is tied for the worst on the Devils with another player that will be sent to the press box; forward Ryan Carter.
For Larsson, this is an all too familiar spot. Since being taken with the fourth overall pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft, Larsson hasn’t been able to firmly establish himself as a regular with the Devils. He had six assists in 37 games last season.
“It is (frustrating to be in this situation again), but I’m not going to hang my head just because of one game,” Larsson told the Star-Ledger. “We’ll see what happens the next game. We’ll, see but I’m not happy about it.”
Before the 2013-14 campaign started, Larsson predicted this would be an important year for him. This certainly isn’t how he would have liked to start it, but the silver lining is that there’s still plenty of time left.