Coming into this season, there was good reason to be concerned about the New Jersey Devils’ prospects. Key free agents Scott Gomez and Brian Rafalski departed for greener pastures, robbing the power play of its two most essential elements. Stay-at-home defenseman Colin White suffered an eye injury during the preseason, knocking him out of the lineup for 20 games and counting. With White and now Paul Martin (lower body soreness) out of the lineup, the Devils are doing without the three players who logged the most ice time for them last season.

In addition to coping with the losses of these key players, the Devils have also been tasked with learning first-year head coach Brent Sutter’s new system, a drastic departure from the one that had effectively been in place since Jacques Lemaire was running the bench. Rather than focusing primarily on line matchups — and on getting the Devils’ vaunted checking line onto the ice against the opposition’s top line each and every shift — Sutter has instead implemented a more aggressive fore-checking system.

The positives of Sutter’s system from an entertainment value stance are obvious: The Devils are more fun to watch than they have been since 2000–01, when they scored 295 goals to lead the league. When properly executed, this more aggressive game plan will enable the Devils to take advantage of the talents of Patrik Elias, Zach Parise, and Travis Zajac — all of whom should thrive in a more wide-open game.

However, the path to proper execution is riddled with potholes, and past history has shown that GM Lou Lamoriello isn’t particularly patient when it comes to his coaching staff. Last season, Lamoriello fired head coach Claude Julien with only one week to go in the regular season, taking over behind the bench after concluding that Julien had lost the players and wasn’t going to be able to maximize the team’s playoff potential.

Following that maneuver, the Devils only went about as far (a second round loss to the Ottawa Senators) as they would have under Julien, so the move has to be considered a failure. Moreover, Julien’s termination sent a clear message that the players have substantial power and influence in New Jersey, leaving one to wonder whether Sutter will suffer a similar fate if he’s unable to turn things around quickly.

No doubt, the first 20 games haven’t been kind to Sutter’s Devils, who currently sit tied for last in the Atlantic Division (8–10–2). Elias has struggled, only scoring 11 points in 20 games while posting an atrocious minus-6 rating, and was called out by Sutter for his inconsistent, seemingly uninspired play. Martin Brodeur has been ordinary at best for much of the season’s first quarter, posting a very un-Brodeur-like .894 save percentage and winning only six of 17 starts.

But there are some signs that things are starting to turn around, and that much of the worst may be over for Brodeur and company.

The season-opening nine-game road trip that preceded the opening of their new arena, the Prudential Center, was certainly no help as they tried to build momentum. Now, the Devils have the opportunity to take advantage of a home-heavy schedule the rest of the way, which should give them a meaningful edge as they acclimate themselves to the confines of “the Rock.”

Two weeks ago, they suffered an awful 5–0 loss at the hands of the Penguins, and Sutter called out his players afterward. “I’m not going to sugarcoat it,” he said after the game. “Our commitment tonight was unacceptable. This was a big divisional game. To come to the rink like that doesn’t cut it. I am surprised, to be quite honest.”

The reaction, at least in terms of how the players responded on the ice, has been positive. Through their past six games, the Devils have surrendered only 12 goals, demonstrating a renewed commitment to team defense. And perhaps the best discovery of all has been the play of rearguard Karel Rachunek, who has stepped up alongside rookie Andy Greene to form what has been the team’s best defense pair; Rachunek’s plus-10 rating leads the Devils, while Greene’s plus-9 rating is second-best on the team.

Now, that duo won’t make anyone forget about Scott Stevens or Scott Niedermayer anytime soon, and their combined offensive contributions (two goals, nine points) don’t make up for the loss of Rafalski (17 points in 20 games for the Red Wings). But it’s clear that New Jersey isn’t yet a prime landing spot for unrestricted free agents, and until that changes, it is imperative that the team build from within (Greene) while successfully complementing their youthful core with less highly coveted UFAs (Rachunek).

Inevitably, there will be more bumps along the way as the team acclimates itself to Sutter’s system and style. But the team survived its nine-game road trip, and thus far they’ve managed to survive the absences of their first line center (Gomez) and the three ice-time leaders from 2006–07 (Rafalski, Martin, and White).

And, of course, there’s Brodeur. He has started 88% of the Devils’ games dating back to 1994–95, and he is on pace to play in 70-plus games again this year, for what would be the 10th consecutive season. On Saturday, he won his 500th game, joining his boyhood hero Patrick Roy as the only goalies to reach that milestone.

To put Brodeur’s workload into proper context, the legendary Roy never played in more than 67 games in a single season. Meanwhile, since he’s been the Devils’ starter, Brodeur has never played fewer than 67 games in a full season. And while Brodeur’s career win total was no doubt padded by his extraordinary workload, it’s been the Devils who have been the primary beneficiaries; he has provided them with incomparable stability between the pipes over the past 13 seasons, achieving consistency and longevity that may never be matched.

It would seem that a turnaround is on the horizon for these Devils, who have managed to play near-.500 hockey while facing tremendous adversity. And so, if Martin and White are able to return relatively soon, and if Brodeur and Elias can continue gaining momentum, look for these Devils to sneak under the radar and again be in the thick of things come playoff time.

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