Why DeBoer Deserves More Credit

        Going into this series, everyone had their eye on Rangers coach John Tortorella, as he is a finalist for the Jack Adams Award, awarded to the best coach of the year. Not many though, pay attention to Devils coach Peter Deboer, who is quietly becoming one of the top coaches in the league. Before he was hired this season, he took a Florida Panthers team with a very weak roster to a record close to .500. That may not seem impressive, but it is considering how bad the team was. Devils GM Lou Lamoriello recognized that, and this past offseason, hired DeBoer to replace a retiring Jacques Lemaire as the Devils coach. This season, though, people got a better sense of how good DeBoer is. 
        He knows the appropriate team to change up the lines when things aren't going his way, as we saw him take underproducing winger Petr Sykora out of the lineup, in favor of Jacob Josefson, who was returning from an injury. This move was key for the Devils, as Josefson was great on face-offs, and his line with David Clarkson and Alexei Ponikarovsky played an all-round great game.
        Also, after getting shutout 3-0 in Game 3, DeBoer shifted the top two lines, which were the deciding factors in the game. Zach Parise, who had three points in the game, played with Travis Zajac and Dainius Zubrus on the first line. Ilya Kovalchuk played with Patrik Elias and Adam Henrique on the second line. The top two lines produced three out of the Devils four goals in the 4-1 victory over the Rangers, and DeBoer should get more credit for that. Last night was a perfect example of how affective Peter DeBoer can be as head coach of the Devils.