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Devils look to bounce back against Thrashers

Oct 16, 2008 - 10:05 AM New Jersey (2-1-0) at Atlanta (1-0-1), 7:00 pm EDT

ATLANTA (Ticker) -- Struggling to gain momentum on the offensive end is a deficiency with which the New Jersey Devils are familiar. The problem is, it is becoming a trend again in the early stages of this season.

After scoring just five goals in their first three games, the Devils hope for a breakout performance against the Atlanta Thrashers on Thursday.

New Jersey suffered its first loss of the season on Monday, a frustrating 4-1 setback to the New York Rangers. John Madden scored the lone tally against Henrik Lundqvist, joining Zach Parise and Patrik Elias (two apiece) as the only members of the team to notch a goal.

As a team that was shut out a league-high 11 times and ranked 27th on offense with 2.41 goals per game last season, the Devils appear primed to rely heavily on goaltender Martin Brodeur.

The 36-year-old, who won his fourth Vezina Trophy in five seasons in 2007-08, has 540 career wins. He needs 11 to tie Hall of Famer Patrick Roy for first place on the all-time list.

Atlanta is coming off a 4-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday. Ilya Kovalchuk, who scored 52 goals last campaign, netted his first of the season and Bryan Little added a goal and an assist, but it was not enough to hand the Wild their first loss.

Little has recorded a team-high five points for the Thrashers, who wrap up a three-game homestand against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.