Cory Schneider returned to Vancouver. He did his part making 34 saves. His teammates did not. The Devils were shutout by the Canucks 2-0. Ryan Miller made 20 saves to hand them a second straight defeat. They concluded a four-game road trip 1-2-1.In a mediocre division, they’re fifth with 21 points trailing the Rangers by a point for third. With nine wins in their first 22 games, what exactly are they? It’s a point resident Devil blogger Hasan has driven home in this space.

After getting a rare night off in what can be called the Calgary debacle, Schneider made his 21st start. Despite a heavy workload similar to former all-time great Martin Brodeur, he’s performed well lately. Over his last six starts, Schneider is 3-3-0 with a 1.53 goals-against-average, .951 save percentage and two shutouts. He can’t be much better than that.

Clearly, the Devils lack consistency. Offensively challenged, they’ve scored 2 goals-or-fewer in 13 games. Their record is 4-8-1. When they score three-or-more, they’re 5-2-2. Goals have been hard to come by recently. With the lone exception being the four they put against the Flames, they’ve totaled six in five of their last six. During that span, they’re 2-3-1. Since a perfect 3-0-0 start, they’re 6-10-3. That simply won’t cut it.

On a night the Canucks paid tribute to former coach and general manager Pat Quinn who passed away at age 71, they dominated. Only Schneider prevented an onslaught stopping all 17 shots in a lopsided first period. The Devils mustered only five. He couldn’t do anything about Vancouver’s first goal which came 1:14 into the second. A Marek Zidlicky turnover led directly to Alex Burrows redirecting a Kevin Bieksa pass into an open side. After failing to clear the zone, Zidlicky was beaten badly by Burrows in front. It was not his night. The veteran also got victimized on Vancouver’s second goal.

Trailing by one, the Devils picked it up. Jaromir Jagr had a couple of chances along with top center Travis Zajac, who ran out of room with Miller down. Zajac has four goals and four assists so far. He isn’t really a top pivot but is being asked to anchor the number one line. At what point does coach Pete DeBoer consider flipping Zajac with Adam Henrique? In 16 games, Henrique has six goals and six assists. He remains their second center. For the time being, Zajac plays with Jagr and Mike Cammalleri, who’s performed up to expectations. With Patrik Elias not as productive and Michael Ryder ice cold after a good start, DeBoer should think about tweaking his lines.

Astonishingly, the Devils’ best chance came off the stick of Steve Bernier. Perfectly set up, he was robbed by a sprawling Miller, who managed to get a piece of a shot labeled for top shelf. It was the save of the game. A few minutes later, a horrible Zidlicky turnover inside allowed Shawn Matthias to score on a breakaway. Zidlicky mishandled the puck allowing Matthias to get behind him. His backhand went off Schneider and then deflected off Zidlicky and in increasing Vancouver’s lead to 2-0 with 5:23 left in regulation.

Predictably, DeBoer pulled Schneider early with over three minutes remaining. It didn’t matter. The Devils return home on Black Friday to host the Red Wings.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Ryan Miller, Canucks (20 save shutout, 2nd of season)

2nd Star-Alex Burrows, Canucks (GWG-5th of season, 5 SOG, +1 in 14:40)

1st Star-Cory Schneider, Devils (34 saves incl. 17/17 in 1st)