Rock Posted December 11, 2002 Share Posted December 11, 2002 Friesen's demotion lasts only one period http://www.northjersey.com/page.php?level_...33&page=5950555 Wednesday, December 11, 2002 By TOM GULITTI Staff Writer EAST RUTHERFORD - Pat Burns said he was trying to get Patrik Elias going, but, at the same time, the line changes the Devils coach made for Tuesday night's 2-0 win over St. Louis appeared intended to send a message to left wing Jeff Friesen. Friesen was dropped to the fourth line along with right wing Brian Gionta. Jiri Bicek and Sergei Brylin moved up to play on the top line with Elias, who went without a goal for the 11th time in 12 games. Friesen's demotion was only temporary, though. He forced a turnover with a big hit that led to a goal by Jim McKenzie in the first period and, by the second, Friesen and Gionta were playing with Elias and Brylin and Bicek were back with McKenzie. "He stepped up," Burns said. If there was a message in Friesen's brief demotion, he claimed not to get it. "I'm sure if he was sending me a message, he'd tell me," Friesen said. "I don't know what you guys are reading into anything." Still, Burns has made no secret of his displeasure with Friesen's inconsistency. He kept him on the bench late in the third period of Saturday's 1-0 loss in Toronto. "He's got to find a way to get going," Burns said Tuesday morning. "We brought him in here for a reason, to get going and throw some speed at people, and we see it once out of every four or five games. He's got to do better than that. If he wants to play on a regular basis and get ice time, he's got to play better than that. But he knows that." A visibly disappointed Friesen was tight-lipped about the line changes. "I've got nothing to say," Friesen said. Friesen has one assist and no goals in his last five games after scoring the game-winner in OT on Nov. 30 in St. Louis. That goal was his sixth of the season and fourth in six games and it appeared he was gaining confidence. "It has nothing to do with confidence," Friesen said. It could have something to do with ice time, though. Friesen played only 11:07 Tuesday, which was less than every forward other than McKenzie (8:37). RAFALSKI OUT: Defenseman Brian Rafalski rode the stationary bike for 45 minutes Tuesday morning, but remained off skates because of a rib injury he suffered Saturday in Toronto. Although he is not sure when he will return, he plans to accompany the team to Columbus on Thursday and Ottawa on Saturday. "It's getting better," he said. "I got some exercise in, so that's good." DEVILS BRIEFS: Goaltender Corey Schwab was still suffering from a viral infection, so Scott Clemmensen was called up from Albany to back up Martin Brodeur ... Christian Berglund was a healthy scratch for the second game in a row ... Blues goaltender Brent Johnson, one of the few players on the team who did not get food poisoning, was activated for Tuesday's game after being out all season with a high ankle sprain, but did not play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MantaRay Posted December 11, 2002 Share Posted December 11, 2002 No message. The Devils play again tonight, he will be skating back on his normal line. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SBT Posted December 11, 2002 Share Posted December 11, 2002 You mean tomorrow night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jerrydevil Posted December 11, 2002 Share Posted December 11, 2002 He's only been here a little while, but Friesen doesn't strike me as, shall we say, competitive. My advice to Jeff is to watch the way Sergei Brylin plays and try to mimic that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devspage Posted December 11, 2002 Share Posted December 11, 2002 There was some nice movement when Friesen went up to the Elias-Gionta line. That might be something if Friesen's energy is sustained. And, of course, the best way to do that is have success. Goals for everyone!!!!! I wanna see him crack his stick against some more boards! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NJDevs4978 Posted December 11, 2002 Share Posted December 11, 2002 Friesen seems to be Burns' pet project. He strikes me as someone who just loses confidence easily, but I dunno. One thing's for sure, Burns is giving him his best tough love Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msweet Posted December 11, 2002 Share Posted December 11, 2002 Friesen skates fast, no doubt. He can't control the puck and he never seems to know where to pass it to. He was terrible for Newy, beacuse they could never keep the puck in the zone. I'm wondering whether he has a place on this team? Everything he can do, Brylin can do better. And Brylin's knee is still not 100%. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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