As the Devils face the Bruins today…it is important to note the importance of this game. Everyone thinks oh this is just the Bruins. Well any team battling for their playoff lives is dangerous. Take a look at Friday nite’s collapse against the Leafs as Exhibit A. If you let up even for a few minutes that nice cushy 2-0 lead can turn into a deficit in a blink of an eye.
The Devils do not have the margin of error other teams do. I know they have a better offense than they show and all that good stuff but the bottom line is great teams play sixty minutes and right now the New Jersey Devils don’t on a consistent enough basis. Yes they are Stanley Cup contenders with Marty Brodeur in the nets but until this team can learn the fine art of consistency, they won’t get past a Buffalo or maybe even Pittsburgh.
Why be so negative? For a team who has 87 points and has the best goalie in the world…most fans of other teams would envy your position. Well to answer that, when your team has been on top for so long and you see so many up and comers upgrading themselves in such a way…you have that tendency to look down when you didn’t once before. I feel like the goalie who looks behind him every so often then looks skyward as if he’s chasing something. The Devils are chasing something alright…they are chasing that team effort that characterized them for the past 15 years. Hopefully today is the day they start finding that…because if they don’t soon….they may be in serious peril come playoff time.
