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The standings lie. The Devils are not a first-place team, not really.
There was no resemblance to a championship squad last night. The Atlantic Division leaders looked like a team without leadership, chemistry or offense. They fell apart early and often, from goal outwards, and this time, there was no coming back.
“We got lucky that the Flyers went on a losing streak that brought us back into contention. We had a great opportunity, and we didn’t take it,” Martin Brodeur said after the Devils fell 4-1 to the Bruins last night.
About all they accomplished by losing to Boston for the first time in 11 games was to make it tougher for their arch-nemeses, the Rangers, to make the playoffs. But they have other, bigger worries than the Rangers. They have themselves to fret about.
“At home, we take it for granted that it’s going to be easier. It’s been going on all year, and that should have changed by now,” Bobby Holik said. “It changes for a game or two, and then we fall back into the home-game rut. It’s a matter of being too comfortable with a two-game winning streak.”
By the time that winning streak was officially over, the Devils were a team in chaos, with all lines except Jason Arnott’s scrambled like powdered eggs, and about as solid. And it didn’t seem that enough Devils were mad enough after falling behind 3-0 in the first period.
Asked if he saw enough angry people on his bench, Robbie Ftorek responded, “If I had a mirror, I did.” Then he added, “Sometimes it gets to a point where you don’t see anything.”
He did see his Devils, now 5-6-2 in their last 13, give up the opening goal for the third straight game, and for the second time in those three on the first shot on Brodeur.
Brian Rolston gave Jason Allison a free route into the zone, and the Bruins set up their cycle, with Allison eventually passing from the right boards to the point. Brodeur gave Kyle McLaren far too much short side space, allowing yet another stoppable goal at 2:39.
Grant Ledyard made it 2-0 at 15:12, given time to shift from backhand to forehand, after the Boston forecheckers had Kevin Dean running in circles. Ledyard’s rainbow found net over Brodeur’s glove, through Dean’s screen.
The first period wasn’t over, and the Devils were already gambling, and losing. Scott Niedermayer rushed the puck into the offensive zone, but when he passed across the middle, Boston’s Langdon Wilson was the only recipient. Wilson zipped the puck out of the zone, past Scott Stevens, who fell, and Joe Thornton took off on a 2-on-0 breakaway. Thornton skated nearly to the goalmouth before feeding left for Sergei Samsonov’s 21st at 16:04.
Ftorek then shuffled his already mixed-up lines, and the Devils looked like a confused bunch, making it easy for the Bruins to protect the lead until Arnott averted the shutout with 2:08 left, scoring his 19th and sixth in four games. Anson Carter added the empty netter with 37.8 seconds remaining. *Devils were 7-0-3 in last 10 vs Bruins before losing last night, their first defeat at hands of Bs since Oct. 29, 1996 … Devils visit Isles at noon tomorrow … Sergei Brylin, Brad Bombardir, Sasha Lakovic and Vadim Sharifijanov sat out for New Jersey … Bruins are 5-1-1 in last seven.