One losing streak vanquished, the Devils take on another today.
The Stanley Cup champs return to the Meadowlands this afternoon against the Hurricanes, hoping to put an end to their five-game home losing streak, just as they ended their six-game overall losing streak in Boston Thursday.
The Devils haven’t lost more than five straight at home since 1984-85, when they dropped nine straight at Meadowlands Arena, named for Brendan Byrne in those days before corporate sponsorships. Should they fail to win today, their last chance for a home victory in November comes on the 29th, when the Rangers visit.
While they should have spirits soaring today, they are fully aware of how close they came to losing a seventh straight game Thursday.
“We’re not out of the woods yet, but we needed that,” said Martin Brodeur, who finally cracked the 250 victory milestone in his sixth attempt.
But Brodeur did cite “getting away from the pressure from our building,” as a positive factor in the Devils’ stirring, yet unconvincing 3-2 OT victory in Boston Thursday.
They’ll have to stare down exactly that pressure today against a team that has given them more trouble than might be expected.
New Jersey started the season 4-0 at home, but began this decline with a tie against the Flyers, then blew a five-game homestand. The addition shows the Devils sitting one game under .500 at home, and that same amount overall, meaning they can climb back to level ground today – or backslide.
They were inspiring in coming back for the victory after the Bruins took what appeared to be a final lead with only 3:02 left Thursday. While still shorthanded, however, Petr Sykora turned the tide with a give-all sprint for a monster slapper that left bruises in the net behind Byron Dafoe.
In overtime, the Devils again resembled the team that came back on the Flyers and dethroned the Stars, playing with purpose, and twice as effectively as they had all month. They were determined to end that losing streak, and they did, with only two seconds left on the clock.
There was Scott Stevens, playing as if he had Pavel Bure or Eric Lindros in his sights, only this time, looking at Dafoe. Brian Rafalski, too often slammed by foes this season, shook off the aches to become the fulcrum of the attack, and not just on the winning goal. Scott Gomez, who scored the winner on Rafalski’s rebound, stuck his nose where hockey is played and games are won. Patrik Elias, who admits missing Jason Arnott, was a star in his own right, as was Sykora. Ken Daneyko was a study in fierce determination, and Bobby Holik came as close as a Devil comes to controlling play.
They could have won five times in OT, or lost three. They won once, which is also all they’ve done in November. Improvement – now – is mandatory.