If, after losing a game in which they thoroughly dominated the Winnipeg Jets to absolutely no avail, you had told me that the Devils were on the verge of going 3-1 during the start of a hellish, season-defining road trip that included playing two of the best teams in league in the two most difficult buildings in which to get a win then I'm not sure I would have been able to withhold side-splitting laughter. Hell, not only would I have taken this start to their pre-postseason if it were offered to me on March 9th, but I would have placed it atop it's own shrine and tried to bow it into existence on an hourly basis. Simply put, as much belief as I had in the Devils to put forth max effort in their bipolar quest to put an end to a 5 year playoff drought, I had just as much disbelief that it would be enough to end the 10-game win streak of a juggernaut, overtake the overwhelming house odds in Vegas, or rebound against a tough, heavy team who was just as desperate for points. The Devils got quacked back to reality by the Ducks, but that seemed like a more of an inevitable letdown than a huge disappointment after surviving in Nashville, catching a heater in Sin City, and silencing LA in a way that gave true Kings fans flashbacks when half their season ticket holders thought 'Kopitar' was the name of the newest magical weight loss pill. It may not be reflected in the obnoxiously unforgiving standings, but what the Devils have done in the last week and half is more than could have possibly been expected of them prior to embarking on thee most daunting stretch of schedule. Now, that being said, there's still a hell of a lot they need to improve on if they still want to be sitting pretty as they come out of it. First and foremost, the slow starts need to speed the hell up, because a lot of fortuitous bounces have kept them from biting the Devils in the ass. There's something to be said about weathering the initial storm while on the road, but damn near drowning under a monsoon of shots seems like a dangerous game to play when you're a team who statistically (5 wins when trailing after the first) has issues swimming upstream. Even in winning efforts, a couple of the first periods as of late have been hard to watch, and that includes those that have ended with them in the lead. The defensive breakdowns are inevitable when the quality of competition is high, but I don't think it's too much to ask that they be limited to forced errors. Some of the failed clears have been the result of nothing more than a lack of focus, and the same can be said about opponents left unchecked in front of the net. I don't want to single any one play or player out, but if I were to do so I'd probably choose one of the 15-20 times that Damon Severson and John Moore looked as though they rested up for Anaheim by partaking in Southern California's finest of homegrown herbal remedies. They haven't been the only mistake prone defenseman but they have been the most disaster prone, and that doesn't bode well for a team whose recovery time consistently falls a bit short. While it would be insanely easy (damn near necessary) to argue that it made very little sense (debatably zero) not to give a start to Cory Schneider on the ass end of a road back-to-back when his services will - like it or not - eventually be needed, the goaltending hasn't been a problem as much as it has been a reflection of what's in front of it. There have been stretches where Kinkaid has stood on his head, but what you should probably expect out of him is what you saw in the last two games. The Devils made the Kings look harmless for the final 40 minutes and Keith Kinkaid posted a shutout. They made the Ducks look like world beaters, and they rocked Keith Kinkaid's world. Considering Cory's struggles (that have been wildly overblown, mind you), a repeat of the former would go a long ways into getting him back on track if is in between the pipes tonight. As for the offense, it truly is crazy how quickly things change. It feels like no more than one extensive morning seat on the toilet ago that Taylor Hall was futilely dragging his team to the finish line. Now, in the most unfair sense of the word, it's "fair" to argue they could stand to see more out of him. That's not a knock on his play as much as it is an acknowledgement of how stellar it was prior, but - as the old saying goes - you need your best players to be your best players come playoff time, and if this isn't being treated as playoff time then their playoff time is ticking. The rise in secondary scoring has been awesome. From Blake Coleman and Michael Grabner beating the monkeys off their backs, to Pat Maroon being a seamless fit in a once unfilled role, to Brian Gibbons reminding everyone that he's the rare case in which his presence makes the heart grow fonder, to Nico's flashes of brilliance. They've ironically showed a bit of depth as injuries continue to test it. That said, there's a reason Taylor Hall is a legitimate Hart Trophy candidate, and it's not because this team is at it's best when he looks like one of the guys as opposed to thee guy. With only ten games left, it goes without saying that every single one of them is vital to their playoff hopes. The next three certainly don't get any easier, but it's not so much that the Devils need to worry about playing harder as it that they need to concern themselves with playing smarter. Luck was on their side throughout their three game win streak, but they're going to need more than luck if they want to stop that all-too-familiar transition into what would be a fateful losing streak.
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