Monday, April 26, 2010
Once-Mighty Devils Tumble Out in First Round Again
“Yep,” said forward Zach Parise when asked if he was shocked at the Devils’ early exit. “Every year.” On Thursday night, the Devils took the meek route, losing to the Philadelphia Flyers by 3-0 and surrendering the series, one games to four. It was the Devils’ third straight first-round elimination, and the fourth straight year they fell out at home — each time as a first or second seed.The Devils used to be, after the Yankees, the metropolitan area’s most successful franchise, the shining example of a frugally run team that won year after year and had Stanley Cups from 1995, 2000 and 2003 to attest to its consistent excellence. Even through the reverses of the last few playoffs, the Devils’ reputation was kept alive by achievements like those of this regular season, when they completed No. 2 in the Eastern Conference while allowing the fewest goals in the N.H.L.
That reputation is in tatters. The Devils are 16-26 in playoff games since their 2003 Cup win, 6-16 in their last 22 and 3-7 in playoff games at their new home, the Prudential Center. Lou Lamoriello, the Devils’ president, general manager and overall architect, is aware of how much the team has deteriorated in big-game situations.
But the outburst did not help. Playing under Jacques Lemaire for the first time since 1998, the Devils crashed out as they had under Brent Sutter’s coaching the previous one seasons. The normally courtly Lamoriello lost his temper outside the Devils’ dressing room Tuesday after the Game 4 loss in Philadelphia, reportedly smashing a jar of jelly against a wall. “For us tonight, they definitely must get these demons out of us,” Martin Brodeur said before the game.
For Brodeur, the Devils’ almost-nightly goalie through the decade of glory from 1993 through 2003 and now for the disappointments of the last several years, the team’s demons, and his, will live on in to next season. Boucher wound up with 28 saves, including point-blank stops on David Clarkson, Patrik Elias, Dainius Zubrus and Ilya Kovalchuk, who was easily the Devils’ best forward again. Flyers goalie Brian Boucher, a third-stringer pressed in to service by a rash of injuries, outplayed Brodeur, as he had for most of the series.
The Devils used to be, after the Yankees, the metropolitan area’s most successful franchise, the shining example of a frugally run team that won year after year and had Stanley Cups from 1995, 2000 and 2003 to attest to its consistent excellence. Even through the reverses of the last few playoffs, the Devils’ reputation was kept alive by achievements like those of this regular season, when they completed No. 2 in the Eastern Conference while allowing the fewest goals in the N.H.L.
That reputation is in tatters. The Devils are 16-26 in playoff games since their 2003 Cup win, 6-16 in their last 22 and 3-7 in playoff games at their new home, the Prudential Center. Lou Lamoriello, the Devils’ president, general manager and overall architect, is aware of how much the team has deteriorated in big-game situations.
But the outburst did not help. Playing under Jacques Lemaire for the first time since 1998, the Devils crashed out as they had under Brent Sutter’s coaching the previous one seasons. The normally courtly Lamoriello lost his temper outside the Devils’ dressing room Tuesday after the Game 4 loss in Philadelphia, reportedly smashing a jar of jelly against a wall. “For us tonight, they definitely must get these demons out of us,” Martin Brodeur said before the game.
For Brodeur, the Devils’ almost-nightly goalie through the decade of glory from 1993 through 2003 and now for the disappointments of the last several years, the team’s demons, and his, will live on in to next season. Boucher wound up with 28 saves, including point-blank stops on David Clarkson, Patrik Elias, Dainius Zubrus and Ilya Kovalchuk, who was easily the Devils’ best forward again. Flyers goalie Brian Boucher, a third-stringer pressed in to service by a rash of injuries, outplayed Brodeur, as he had for most of the series.
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