PacificDevil

Tri alluded to this before it all went to hell, but sentimentality hurt this team. We kept trying to ride guys who weren't succeeding based on past success. If we'd benched Sal, paid for a new goalie in the offseason, broken up CBGB, traded a guy like Greene for a forward, or any number of other painful, but eventually smart moves, this would have been a better season. I tried to defend some of that stuff, but it definitely hurt. I don't know that any of it matters -- they couldn't win without Marty, and when Marty came back, he was a shell of himself, so they couldn't win with him, and just when they looked like they might steal enough points to sneak in, Kovy went down. I doubt any fixes solve those problems, but if we want to get back to being a contender rather than a team that sneaks in, we have to make the little fixes.

You do realize that when Marty came back and before Kovy went down Devils won 2 games out of 2?

Oh '13 Devils we're going to miss your full potential on display today Florida or not

All of these concerns have an answer.  It's Kovalchuk.  Perhaps some people will finally come around to how good a player he is and how valuable he is to any team, so long as it is coached competently (unlike Atlanta).And perhaps some people will come along to what ought not be a controversial principle that the things that actually win games are goals, not puck possession, shots on goal, driving play or other nonsense.  Kovalchuk is unquestionably the best player on the team at scoring goals and helping others score goals. And what do you know, he goes down, and all the sudden the Devils can't score a single goal against the likes of those titans of goaltending that are Craig Anderson and James Reimer.  This losing steak has nothing to do with luck, unless by luck you mean Kovalchuk getting hurt. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

Just frustrating that Ottawa without Spezza, Karlsson and Michalek could get the job done and hold on to a playoff spot

Wasn't Chicago dead last in PK % and they fired of their assistant coaches responsible for PK? Now they're much better.

Jean-Gabriel Pegeau's 1st goal