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Devils believe 14th straight playoff berth is 'possible'


Rock

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http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/devils/devs_believe_th_straight_playoff_7rXqbFWJqmmp7oWXyOhwiO

"It's possible because we just did it," Travis Zajac said. "It's a long way away still. We haven't been thinking about the standings or the playoffs, just about playing well and the wins have been taking care of themselves.

"That has to continue to be our mentality, to continue to get wins and be competitive to the end."

They'd be the hottest team in the league and likely have Zach Parise back in their lineup, and could do major damage.

If. And that's not just a Big If. That's a Record If.

"That's our goal. We have 33 games to get the most points we can," Ilya Kovalchuk said. "We'll see. We'll give it a push.

"We want to be a hard team to play against."

***

Devils coach Jacques Lemaire bemoaned his team's mental and physical states yesterday after the first practice since All-Star break

Edited by Rock
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The Flyers did it last season and I still believe the Devils can do it this year. At least some of the Devils players are now starting to believe too which is a good sign. Carolina also made a good run too in the second half of the season.

Some of you still don't get it...what the Flyers did last season was paddycake compared to what we're supposed to do to make the playoffs. Yeah they were in 14th place in early December, big whoop...they were never 27 points out of the playoffs (our low ebb), they weren't even half that many points behind a playoff spot :P

If anything I don't want the Devils to even entertain the notion of the playoffs right now, cause if we do there's gonna be another jumbo letdown once we lose our next game.

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At this point , to me , its just a case of whatever keeps the team going and keeps them motivated to see out the remainder of the season.

Its always easier to achieve something or get through something if you have a goal to work towards. If the players need a goal to help them through the stretch then i have no problem with them thinking they can do it.

As a fan i wont be getting my hopes up, i will just enjoy any wins that come our way in the process.

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I want the Devils players to keep playing hard, take it one game at a time, and until mathematically eliminated think the playoffs are possible. I also want management to be realistic about things and sell every asset that's not long term at the deadline to the highest bidder.

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The Flyers did it last season and I still believe the Devils can do it this year. At least some of the Devils players are now starting to believe too which is a good sign. Carolina also made a good run too in the second half of the season.

The Flyers came back from 19 games under .500 last season? Really? No, they came back from three games under .500, and they weren't even at the halfway point of the season when they hit that low point. Big difference.

As for the Hurricanes, they were as bad as 13 games under .500 at their low point...that's the level the Devils have reached now, and it took a major surge on the Devils' part just to get there. And even though the Hurricanes did play better, they never even got to .500.

You want to be optimistic, fine, but don't use the Flyers as a comparison point. This 7-1-1 run makes this season a little bit relevant again, from a postseason standpoint, but it's like I said in another post...one three-game losing streak and this team is toast. 731's take on this season makes perfect sense.

For further comparison, the Flyers' and Hurricanes' record at the 50-game mark last season:

Flyers: 26-21-3 (18 points better than the Devils at the same point)

Canes: 15-28-7...same # of points as the Devils. They went 20-9-3 from this point on. Assuming the Devils could do the same, if you add this to their current 7-1-1 binge, and that would give the Devils a record of 27-10-4 to close out the season. That would be a hell of a stretch. And it wouldn't even be good enough to get them to .500 for the season...they'd finish two games under.

Edited by Colorado Rockies 1976
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I want the Devils players to keep playing hard, take it one game at a time, and until mathematically eliminated think the playoffs are possible. I also want management to be realistic about things and sell every asset that's not long term at the deadline to the highest bidder.

^

this

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If we can beat the Rangers tomorrow, itll be a huge energy boost for the team.

I want the Devils players to keep playing hard, take it one game at a time, and until mathematically eliminated think the playoffs are possible. I also want management to be realistic about things and sell every asset that's not long term at the deadline to the highest bidder.

Exactly.

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I dont care what the fans believe. But I want the players to believe its possible until it isnt. Its still a steep climb, but we've seen what this team is capable of during the regular season. Im starting to Believe :boogie: the team has a whole new energy since Jacques got his system back in place. Add MacLean to the M disasters.

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Bottom line is if 87 - 90 points gets them in they need 50 or so points out of 64 possible... A TALL order indeed, but not impossible. While I agree that a playoff berth is not probable I wont say it is impossible for this team. I want them to keep beleiving they can do it and see what happens. If you look at the first part of the season of course you would say it is impossible for this team to get 50 out of 64 points, BUT if you look at their last 10 games or so and more importantly look at how they are winning?? Limiting chances, limiting shots more, playing much more responsibly in their own end, and scoring timely goals, (MUCH LIKE THEY DID the first half of last season when they had the most points in the league through the first 40 games or so...) Who is to say this team couldnt go like

24 - 4 - 4 the last 32 games??? That would give them 89 points maybe enough to sqeak in. (Last Yr. Montreal was no 8 with 88 points) I too will remain optimistic as long as they mathematically can stil get in. Nights like last night with Atlanta, Carolina both losing certainly helps.

GO DEVS keep up the strong play!!!

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I mean come on if you look at 24 - 4 - 4 you say my god there is no way!! but if you break it down its like ok lets win 5 out of our next 7 with 1 loss going to OT that ould be 5 - 1 - 1. Then lets go 4 - 1 - 1 the next 6 after that?? NOt horrible.... Then they "REALLY GET HOT" lol and go like 6 - 0 - 1 in the 7 next games...then like 4 - 1 - 1 then 5 - 1 in their last 6. LOL I have too much time on my hands I guess....

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Again, teams don't see us as a viable threat.

Once the opposition starts believing that this mirage of wins is actually credible we will not be seeing goalies like Robin Lehner, Brian Boucher, Brent Johnson, Chris Mason, and Dan Ellis.

Who the other team puts in net has absolutely zero effect on our improved defense, the fact we're actually playing with a system and passion (unlike earlier this year) or the fact that Marty looks back in form after a dreadful first half.

The only thing it can affect is the offense, but we've frequently been shut down by neophyte goalies too (last night being one of those cases, despite the win) so even then it's somewhat of a question mark.

Edited by NJDevs4978
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Again, teams don't see us as a viable threat.

Once the opposition starts believing that this mirage of wins is actually credible we will not be seeing goalies like Robin Lehner, Brian Boucher, Brent Johnson, Chris Mason, and Dan Ellis.

Say what you want, they beat Dan Ellis (who was the no 1 in Tampa ) before the Roloson trade, and he has a pretty solid record, they came back and beat Roloson anyway... They beat Boucher who may still end up the #1 in Philly they arent sure who they are going with, and we had Hedburg in net anyway that game.

The Devils run no matter what goalies they have played has been solid, and again they have shown much more responsibility in their end, and have limited the opposition chances so I for one dont care which goalie is in net for the other team...

All I can say is I am rooting for Pitt, Detroit and Montreal tonight!!

Edited by PaDevsFan
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The Devils are meant to break records. A comeback like this would be nothing.

The Devils broke the record for playoff wins on the road in '95, then just to show they weren't kidding around they tied their own mark in '00. In '03 they figured, 'What the hell, why not break the record for home playoff wins too?' And they broke it. Remember '06? In January they were 19 points behind Philly for the division title. Then they put together a 29-9-4 stretch that included win streaks of 9 and 11 games (that 11-gamer went to 15 if you count the Rangers sweep, bringing the stretch to 33-9-4) to take the crown in a comeback of record-breaking proportions.

So the Isles set the mark with a 12-point comeback in '94. Big whoop. Sometimes the insurmountable is meant to be mounted. Wait. That sounded dirty. Anyway, we can do this!

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