It’s only probably preposterous now. The Devils can actually cool off — slightly — and make the playoffs.
To reach 88 points, the Devils had to go 33-8 starting Jan. 9. They’ve exploded to a 15-1-2 tune, whittling that Preposterous Dream to a far more believable 17-6 finish. They can even get halfway to the 66 points they needed since that low point when they visit Jamie Langenbrunner and the Stars tomorrow in Dallas.
Guarding against any overconfidence, assistant coach Larry Robinson gathered the Devils during practice yesterday to deliver a calm, measured, but heartfelt reminder that there won’t be any miracle if their intensity falls off.
Jacques Lemaire made it clear he wasn’t irked by his team in yesterday’s unexpected workout following three vital — and convincing — victories in four nights. They could be forgiven for relaxing a moment, except they won’t be, because they can’t. They’ll need every bit of any extra room for error they’ve earned. They can drop 12 points in their final 23 games to still hold any postseason hope.
“Everybody’s saying, ‘You guys are winning because there’s no pressure on you.’ No pressure? Every game we play is pressure. Really, they all are big games for us,” said Brian Rolston, who turns 38 today.
“But we feel like a team now. That’s something we didn’t have earlier,” added Rolston, who has three goals in four games, and eight in this 18-game explosion. He scored his 10th in Saturday’s 4-1 victory at Carolina, the start of four straight road games.
Lemaire made the right call Saturday by sticking with Johan Hedberg in net for the second straight night. Hedberg has won all six games since Martin Brodeur suffered a sprained right knee ligament Feb. 6. Brodeur was activated and deemed ready to play Friday, and backed up Hedberg the past two games.
Wise coaches solve difficult goaltending decisions by sticking with the winner until he loses, and Lemaire agreed that, “So far, you can say that,” but wouldn’t reveal tomorrow’s choice.
Brodeur said last week he understands the decision to stick with Hedberg. Hedberg said yesterday he’d understand going back to the NHL’s all-time record-holder with 1,114 games, 615 victories and 114 shutouts.
“Why wait for something to break? Maybe you should do it before a loss. I’m not going to argue if they decide to go with Marty,” Hedberg said.
Lemaire hasn’t made many missteps lately, perhaps only using a five-forward power play that gave up a late short-hander to erase a lead they ultimately blew in OT, the last time they dropped a point to anyone, Feb. 4.
But like Paris, Brodeur is always a good idea.
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In what seems a year ago, the Devils scored twice in the first 11 minutes, Zach Parise and Travis Zajac, both set up by Ilya Kovalchuk, before they blew that 2-0 lead to lose the season opener to Dallas 4-3 in OT in Newark Oct. 8.
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The Devils tomorrow will seek to match the eight-game winning streak that was their longest last season . . . Colin White again sat out practice for rest . . . Kovalchuk’s point streak has reached 10 games, matching Parise’s longest of last season.
mark.everson@nypost.com