The Devils must believe in the Preposterous Dream. They’ve mailed out ticket invoices for the first two rounds of the playoffs.
They wouldn’t have dared that if they didn’t bring a 19-2-2 run into Nassau Coliseum this afternoon to face the Islanders. They’re the talk of the NHL, trying to shatter the 12-point record for the biggest qualifying comeback, out by 27 on Jan. 8.
Yet the Devils’ multi-record holder who has never missed the playoffs in his NHL career, 13 straight seasons, has been among the most cautious about their chances. Strategy, baby.
“Just because you’re quiet about it doesn’t mean it isn’t important to you,” Patrik Elias said. “We have a lot of young guys here. It could give you a different approach, make you tight, like when you’re protecting a spot. We’re having success the way we’re approaching it, and we don’t want too much pressure on anybody.
“You don’t want to miss the playoffs, so the last 25 games mean a lot. But we have a long way to go.”
There Elias goes, being cautious again. He holds the franchise records for 40 career playoff goals, 77 assists and 117 points. He turns 35 April 13, and that could be the opening game of the postseason.
“If it could happen, it would be great,” Elias said.
The Devils are opening a stretch of six straight against their fellow non-playoff teams. Sweep that half-dozen and they’d need only a 7-5 finish for 88 points, perhaps enough to make their 14th straight playoffs.
They have 40 points in 23 games in the second half of the season, and if they continue that pace, they’d wind up with 93.
“That’s ‘if,’ ” Elias said. “It can change quickly. How many one-goal games have we won [11 in their last 15 games]? We could easily have lost a point or even two in those games.”
Elias was easily the Devils’ best player during their miserable first half. Now that they’re winning, the franchise’s all-time points leader has only one goal in his past 16 games, but insists he isn’t burned out.
“I feel all right,” Elias said. “The games are tough. They’re tighter, teams are playing more defensively. But when we find a way to win, it seems easier.”
That’s almost all they’ve done lately.
Martin Brodeur is slated to make his fourth straight start, having allowed one goal in each of his last three. He stands 11-1-1 since returning from a knee strain. . . . The Devils had to practice at 11:30 a.m. yesterday because of a boxing match on their practice rink last night.
“Basketball, boxing, circus. We’re the circus,” coach Jacques Lemaire said. . . . Lemaire said he doesn’t think this half’s team is any better than last season’s first-half team, which went 30-10-1. “We’re getting more points, but I don’t think as a team we’re that much better, all around,” he said. “Zach [Parise] is not there and we’re missing two good defensemen [Bryce Salvador and Matt Taormina].”