ATLANTA — The Devils’ season isn’t half over, but it’s over.
They don’t own a white flag in the franchise, but the captain isn’t certain some of his teammates haven’t found one.
“I hope not, but games like tonight make you wonder,” Jamie Langenbrunner said after the hapless Devils were humiliated 7-1 by the Thrashers last night.
This was the worst defeat since 2008 for the Devils, who have lost seven out of their last eight.
How low must they go? Last week’s surprise was John MacLean’s survival as coach. Now it’s double jeopardy, but it hardly matters.
It looks like even legendary coach Scotty Bowman couldn’t get them into the playoffs now. Nor 2001 Cup champ Bob Hartley, a former coach of Ilya Kovalchuk, who is looking for an NHL job and was in attendance last night while moving possessions to Canada, where he is doing a television show.
But barring a deal for an offensive defenseman, a coaching change might be all general manager Lou Lamoriello has left.
Continuing to plumb new depths of stunning ineptitude at 9-21-2, the Devils matched the second-longest road-losing streak in New Jersey history of eight games, and suffered their worst loss since a 7-1 defeat in Pittsburgh on March 22, 2008.
“It was a bad effort, an embarrassing effort,” MacLean said. “Not good.”
The Devils have been outscored 28-10 in their road losing streak, exceeded only their 10-game road skid of 1983-84.
For the 18th time in 32 games, they were held to one goal or fewer.
“If we do make it, we’ll be crawling into it,” Martin Brodeur said of the playoffs. “There’s still time. There’s still hope.”
But there is little reason to believe. The Devils thought they were improving after MacLean’s reprieve last week, then lost by a combined 10-2 on consecutive nights.
“That’s not how a National Hockey League team is supposed to play,” Langenbrunner said. “We seem to be [falling] further and further back.”
For the second straight night, the Devils gave up the opening three goals — this time, all in the first period. Ron Hainsey, then Eric Boulton, with the first of his three, and 38 seconds later, Evander Kane. Andrew Ladd made it 4-0 in the second, and Martin Brodeur soon was replaced by ex-Thrasher Johan Hedberg.
Ilya Kovalchuk, in his second visit as a Devil to his former team, scored New Jersey’s goal, and stretched his point streak to five games.
Boulton scored twice more in the third for his first career hat trick and Chris Thorburn completed the rout.
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Hartley, the former Thrashers coach, said he was not here to talk with Lamoriello.
Hartley said he was moving his effects back to Canada, where he’s doing a TV show, but is still interested in NHL coaching. He beat the Devils with Colorado for the 2001 Stanley Cup, and had success with Kovalchuk in Atlanta.
His name was raised in speculation if John MacLean were to be replaced.
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Lamoriello said defenseman Matt Taormina has stopped skating after re-aggravating his high ankle sprain. Defenseman Mark Fraser (broken hand) and center Jacob Josefson (thumb) are skating and will seek doctors’ clearance to practice this week. . . . The Devils visit the Capitals on Tuesday.