This game is precisely the sort the Devils must win if they’re hoping to claim the Eastern Conference title. Failure would be another calamity.
Still rocked by losing their sixth of six (0-3-3) this season to the Rangers Wednesday, the Devils will try to recoup tonight in Newark against the expiring Islanders, whom they’ve beaten only once in six (1-4-1) meetings this season.
“We’ve talked it all over. Now it’s time to move on,” Martin Brodeur said of Wednesday’s 2-1 shootout loss, less than five minutes from an inspiring 1-0 victory.
“We have to make it a point to come back from that. The guys are all right. We feel really good about our effort. We played a real good game. We just didn’t score enough goals.”
With Rick DiPietro done for the season from hip surgery yesterday, losers of six straight, last in the division and 11 points out of a playoff berth with eight games left, the Islanders are about to go another year without winning a playoff series, something they last accomplished by dethroning the Penguins in 1993. Demoralized teams are sometimes dangerous.
The Devils visit Nassau April Fool’s Day, and these two constitute their last games this season against a team out of a playoff berth yesterday.
Brent Sutter wants his Devils to be wary of looking beyond the Isles to tomorrow’s visit to Pittsburgh.
“We’ll try to guard against that and address that with the players,” Sutter said. “It doesn’t matter who we’re playing. We want to be a good team. This team doesn’t win many games when it doesn’t play well.”
The Devils will be without Patrik Elias tonight and tomorrow with flu and a bruised knee. While Travis Zajac has one assist in Elias’ usual spot, back with Jamie Langenbrunner and Zach Parise, the linemates Zajac spent so much time with last year, Elias’ absence was felt Wednesday.
Elias and Jay Pandolfo occupy adjacent locker room stalls in Newark, and Pandolfo left Wednesday’s game with flu, and did not practice yesterday, although Sutter said he expects Pandolfo to play.
Elias held out hope of playing tonight, but Sutter immediately dismissed the idea.
“I didn’t feel good Monday, and I took major antibiotics, and it got worse the next day,” Elias said. “It’s something that’s going around. I’m just glad it didn’t last long.”
Their offense has been a season-long snicker, costing them again Wednesday. They need all the Eliases they can find, not fewer.
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Sutter said he expects to use the same lineup that lost to the Rangers Wednesday. Andy Greene and Karel Rachunek sat out that game. Bryce Salvador didn’t practice but held out hope of playing tonight . . . Isles remain without Bruno Gervais (concussion), Andy Hilbert (ankle) Ruslan Fedotenko (knee), Brendan Witt (knee) and Frans Nielsen(shoulder).