The Devils’ current homestand looks more like Custer’s last.
Circling the wagons, Brent Sutter warned that his team is jeopardizing a playoff berth after its second straight blown-lead loss, a 4-2 decision to the Penguins in Newark last night.
“We have something here we have to get shaped up. You can’t afford to lose too many games in a row or you’ll be on the outside looking in,” Sutter said. “We’re dealing with some adversity. It’s going to be how we deal with it and how we respond.
“We’ve let the opposition beat us instead of us doing it. What this month has come down to is too much inconsistency, and the other team’s best players outplaying ours.”
The fallout is that the Devils are one-third through this remarkable stretch of 15 of 18 games in Newark, yet stand 1-4 in those five at home.
“It hasn’t been good,” Paul Martin said. “We need these games. These points are going to be critical.”
This stretch of home games was supposed to cement their eighth Atlantic Division title. Now they’ve fallen to third in the division and sixth in the conference, squandering their remarkable opportunity.
In this homestand, broken up by a 7-3 romp in Philly, they lost start-to-finish to the Isles, then blew leads against the Panthers, Canadiens and now, Penguins. They beat the Leafs, nearly blowing a three-goal lead in winning 3-2.
“We’ve had leads on teams and let it go,” Sutter said. “One thing happens and we forget what makes us a good team.
“It’s our mindset now and the players have to realize it’s an issue we have to deal with.”
In addition, they have lost four straight to the Penguins in New Jersey, including both meetings this season, while beating them three times in Pittsburgh.
They squandered Mike Rupp’s first two goals of the season, and saw their 2-1 lead vanish in the second.
Rupp ended a 35-game drought, to put the Devils in front at 8:54 of the first. On the power play because Jamie Langenbrunner was out with flu, the 2003 Stanley Cup winning goal scorer was on his knees to convert Dainius Zubrus’ rebound on New Jersey’s first power play of the night.
Jordan Staal tied the game 1:12 into the second, coming out of the right corner to the side of the net to see the puck go in off a skate.
Rupp put the Devils back in front at 13:49, recording his fourth career two-goal game. Rod Pelley won an offensive faceoff to Rupp, whose shot went in off the shoulder of Kris Letang.
Pittsburgh answered 52 seconds later. Johnny Oduya’s backpass went off the side of Martin Brodeur’s net and Maxime Talbot was first to it, centering in front where Erik Christensen slipped his seventh around Brodeur.
Only 1:32 after that, the Penguins had their first lead of the night. Evgeni Malkin passed along the end boards to Petr Sykora, who came out the left side to pass through Mike Mottau to Ryan Malone for the back door setup.
Malone opened a two-goal lead for Pittsburgh with a power play goal at 5:21 of the third, backhanding home his second try at Sykora’s rebound.
Penguins 4 Devils 2