Fans and media often like to magnify the importance of a playoff-bound team finishing with momentum to end the regular season. Martin Brodeur, the man who has seen every conceivable hockey scenario, doesn’t believe it really matters how the last two games of the regular season turn out.
Though the Devils have lost seven of their past nine games, Brodeur said a couple of wins would be welcome, but it’s not imperative.
“I know it’s important to feel good about yourself because it’s not a switch you turn on and off, but at the end of the day, it’s not the end of the world either,” Brodeur said. “It’s been up and down the last few weeks, but it doesn’t take much to get back rolling.”
History supports him. The Devils won 11 straight games to close the 2005-06 season, but lost in the second round to Carolina and in the 1999-2000 season, they finished 5-7, but ended up with the Stanley Cup.
“I was thinking back. A couple [of] years ago we won like 10 in a row, or something like that, went into the playoffs and after that we beat the Rangers like nothing and next thing you know .ñ.ñ. right down the drain,” Brodeur said. “There’s no formula to be successful in the playoffs. A lot of it has to be your matchup. A lot of it is your intensity, your luck.”
Nevertheless, coach Brent Sutter said he hopes to see his team rebound from Tuesday’s loss to Toronto and clinch the Atlantic Division, and at least a third seed in the East, tonight in Ottawa (7:30; MSG-Plus 2, WFAN).
“We’ve gotta take these games like they really mean something and get our game in order,” Sutter said. “This is a big time of the year that you’ve really gotta want to step up and play well moving forward.”
How far the team will move forward hinges on its ability to cut back on needless mistakes.
“When you’re in complete control of the puck and you make a play that’s not there to be made and you try to make something out of nothing, it costs you,” Sutter said. “That’s not the way we want to be thinking the game. It’s just paying attention to our detail.”
Brodeur said the team is struggling moving past its errors.
“It seems like we make one mistake and the second shift we’re still thinking about that mistake, and now we’re getting scored on again,” he said. “You have to deal with it. If you don’t react well to [mistakes], we’re gonna be out of the playoffs. We’re living through it now. Maybe it’s a good thing we’re going through that stuff.”
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Sutter said Patrik Elias (groin), who skated yesterday, has made good progress and will be a game-time decision tonight. Niclas Havelid (charley horse) also skated, but he will not make the trip to Ottawa.