New Jersey Devils: The Streak Is Finally Over

The New Jersey Devils felt like they were going with the same exact playbook on Tuesday night. They got a big lead early in the game after Miles Wood put the team up 3-0. Pavel Zacha and Jack Hughes both had two-point nights early in the second period. Everyone was happy, yet we were all still a little reserved after what happened on Sunday night.

See, the Devils have been breaking our collective hearts all season long. It hit a fever pitch on Sunday when they had a two-goal lead with less than two minutes to go in the game. In what felt like a whirlwind, the game was tied and the Devils were on their way to a loss for the tenth-straight game. (None of this “winless streak” by the way, the Devils are losers of 10 straight going into Tuesday.)

So, when the Flyers made it a 3-1 game with an Oskar Lindblom goal just 15 seconds after Wood’s goal, the “not again” mentality came into play. The Devils were able to hold onto the lead into the third period, but the Flyers once again scored goals one minute apart to make it a tie game. Once again, a 3-1 lead was blown in the third period. At least this one was blown when there was some time remaining.

Lindy Ruff called a timeout to calm the troops. Who knows if that’s what woke everyone up, but it was clearly a necessary move after yet another blown lead. A very unlikely person ended up putting the Devils back up in front.

Connor Carrick scored his first goal since March 6th of last season. He hasn’t played a ton this year, but for him to get a big goal in a big spot meant a lot. You could tell based of the incredible celebration after he scored.

The celebration didn’t last long, as the Flyers scored just over four minutes later. It was Sean Couturier to tied the game again. However, this time it was the Devils who responded quickly.

Yegor Sharangovich scored his 12th goal of the season just 11 seconds after the Flyers tied it. The Devils would add an empty-net goal to seal it. This was an important victory for everyone. The Devils needed this losing streak to end. They don’t want to go down in history as the worst losing streak in franchise history, so making it end after blowing the lead twice was important for a young team like this. The celebrations show the passion is still there. Hopefully, there are more fun moments over the next couple of weeks before the end of the season.