The New Jersey Devils had little effort on Tuesday night. The Boston Bruins, winners of just one game in their last 11, are basically running out the string until Game 82 ends and they can take their vacations or go to the World Championships. Meanwhile, the Devils can clinch a playoff berth with literally any points in this game.
That's why it was so surprising to see the result. The Devils lost to the Bruins 7-2. After going down 3-0, the Devils scored two quick goals in the second period to make it 3-2. Jacob Markstrom let in a softee right before the period ended, and that was the end of that. The Devils never recovered from the late-second period goal, which was a floater that got past Markstrom. The Bruins scored quickly in the third period, and the rest of the game turned into larger levels of embarrassment.
This isn't new for Devils fans. There are quite the number of blowouts on the schedule. It started with giving up eight goals to the Tampa Bay Lightning in October. They had a few 3-0 and 4-0 shutouts against them. Then there's the 5-2 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes in late December that turned this team from title contender to barely holding onto a playoff spot.
The Devils have been blown out 12 times this season. We consider a blow out a game where they lose by three goals or more. It sounds like a lot, but many good teams have double-digit such losses. The Toronto Maple Leafs have been blown out 15 times this season. The Carolina Hurricanes, who the Devils will be playing in the playoffs, have been blown out 13 times this season. The Devils are about where they should be in the stat.
Yet, the Devils hold an advantage that most teams do not. The Devils do not let blowouts turn into strings of losses. After a loss of 3+ goals, the Devils have a 7-3-1 record. They can add an eighth win on Friday when they face off with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Bouncing back from these terrible losses is a testament to this team and head coach Sheldon Keefe.
As frustrating as this season has been, the Devils have weirdly shown tenacity. Bouncing back over and over again shows this is more than a fluke. This is a trend. They don't let these blowouts impact them. They shake it off and move on to the next.
The New Jersey Devils don't care about blowouts based on their record
That's important come playoff time. The Devils can't let losses snowball in the postseason. They need to shake it off completely. This is especially true for a team like they are now. They need too much to go right for them to win games against the Carolina Hurricanes, who are dealing with their own issues after back-to-back blowout losses to the Boston Bruins and Buffalo Sabres.
The Devils shouldn't keep getting blown out. We don't like them when we're on the wrong side of it. Still, we can't overreact to them. The Devils don't see to care about them. Why should we?