The Devils' fate was officially sealed Thursday night.
It was unofficially sealed when Olli Jokinen's ill-fated backhand shot on Brian Boucher in the shootout was stopped, combined with Jamie Langenbrunner burying an empty-net shot with two seconds left in the Devils' season finale.
That created a Flyers-Devils first-round matchup. Normally a Devils win and a Rangers loss is a fantastic thing, but it really came back to bite the Devils this time.
If you asked a person involved with the NHL back in December if the Devils would be eliminated in the first round for the third straight season, the answer would have been a resounding "No."
Unfortunately, the Devils seemed to lose a step as the season continued, and seemed to lose several more when the Stanley Cup Playoffs began, falling rather easily to the Philadelphia Flyers in five games.
The offense seemed to take the biggest nosedive of all. In the final three games against Philadelphia, New Jersey scored a total of three goals, all of which were on the power play.
In Game 5, which would wind up being the Devils' final game, they we ...
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Article written by Doug Gausepohl
Third Time Not a Charm for New Jersey Devils: Eliminated from First Round Again
April 24th, 2010 by Doug Gausepohl Leave a reply »
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