Devils may have gotten caught up in Cup contender hype

Only two weeks ago, many were calling the Devils the team to beat in the Eastern Conference. Now, they've lost five consecutive games and just as many are wondering whether they are headed for another first-round playoff exit.

Could it be that the Devils' players were caught up in the talk of a Stanley Cup?

"When things start to come too easy, we start to get little bit distracted and maybe we did that a little bit," Devils captain Jamie Langenbrunner admitted. "We were winning a lot of games and feeling pretty good about ourselves and started patting ourselves on the back a little too much and thinking about May and June instead of playing in March and April. It hasn't been a lack of effort. The effort's there. It's just the mind has been a little bit off."

What was an 11-point Atlantic Division lead over Philadelphia is down to six points and the Devils have only six regular season games to straighten themselves out.

They believe such adversity brings out the best in them.

"What this team has shown is when the adversity is at the most, we seem to rise to the occasion," Langenbrunner said. "It seems like we almost have to have our backs against the wall. It's disappointing because you want to play well all the time, but we put ourselves back in a situation where our backs are against the wall and we have to start fighting our way back out of it and maybe this can be one of those things that, like Marty's injury, will be a blessing in disguise a month from now." 

That they went through a similar slide last season and ended up losing in five games to the Rangers in the first round of the playoffs is a fresh reminder of what can happen if they don't turn it around soon. Langenbrunner is among those who don't like the comparisons to last season, though.

"It bothers me," he said. "I don't think any two situations are the same and I think it's unfair to everybody to say that. We put ourselves in a situation where we have to answer it now and we had a cushion that we were allowed to do this a little bit. Not that you want to do that. But there's stuff that creeps into games and it's happened to a lot of teams. It happened to Boston there for a while where they fell off for a little while and they made the push to get back over the hump. It happened to Detroit. It happened to San Jose. It happens to everyone."

The Devils realize, however, that the only way they can stop the talk about last season is to pull out of this slump and play well in the playoffs

"It's definitely not fun to hear it, but I think it's important to live and learn," goaltender Martin Brodeur said. "We had experiences last year. If you don't take it in and learn from it, why go through adversity? You've got to learn from it. What happened last year was never brought to our attention. We just played and played through the playoffs. Then, after the fact, we hear this year that last year that's what we did.

"Now, we have six more games and we lost the last five. That's a tough situation to be in, but to me that's adversity that if we're able to come out of it, it could be helpful. You never want to create that adversity, but when it's there, it's important. That's the job of the coaches to bring it up to our attention."

The Devils can look back to what they did earlier this season as evidence that they can play better, but they know they must do it now or it their season could soon be over.

"This business is about what have you done for me the last two days, not about the whole season," Langenbrunner said. "That's the way it works, especially around here. That's the way it is and that's fine."

So, the turnaround has to start with Wednesday's game in Pittsburgh.

"It's all about performing. It's about competing and doing," Brodeur said. "You saw in practice today a lot of it was competing one-on-one in battles and driving to the net, doing different things that we got away from in the last few games. How quickly you're able to be good is how quickly you're able to be bad. That's where you have realize the things you do when it is going well. You have realize when it's not going well the reasons for it. You don't just sit tight. It's not that it happened for a game or two. When it's been for five games now, there's something to it. It's tough to get back to the basics and just play.

"It might not happen overnight. We can't just say, 'next game.' We've got to play well...It's going to be a big challenge. These guys (the Penguins) are the hottest team in the NHL. They're playing well and we won't be able to afford a mistake."

Comments

[SteveHatesMadden]

Cup hype?? I just don't think this team is made for the speed and grind of the playoffs. Especially slow guys like Shanny, Rolston, Rupp and of course Madden. Madden is USELESS. What is it that guy actually does now? He can't skate, he lacks any offensive ability and he's one of the few minuses on this team. We all knew that Pandolfo was shot and shouldn't have been resigned, will Lou make the same mistake with Johnny? Thanks for the memories Johnny boy now unlace those skates and walk away.

[dannyd]

Give it a rest, Steve.

[Pearl Jammed]

its easy to say it and to re-focus... but can they actually do it. I still think this team has the chops to make a run at the cup but they have to play with the mental quickness and tenacity they were showing in February, and leave the mess that was the second half of march behind them. If they find their game mentally and that rugged edge then they will be more than ok

[B.C.]

Random question, and a very off topic, but just out of curiousity, how many of you guys are at work when youre on here posting?

[DCdevil]

I wish I had a job....Im so glad someone finally said it in that locker room. No more "well get em next game" crap. Gotta play desperate boys.

[Ilya]

madden is one of the most vital players on this team. He is an excellent penalty killer and a grinder who goes up against the best players on other teams. Thats why you don't see the offensive output from him, he is a shutdown guy. Shanny is brought in for experience, Rupp is a cleanup guy, and Rolston is a big key to our powerplay, I just wish he didnt shoot so much. This is a slump for everyone but Parise and Langy. In each game they are skating around on offense working hard. If everyone else had the dedication each game those two did, maybe they are not as fast, this team will be able to get back to what made them so successful for the majority of the season

[Nick]

How about class in college?

[maddening11]

everyone is saying the right things, lets see what happens

i'm at work when im on the blog. "I'd say in a given week I do about 15 minutes of real, actual work"

[Mike O.]

For me, the Pittsburgh game is the season for the Devils. If they come out with their aggressive play, then we are back in business....if not, then it will be a short playoffs. And it will be their own fault and they will have no one to blame but themselves. Sutter has done all he can do at this point. He has put the ball in the players court now.

[Scratch20]

I'm at work, post from work or home.

[B.C.]

@maddening

Haha, yeah me too, except closer to about 15 minutes a day, rather than week.

[mpf]

People who rip on John Madden don't understand Devils hockey. Period. I was a huge fan of Rolston before he signed here and was really excited when we grabbed him last summer. I really believe it's just an off season (not to mention he's Brent isn't really using him for what he was signed for) and I think we'll see different things from him next season. He's an all star, Olympian, stanley cup winner... give it time. I would be surprised if Shanny and Holik were back next year, and I can still see Pando getting bought out in the summer.

[SteveHatesWeakSlapshots]

madden is one of the most vital players on this team.- I totally diasgree. Who exactly does he shutdown? Sutter doesn't he even match him against anyone anymore. Madden best days are behind him. He should NOT be back next year. Lou can't let his emotions get in the way of whats best for the team. He was a very good Devil and he had some great moments but Lou has to let him walk. Thanks for the memories Johnny.

Shanny is OK in a very very limited role.

If Rolston was such a key player for our PP why isn't he on the 1st unit? He plays on the 2nd unit, he can't get his shot through and it clearly isn't as hard I as I thought. I thought we were getting a Souray or Chara like slapper on the PP. I would've settled for a MA Bergeron slapper on the point. Instead we got an old guy who worked hard for his last pay day. He got it and he clearly doesn't care anymore.

[Pearl Jammed]

i post from both, but during the day... yeah i am at work. I just wish there was more work to do :(

[Scratch20]

Steve, you just hate everything, it's getting tiresome

[Mike O.]

Madden will be back next year. He might have to take a hometown discount but he will be back.

[SteveHatesThatHeDoesn'tHateScratch]

I don't hate you Scratch. Your posts are informative and well thought out. Good job.

[Captain Cornholio]

The Devils arrived in Pittsburgh at 4:27.

[stevehatessteve]

I hate me.

[Scratch20]

Hahaha, thanks Steve.

[SteveHatesNotHavingTheAbilityToCutTiesWithThePast]

Why does Madden have to comeback? What does he bring to the table? I don't care about hometown discounts we have to move on from certain old guys who have nothing left, ie. Pandolfo.

[Pat]

We talked about lines earlier. If we're really going to mix things up, let's do:

Parise - Zajac - Elias
Rolston - Zubrus - Langenbrunner
Shanny - Madden - Gionta
Rupp/Pando - Holik - Clarkon

Salvadore - Martin
Oduya - Havelid
White - Mottau/Greene

That puts our O/D combos back in place and only has one forward playing out of position.

[Sohl]

THE CAPTAIN IS BACK!!! god finally, i missed seeing all about the flight times lol

[B.C.]

To say anyone on this team worked hard for their last pay day, and then gave up once they got it is ridiculous. I just really cant see anyone on this team not giving all they have. You got the potential to be one of the best, if not the best team in the league, and you have a legitimate chance to win a Stanley Cup. I cant see how any professional hockey player would just give up with a chance like this. Granted, yeah, theyre having a rough patch, but i still got all my faith in the team, as a WHOLE.
I dont usually like to bash on peoples opinions here, but youre crazy Steve.

[Robbie]

Welcome back Cornholio. I was wondering what happened to you when you weren't on during live blogs.