It was going to happen eventually and it did tonight when the Devils lost and ended their magical hot streak. Martin St. Louis and Devils killer Simon Gagne scored each had a goal off two face off wins in the 2nd period to lead Tampa Bay to a 2-1 victory. Mark Fayne scored the lone Devils goal. Shots were 30-20 Lightning and Johan Hedberg was the Devils best player in the loss. Kovalchuk continued his point streak at 11 games as he assisted on Fayne's lone goal.
Since the Devils lost and Carolina and the NY Rangers both won, this drops the Devils to 11 points behind the Canes and 14 behind the Rangers. So, every game basically becomes more and more crucial. They have 21 games remaining and at worst they would have to go 18-1-2 to get into the playoffs. Sunday's game at Florida will likely say a lot about what Lou Lamoriello does on Monday, the NHL Trade Deadline at 3 PM ET.
Jason Arnott will speak to Lou after Sunday's game as to whether he will request a trade or decide to ride out their magical run to the playoffs. With tonight's setback, Arnott is likely to give Lou the green light to explore trade possibilities. Other Devils likely to get looked at are Andy Greene, David Clarkson, Dainius Zubrus, Brian Rolston, Adam Mair and Patrik Elias.
I will blog on Sunday on the trade deadline and what moves are likely to be made by other teams and will blog during the playoff regardless if the Devils are in or not.
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