N.J. Devils: The Ides of March

From the desk of:  THE BRICK CITY STYX

It's Now a Twelve Game Season

New Jersey Devils did not survive the Ides of March unscathed, but have emerged alive and well, and remain Wild as ever.

Some of these young demons couldn't grow beards even if slapped in the face with seeds and fertilizer.  If they start now, maybe over the next 23 days they at least develop a representative five o'clock shadow.

Because on April 7 the NHL regular season comes to an end, giving the upstart Devils exactly twelve games left to either establish themselves as a worthy post-season participant, or end up as just another team that fed off a great October harvest but in the end ultimately came up one serving short in Spring.

The latter would be an unfortunate narrative for a team that, after all, is in the midst of a full-blown rebuild.  But when you're this close to the end, and can see the finish line, no one wants to hear about rebuilding.  Apparently neither did Ray Shero, and that's why he fortified the team before the trade deadline.

That being said, the Devils playoffs started in earnest the day they fell out of sixth place of the Eastern Conference standings.  Since then, they've maintained a precarious grip on the Wild Card.

Indeed, two losses against Las Vegas and Winnipeg at the Rock chimed ominously like bells suggesting the time for turning into a pumpkin would soon arrive.

However, the Devils obviously have a different ending in mind, and so far have hit the road like bats out of hell.  Facing off against the league's best of the West, Newark first took a huge bite out of the menacing Predators at Nashville, then doubled-down at Las Vegas with an 8-3 victory over the President Trophy candidate Golden Knights.

Next on their itinerary is Los Angeles, where a desperate Kings team will host the Devils this Saturday afternoon.  After which, the Devils travel to Anaheim, San Jose, and back to Pittsburgh for another showdown against the Penguins, then must host the Tampa Bolts the very next night.

The Devils opened this road trip achieving two huge victories.  But the Columbus Blue Jackets defeated the Flyers Thursday, bumping the (inactive) Devils down a notch  into eighth place of the conference standings.

To date, Newark is 36-26-8, and their 80 points are a dwindling three points better than ninth place Florida.  The Panthers have 77 points, but have two very important games in hand.

Newark and Florida do not face off against each other again, and so the Devil's are effectively engaged in a battle against time.

This is a photo finish in the making.