Nj-new Jersey Devils Winless in Last 7, Playoffs Looking More Risky

Time is running out for the New Jersey Devils. The defending Eastern Conference champions are winless in their last eight games (0-3-4) and have gone only 2-7 in shootouts so much in 2013, including Sunday night's 3-2 SO damage at Buffalo. It is a cry from last time, when Nj-new Jersey completed a 12-4 in the post-overtime extra session. Needless to say, additionally they had shootout consultant and currently-injured superstar Ilya Kovalchuk entirely functional this past year, who decided eight of these games among his 11 shootout targets. Kovalchuk has been sidelined with a shoulder injury experienced last month from the Florida Panthers at the Prudential Center, but he is anticipated to begin skating again soon. Ironically, the Florida game marked the last time the Devils won, a triumph on March 23. "Last year, we lived on it (shootouts) and this year itas actually hurting us," said Devils mind coach Pete DeBoer at NJ.com following reduction at Buffalo, New Jersey's seventh right problem. "Itas annoying. I was proud of our energy and how hard we worked. But again, we keep items on the table." An extra eight points could set the Devils, now sitting in ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings and two points out of a playoff spot, comfortably in sixth place with 47 points. Instead, they are 15-14-10 over all, tied with Winnipeg at 40 points and trying to leapfrog both local rivals New York Rangers and New York Islanders for a playoff situation with just eight regular season games remaining in this lockout-shortened 2013 season. New Jersey's greatest winless ability since early in 1986 has also usually stoic goaltender Martin Brodeur concerned. The Devils focused Buffalo for long stretches on Sunday night in The Beginning Niagara Arena, outshooting the Sabres by a 37-22 margin. One evening after a loss at Toronto, and three days after a loss at Boston, however, they could handle no more two goals. The first was a power-play strike by Steve Sullivan, his first rating in a Devils uniform since his first stint with the group ended in 1997. Before the Devils went scoreless in the shootout, the second was a tally by Mark Fayne, create by a yeoman effort by recently came back Dainius Zubrus. Patrik Elias may have been tripped on his shootout attempt by Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller, but the puck still kept out, and the Devils again went down to defeat after Buffalo's Nathan Grebe scored the only purpose in the shootout. "We canat look back. Today, weare in a hunt," said Devils standard supervisor Lou Lamoriello at the Fire & Ice website. "This is nothing new. Place got to just continue do what weare doing and perhaps not be concerned about the end result. Let that look after itself.a The Devils is likely to be looking in on the outside the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second time in three years, when it doesn't in the next 19 times.

Link: [Soccer Live] HNK Hajduk Split - HNK Cibalia Vinkovci - Croatian League