Devils exorcized
PITTSBURGH This could be a troubling sign for Martin Brodeur, the Devils and the rest of the Eastern Conference. The more the Pittsburgh Penguins keep winning at home, the more likely it becomes they'll be playing there frequently once the playoffs start.
The Penguins kept their late-season surge going, finishing up the most productive homestand in franchise history by roughing up Brodeur and the Devils during a 6-1 victory Wednesday night that extended New Jersey's losing streak to six games.
"They're a different team," Devils coach Brent Sutter said.
No kidding.
Last season's Eastern Conference champions were in 10th place in the East only six weeks ago, but the Penguins have reversed themselves by going 15-2-3 under interim coach Dan Bylsma and 6-1-1 during the longest and best homestand they've ever enjoyed.
"Everyone's stepped up their game collectively and, with the situation that we were in, the scenario, that's what we needed," said Sidney Crosby, who had a goal and an assist to close to within a point of his third career 100-point season.
Not that long ago, it would have seemed nonsensical to suggest the Penguins might enjoy home-ice advantage for at least one round of the playoffs, or that New Jersey might not finish first or second in the East.
Now, after going 13-1-2 since Feb. 25, the Penguins are tied in points with Philadelphia for the fourth spot and home-ice advantage for at least the first round.
"We talked about not spending too much time looking behind us, our goal is looking ahead of us and trying to catch Philly," defenseman Mark Eaton said.
For a change against New Jersey, which won three of the first five games in the season series, this one came easily for the Penguins.
Matt Cooke and Bill Guerin got Pittsburgh going by scoring 36 seconds apart in the first period. After that, Evgeni Malkin increased his NHL-leading points total to 108 with a power-play goal. And Crosby deflected Kris Letang's shot for only his second power-play goal in 56 games and the first of two Penguins goals in 13 seconds.
Clearly, the Devils can't wait to get home for Brodeur night ceremonies Friday after going 0-5-1 in their last six, a slump that has dropped them three points behind second-place Washington.
"Everything's a struggle for us right now, and it ends up in the back of our net every time we do something wrong," leading scorer Zach Parise said. "But we'll get through it."
The question is when. Last season, the Devils didn't recover from a late-season five-game losing streak and wound up losing in the first round of the playoffs.
The Penguins had scored six goals against NHL career victories leader Brodeur only once previously, during a 6-3 victory in Pittsburgh on March 11, 2006.
Unlike Friday, when he will be honored for recently breaking Patrick Roy's record for goalie victories, this wasn't Brodeur's night.
"It was a tough night," he said.
