Devils aim to raise level of play, starting with game vs. Penguins

The New Jersey Devils punched their ticket to the postseason on Wednesday, one day after their coach declared that his team was not ready to play in its most recent game.

The Devils (41-30-7, 89 points) look to atone for their lackluster performance when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday in Newark, N.J.

New Jersey saw its three-game winning streak come to a screeching halt on Tuesday, courtesy of a 7-2 shellacking by the visiting Boston Bruins. The Devils surrendered the game’s first three goals before Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier scored 19 seconds apart. The good vibes didn’t last long as Boston erupted for four more goals to chase Jacob Markstrom.

“There’s nothing to take from (that game) other than the reminder when we don’t lead with our competitiveness and pace of play and structure, we’re just not very good,” New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe said. “It was very evident from the first shift that we just weren’t ready (to play).”

The Devils officially clinched a postseason berth after the Philadelphia Flyers posted an 8-5 victory over the New York Rangers on Wednesday. That said, the New Jersey players know they have to raise their compete level.

“I think we got to understand we can’t afford to be average; we’re not good enough when that happens,” Devils defenseman Brett Pesce said: We have to stick to our structure, play with more urgency than the other team. If we don’t do that, we don’t have a chance, and you saw that (against the Bruins).”

New Jersey captain Nico Hischier notched an assist on Noesen’s tally to extend his overall point streak to four games (five goals, three assists) and his career-best home point streak to eight games (five goals, six assists).

Hischier, who leads the team with a career-best 35 goals, has two goals and two assists in two meetings this season versus Pittsburgh.

Meier, who has three goals in his last two games, has three points (two goals, one assist) in three contests against the Penguins this season.

While New Jersey is anxiously awaiting the playoffs, Pittsburgh (32-35-12, 76 points) is playing out the string.

The Penguins salvaged a split of a home-and-home series with Chicago by posting a 5-0 victory over the Blackhawks on Tuesday.

Superstar captain Sidney Crosby opened the scoring late in the first period with his 31st goal of the season and 12th in 14 games. The two-time Hart Trophy recipient leads the team in both assists (56) and points (87).

“When I got traded here, you hear stories about Sid, playing against him. … He’s all those stories and more,” said Kevin Hayes, who scored two goals on Tuesday.

“Arguably the best player to ever play. He’s showing it this year. People are talking about him, his age (37). He’s not slowing down. Obviously, we’re not in a position that we would like to be in and he’s leading the way, night and night out.”

Erik Karlsson recorded his 200th career goal and fellow defenseman Kris Letang also tallied in the win.

“It’s obviously a nice one,” Karlsson said. “I don’t know if it is actually a milestone though, but I’ll take it. Been fortunate to play for a long time and score some goals over the years. Hopefully, I’ve got another 100 in me.”

–Field Level Media