Devils Baffled By Leafs: Trouble Ahead for Devils?

On Tuesday night, the Devils tried to extend their two-game winning streak by beating the Toronto Maple Leafs, but that never happened.

The end result would be 4-1 Leafs, with the Devils out shooting the Leafs 48-18. The Devils went 1-for-4 on the power play, but could not capitalize on a five on three in which one of the penalties was a double minor.

Let's face it, the defense has been absolutely inconsistent over the last 10 games, and it cost them valuable points in the playoff race. They only needed one point or a Flyers loss to the Panthers to clinch the Atlantic Division but, both of those didn't happen.

The Devils currently sit in third place in the conference standings with the second place Capitals, four points up on the Devils, and the fourth place Flyers five points back of the Devils.

If the Devils are not careful, they could end up blowing their division lead to the Flyers, which would not be a good way to enter the playoffs.

If the season ended today, the Devils would play the Atlantic Division rival Pittsburgh Penguins.

As a Devils fan, I watched the meeting between the two teams on April 1 and after the 6-1 pasting the Pens put on the Devils, I'm not exactly excited to think of playing them in a playoff series.

The bottom line is the Devils need to WAKE UP, before their defensive slump costs them the division title or worse, an early playoff exit.