The New Jersey Devils had a great chance to gain some ground in the race for one of the Eastern Conference’s final two playoff spots on Monday. Instead, the Calgary Flames spoiled that opportunity and greatly reduced the Devils’ chances of making the postseason, beating them 1-0 tonight.
If losing to (an admittedly scrappy) team well outside of the playoff race doesn’t sting enough for the Devils, fans might wince at this one: this regulation defeat clinched a postseason berth for their local rivals the New York Rangers.
Another Devils rival in Philly probably cheered the Flames on tonight, too:
With Devils loss, #Flyers can now clinch a berth by winning tomorrow night in Florida.
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) April 8, 2014
The Devils might point to two players in foiling them: goalie Karri Ramo (a 31-save shutout) and Mark Giordano, who collected the game-winning goal.
Ramo and the Flames clearly frustrated the Devils:
There might be some gripes about a disallowed goal:
Here’s the NHL.com Situation Room Blog explanation:
At 18:34 of the first period in the Calgary Flames/New Jersey Devils game, video review supported the referee’s call on the ice that Ryan Carter kicked the puck into the Calgary net. According to Rule 49.2"A goal cannot be scored by an attacking player who uses a distinct kicking motion to propel the puck into the net.” No goal New Jersey.
Whatever way the Devils spin it, things aren’t looking so hot as New Jersey remains seated at 84 standings points with three games left. Check out their shaky situation via the updated standings: