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Devils clinch 13th straight playoff berth

Image (1) Devs-thumb-250x166-8012.jpg for post 533

With yesterday’s win over the Montreal Canadians, the New Jersey Devils are in the playoffs for the 13th straight season. It’s also the 19th time in 20 seasons the Devils will be in the playoffs. Only the Detroit Red Wings, who haven’t missed the postseason since 1990, have a better run in that span.

Who’s been the most successful dynasty over the past two decades is an argument for another day, but it’s still incredible to see the Devils continue to succeed under the guiding hand of Lou Lamoriello.

“I’ve been here for all 13 of them and I’ve seen a lot of guys come and go, but the attitude is the same,” Brodeur said. “It starts from our boss upstairs with Lou and it goes and trickles down to the guy that plays the least amount of minutes. We’ve always had that attitude that the first step is making the playoffs and after that, well, we try to go for bigger things.”

The Devils aren’t just getting into the playoffs, they’re doing it with incredibly successful seasons year after year. They’re in a battle with the Pittsburgh Penguins for the Atlantic division lead and have a chance to enter the postseason with the second seed in the East.

What the Devils are concerned about is their recent success-- or lack thereof -- once they have reached the playoffs. The Devils haven’t reached the conference finals since 2003, and have exited in the first round in two straight seasons to lower ranked teams.

Finally, and a bit unrelated, but is it really that big of a deal when Ilya Kovalchuk passes off to teammate for an empty net goal and then gives him the puck that marked his 700th point? Congrats to Brian Rolston, but let’s not make too much of Kovy making a simple pass. It happens all the time in hockey.