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Ryder says Devils frustrated after franchise-worst winless start

MichaelRyder

The New Jersey Devils have never gone this deep into a season with a win, a fact that’s eating away at some of the players.

“It’s definitely frustrating,” forward Michael Ryder told the New Jersey Star-Ledger. “We know we shouldn’t have a zero in the win column.”

The 0-3-2 Devils, winless through five games to start the season for the first time in franchise history, are now officially feeling the heat. They’ve shown a near-complete inability to hold onto leads, scoring first in four of their five games and infamously blowing a three-goal third period lead in Edmonton on Monday.

New Jersey also has one of the league’s worst power plays (10 percent) and is the fourth-worst in faceoffs (43.5 percent).

Things don’t appear to get any easier in the near future. The Devils do get a struggling Jets team on Sunday, but the game is in Winnipeg at the raucous MTC Centre.

From there, the club travels to Ottawa for a game against the Sens before taking on their heated rivals, the Rangers, at home on Oct. 19.

Despite the gloomy vibe around the team, veteran Patrik Elias is trying to keep things in perspective.

“We’re not 30 games in, are we? It’s five games,” Elias explained. “We’ve been through it many times. It takes a little play, a little thing to turn things around.

“To find a way to win and not find a way to lose.”