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Often brutally honest Jagr ‘proud’ of Devils

Minnesota Wild v New Jersey Devils

NEWARK, NJ - MARCH 20: Jaromir Jagr #68 of the New Jersey Devils in action against the Minnesota Wild at the Prudential Center on March 20, 2014 in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils defeated the Wild 4-3 in overtime. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

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New Jersey Devils forward Jaromir Jagr doesn’t feel inclined to always put a positive spin on things. The latest example of that came on Monday when Jagr bashed the Devils’ “preseason” effort in a game they won 6-3.

So when he does praise his teammates, as he did after the Devils’ critical 2-1 victory over Washington, you can take his statements as genuine.

New Jersey’s win was particularly impressive because the team lost Patrik Elias in the first period. Forwards Adam Henrique and Jacob Josefson were also hurt during the contest.

“That’s probably the toughest and best win we’ve had so far, the way I look at it,” Jagr told the Bergen Record’s Tom Gulitti. “When we have to win, guys went down, we have a lot of new guys and we did it.

“I’m proud of our team tonight.”

The Devils have gotten nine out of a possible 12 points over their last six games, with all of their missed points stemming from shootout losses. The hole they put themselves in was massive though and they are consequently still three points out of a playoff spot with just five games left.

Still, it wasn’t long ago that they looked dead and they’ve managed to hold onto a glimmer of hope. The Devils will play against Carolina tonight.

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