It might only be mid-December, but the New Jersey Devils realize that they’re letting too many games slip away.
Surprisingly solid forward Scott Gomez expressed a sense of hope and urgency to the Bergen Record.
“Let’s face it, it’s getting into December here,” Gomez said. “The effort’s there. We’ve just got to find a way. You know how it is. You don’t want to fall behind.”
Gomez also added that “you’re not pushing the panic button,” although snarky folks might say that adding him to the mix constitutes jabbing it at least once or twice.
Whether you look at things since the beginning of this month or go back to November, it’s been mostly negative for New Jersey. The Devils are currently on a three-game losing streak and have dropped nine of 11 games. They came into November with a respectable 5-3-2 record and now find themselves at 11-15-5, ranking them 13th in the East.
Even with linemate Michael Cammalleri suffering a lower-body injury during last night’s 4-3 loss to the Dallas Stars, it sounds like Jaromir Jagr ranks among those who haven’t given up hope yet.
That optimism is nice, yet if things don’t begin to turn around, that panic button might just get worn out.