Devils’ skid reaches three with shutout loss to Isles

By Bud L. Ellis

It’s not time to push the panic button. But three losses in a row has the New Jersey Devils concerned.

The Devils’ mini-skid continued Monday night, losing their third in a row in regulation in a 4-0 shutout defeat to the New York Islanders.

And it started early: The Islanders scored just 1:07 into the game and never looked back. It was 2-0 just four minutes into this one. New Jersey mustered just 11 shots on goal in the first two periods. Future Hall of Fame goaltender Martin Brodeur was yanked after two periods, and a shaky defense could be blamed just as much for the poor showing by New Jersey.

The Devils remain atop the Atlantic Division, four points ahead of Pittsburgh and in third place in the Eastern Conference standings. But a 5-5-0 mark in their past 10 games and the three-game losing streak isn’t the way the Devils wanted to surge going into the weeks leading up to the Olympic break.

New Jersey looks to right the ship Wednesday when the Devils play host to Florida.

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Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 5:35 am by bud

Tags: Florida Panthers, Martin Brodeur, National Hockey League, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins