Devils running out of time to make playoffs

By Bud L. Ellis

At the halfway point of the season, the New Jersey Devils could not even see the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

A red-hot second half of the season has pulled the Devils within sight of the final postseason slot in the East, but there is plenty of traffic ahead and not a lot of time left to make the final move.

New Jersey sits in 12th place in the East, nine points behind eighth-place Buffalo. The Devils are tied with Atlanta at 72 points, while Carolina is ninth and Toronto sits in 10th.

The Devils have won six of their past 10 games, but need an even better showing in their final nine games if they want to make things interesting in the final two weeks of the season.

New Jersey plays at Pittsburgh on Friday, then can draw closer to the Sabres with a game Saturday at Buffalo.

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Wednesday, March 23, 2011 at 7:55 pm by bud

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