I just don’t know what to say anymore.  This season has become like one never-ending Peanuts cartoon with Lucy pulling the football away from Charlie Brown time and time again in an endless loop.  Over and over the Devils find a way to keep the game just close enough to frustrate everyone in the end, including themselves.  Whether it’s by blowing late leads, throwing away points against bad teams…or as has been the case for much of the last three games, by somehow finding ways not to score no matter how much they control the game.

Tonight’s loss to Buffalo however ensured a new low point for this Devils team – their seventh straight defeat, which set a new franchise record.  Yes, even the John MacLean Devils somehow managed to avoid losing seven straight games.  Of course, it’s easier to prolong a losing streak now than it was in the early days of Devil history when you actually had to lose a game to lose it.  Four of the Devils’ losses during this streak have been of the overtime slash shootout variety, giving them four points.  Just enough to keep the corpse on life support long past its expiration date (I really want to insert a Terri Schiavo joke but won’t).

I don’t want to hear the Devils are just two – really three – points back of a playoff spot.  They can’t even win any games, unlike their competitors.  Eventually the Devils are going to have to win again to entertain any hope of getting back in the race with just nine games remaining, especially considering they’re not going to have the tiebreaker on anyone with their lack of regulation wins.  Just like when the Devils lost Martin Brodeur and went in the toilet with six straight losses, this team hasn’t won a game since Ilya Kovalchuk got hurt during the Devils’ last win at the Rock against the Panthers.  Coincidentally – or not? – that game was Martin Brodeur‘s 666th career win.  Perhaps 666 really did turn out to be a curse <shudder>

Yes, they’re trying for the most part – although the first few minutes of tonight’s game looked like yet another depressing mail-it-in performance just like the Islander fiasco a few games back.  Pretty much the only good thing about tonight’s game was listening to Dave Strader on the mike.  Never thought I’d be glad to have a game on NBCSN (particuarly since I’m not fond of Ed Olcyzk and Pierre McGuire, but fortunately we didn’t get the main broadcast crew) but I’m getting sick and tired of our own broadcasts constantly talking up the opposition, to say nothing about the amateur hour mistakes by Steve Cangelosi and Chico Resch that are funny when you’re winning but just serve as more annoying when you’re not.

Pretty much the only good thing about this season is it’s almost over.  Nine games remain in what’s been a lost season since the Devils beat Pittsburgh in that home-and-home in mid-February that gave the illusion of the Devils being contending team when they were 8-1-3.  Since then, the record’s been an ugly 7-14-6.  I’ve literally lost count how many games we’ve dropped against non-playoff teams.  Until recently the Devils have earned their bad breaks.  If anything they were lucky they’ve remained in the race for so long despite being god-awful for the better part of two months.  Our bad luck for much of the last three games only serve as our sins coming home to roost, sins from Lou Lamoriello on down.

Failing to address the scoring issue, or the defensive logjam has ultimately come back to bite the team right in their rear end.  I’ve made the joke recently Lou’s been shopping at Woolworth’s to try to stock our forward core in-season, but it’s not really funny now.  Other than Andrei Loktionov, none of the acquisitions have really paid any dividends.  Management needs to be more aggressive trying to replace the scoring that walked out the door when Zach Parise left.  Especially before we completely burn out Kovlachuk increasing his icetime every single year.

Doing a full autopsy is for another day though.  I’ve just had it with everyone and everything right now.  I’m not even going to pretend to make the case the Devils have a shot at the playoffs or that they even deserve to make it.  They have no shot of beating Boston on Wednesday.  No shot, none…and that loss will probably and justly end any illusions remaining that this team can make the playoffs.