Welp another day, another Devils defeat. And also another day, another major Devils injury. If this season wasn’t so catastrophic, the predictability would be laughable. Of course the game is of (at best) secondary importance with Binghamton losing to a Caps team only half-trying by three goals. Honestly I didn’t really want us to help the Isles or Pens win the division anyway, for whatever that’s going to be worth in the playoffs. So losing had a double benefit – both in the lotto and screwing slightly bigger rivals. Whatever…eight more useless games left, we might as well just throw up the white flag before anyone else winds up in a body cast.

Tonight’s unfortunate walking wounded was Kyle Palmieri who left early, looking frighteningly limp trying to struggle off the ice early in the first period with an upper body injury, not to return. I picked a great game to go to for my first in a few weeks, eh? Actually I spent half my time there watching the FDU college basketball play-in game, at first on my phone during the first period, then when the feed stopped working I went down to the new mini-sports lounge during the intermission and had to stay there for the first few minutes of the second period as the game finished. My quasi-alma mater (I went to Madison, but Teaneck’s the sister school) earned their first ‘NCAA tournament win’ and entry into the main part of the draw in a thrilling finish.

Fortunately I missed the Caps’ second goal going back up the stairs during a stoppage early in the second period, heard it was a real beaut of a play by Connor Carrick though (sarcasm evident). Unfortunately goalie Mackenzie Blackwood also had an off night, allowing multiple ehhh goals around some good saves, guess the team’s suckiness is finally starting to rub off. Thank goodness he’s only got a few games left to play in this sad sack of a season. Just End The Season goes well with one of my other teams…what would be the equivalent for the Devils? Losing Season for the last two letters is as far as I’ve gotten so far, something else to ponder with gallows humor I suppose.

I did set a dubious new personal record tonight, earliest I’ve ever left a game. I was gonna hang in there till the second intermission at least but with the ‘national telecast’ 7:30 start I was less willing to stick it out once the Caps stuck the fork in us late in the period with a quick pair of goals to go up 4-1. Sadly I was far from the only one leaving at that point and it was actually a fairly well-attended game for a meaningless Tuesday night. Too bad none of the attendees were anyone I knew, so that was also less of a reason to stick around. At least it wasn’t a shutout I suppose, and the only goal came from Morristown native Kenny Agostino so that was nice anyway, amusing as well since it came with a mere second to go in the first period. Guess it was a good day for Jersey athletes, other than most of the ones in Devil sweaters pretending to be NHL players I suppose.

Sure enough, my decision to leave was justified given nothing else happened of worth the rest of the night. Thankfully at least no more goals went past Blackwood, unlike the Calgary fiasco a couple weeks ago. At this point we have to settle for small victories until the next time we get to hope for a big one…during the lotto for the second time in three years. Can we just rewind the clock to October when we destroyed this same Caps team 6-love?!