Devils' Playoff Hopes Crushed, Coach's First Loss

0:00On April 8th, the New Jersey Devil saw their slim playoff dreams die Tuesday night, with a 5-to-1 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers at Prudential. Sensor. This defeat officially knocked them out of contention, especially after their general manager got fired just 24 hours earlier. The Flyers boosted their own odds by about 34% with the win. Jacob Marchham had a rough outing in then, stopping only 11 of 16 shots, and the defense left him hanging with turnovers and bad pinches that. Sparked, odd man rushes. Coach Sheldon Keefe pointed out they basically handed the Flyers two early goals, facing a squad that's been rock solid defensively since the Olympic. Break. Jack Hughes, who's been on fire with 34 points leading the leagues since late February, came up empty for the first time in a while despite six scoring chances. The doubles are way better when he lights the lamp, winning over 60% of those games compared to just 40% without his production. Keefe called the season embarrassing, his first miss in 20 years of coaching, and it stings extra amid the front-office shake-up.

1:04The team sits at 40 wins, 35 losses, and three ties now, middle pack and most defensive stats. They bounce back Thursday at home against the Pittsburgh Penguins at 7 p.m. Eastern, looking to build momentum before the offseason hits. Stay locked in with NHL News today. AI Powered Updates, I'm Corey with The Story.