New Jersey Devils Need Win To Maintain Lead In The East

 

Despite having taken two straight games against the Pittsburgh Penguins last week, the New Jersey Devils still find themselves just one game up in the NHL‘s Eastern Conference. If they plan on maintaining that lead they are going to need to secure a win when they play the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday.

It is the second time the two teams have met up this season, with the Devils taking the first meeting in a shutout. They will need to have the same type of performance from goalie Martin Brodeur if they hope to fight off the Flyers once more. The two teams will meet up three more times this season, and if the Atlantic Division remains as tight as it has been, then this series will go a long ways towards determining who will come out on top in this lockout shortened season.

Over the last 10 games, both teams have added five wins to their records, but with a six point lead the Devils will be hard for the Flyers to catch if they do not get a win in this second meeting.

For the Devils, the real concern has to be the Penguins who are challenging them for the lead in the Atlantic. With the Penguins so close behind them and with Sidney Crosby paying as well as he has been, the Devils cannot afford to lose a single game until they create some distance between them and the rest of the Eastern Conference.

 

Jeff Everette is a Featured Columnist for www.RantSports.com. Follow him on twitter @jeverettesports, “Like” his page on FaceBook, or add him to your network on Google+.