"The Devils' repeated failures are magnified now. When it mattered, when they were trying to climb into the ranks of the contenders, their season-long bugaboos haunted them, verifying they're not good enough to hang with the Big Boys.

As they sought to measure up to two of the top teams in the East, their third period follies undid them, just as they have all season.

They're going nowhere until they solve both issues.

Their 4-1 loss to the Flyers in Newark yesterday, when they squandered six power plays, answered the quibble of whether they might have fared better against the Bruins if they'd had more than one power play Thursday, another 4-1 loss."