Go West, young man, and find a decent hockey team.
Way out in Newark is where the lone hometown hope resides, the Devils carrying the torch for New York-area hockey — and New York-area winter sports — into the spring. They are a story of redemption and modern retooling. This young energetic group might be flawed and might get overwhelmed if they do hang on to a playoff spot, but they carry with them enough character to warrant attention.
“Our goal was to get to this point in the year where we could play competitive games in March and April and really earn respect back for the Devils uniform,” sparkplug coach John Hynes said before his team’s impressive 2-1 victory over the league-leading Lightning on Saturday night at Prudential Center.