Not With a Bang, But a Whimper
It was a fitting finish to a forgettable season. The Devils, “playing” for the fourth and final time since being eliminated from playoff contention a week ago, had nothing on the line but pride. The Boston Bruins were still jockeying for playoff position, hoping to maintain their slim hold on the Eastern Conference’s first wild […]
BOSTON, MA - APRIL 14: Teammates congratulate Viktor Arvidsson #71 of the Boston Bruins during a game between the Boston Bruins and the New Jersey Devils on April 14, 2026, at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Fred Kfoury III/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) | Icon Sportswire via Getty Images It was a fitting finish to a forgettable season. The Devils, “playing” for the fourth and final time since being eliminated from playoff contention a week ago, had nothing on the line but pride.
The Boston Bruins were still jockeying for playoff position, hoping to maintain their slim hold on the Eastern Conference’s first wild card spot. So you can imaging how things went. The Devils no-showed the first period and hung Nico Daws out to dry on multiple occasions, in a non-competitive 4-0 loss to the Bruins on Tuesday night at TD Garden.
The Devils finished with a 42-37-3 record, good for 13th in the conference. New Jersey will miss the playoffs for the second time in three seasons since setting a franchise record for points in 2022-23. The Devils have missed the playoffs in 11 of the last 14 seasons and haven’t made back-to-back postseason appearances since the 2009 and 2010 playoffs.
Tuesday’s finale turned on a nightmare of a first period for poor Nico Daws, starting consecutive NHL games for the first time since he won two-of-three from Feb. 23 to March 1, 2025. With Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler failing to clear pucks, losing coverages, and just generally doing the things they’ve done all season, the Bruins beat Daws with their very first shot on goal before the game was even a minute old.