NEWARK, N.J. — Coach Lindy Ruff said he has never been as disappointed in a crucial game as he was watching the New Jersey Devils' humbling 6-1 Game 4 loss at home to the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night. «That's a hard one to explain.
That's about as poorly we've skated and supported the puck in any game this year,» said Ruff, whose team trails 3-1 in its Eastern Conference second-round series and faces elimination in Raleigh, North Carolina, on Thursday.
Ruff said the cohesion the Devils showed in their 8-4 win against Carolina in Game 3 was missing in action. «We had guys that just went rogue.
You can't call that lack of experience. Even the power play turned into one man trying to do something and the next guy trying to do something,» he said. «There was no team effort.