The New Jersey Devils may not have showed much jam against the Philadelphia Flyers but their general manager Lou Lamoriello did.
In fact, after New Jersey lost Game 4 and fell behind 3-1 in the series, Lamoriello was so hot he picked up a jar of jam from the team's post-game food spread and hurled it against a dressing-room wall. The Newark Star-Ledger reported the jam-burst, which showered some of the players' suits.
There was no immediate word on what the feisty Lamoriello did last night when his team became the first to be eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs. More importantly, it's what Lamoriello does with his on-ice personnel that matters most.
The Devils have fallen on hard times in the postseason. The Star-Ledger reported New Jersey is now 5-15 in their last 20 playoff games and has reached the second round only twice since winning the 2003 Stanley Cup. At 38, goalie Martin Brodeur looked vulnerable while there wasn't enough push back against a Philadelphia side that had injury concerns late in the series.
Underperforming forward Ilya Kovalchuk isn't expected back next season but that addition through subtraction won't be enough to prevent another early exit from next year's Stanley Cup playoffs. The Devils are in a sticky situation, and their GM is in a pitching mood.