Devils extend winning streak to 8 games with 1-0 win over the Dallas Stars

These aren't the sort of wins that are exactly "drawn up" by a coach or team, and yet at the same time, they are normally what measures a truly great team. The Devils went into the American Airlines Center in Dallas Tuesday night, and managed to leave with two points in a 1-0 regulation win over the Stars. The Devils were out-played for most of sixty minutes, and saw many close calls and Dallas Stars chances go their way.

A furious Jacques Lemaire had pulled his team off the ice, earlier in the day during the teams morning skate, and said that he "thought we were in Hawaii on vacation, but there is no team there," in reference to the Devils lackadaisical demeanor on the ice this morning and the last couple days in practice. Lemaire apparently could see the writing on the wall, since the Devils didn't appear to have the same get up that they have had in recent games.

The Devils held the opposing team scoreless for the first two periods for the 5th straight game, and entered the 3rd tied, 0-0. While on the powerplay, Ilya Kovalchuk extended his point streak to a career high eleven games, when he accepted a Mark Fayne pass at the point and attempted to hammer the puck, only to have his stick break. Luckily for the Devils, Kovalchuk got just enough on the shot for Nick Palmieri to deflect the puck passed Lehtonen at 14:23 of the 3rd period, and give the Devils what would be just enough for them and Johan Hedberg to edge out the Stars.

In a post-game interview by Brian Engblom, Ilya Kovalchuk said "he's magic" referring to Jacques Lemaire. That magic seems to have trickled down to his players, as his team continues to win and at times, wins games that it shouldn't. They've now extended their winning streak to a remarkable 8 games, and are a nearly unimaginable 16-1-2 over their last 19 games. They'll look to extend their winning streak when they head to Tampa Bay Friday night to play the Lightning.

Should the Devils win Friday night, they will have taken thirty-six of a possible forty points over their last twenty games.