NEWARK, N.J. -- Even if the Penguins are to make the playoffs, it would come as a surprise if their first-round opponent doesn't make rather quick work of them.
That's anything but a news flash, but it's merely been solidified after they dropped an absolute dud and lost, 5-1, to the Devils in the biggest game all season here at the Prudential Center Tuesday night.
Aside from a particularly dominant stretch in November and the first half of December, the Penguins have failed to string together even so much as a two- or three-week stretch in which their performance suggested they could give the Eastern Conference's top teams a legitimate challenge in the Spring.