Devils concerned about backsliding

Back when the Devils had just won five straight games, more than one member of the group talked about creating space between themselves and the teams below them in the Eastern Conference.

The Panthers, who were in Newark on Saturday, are one of the teams they were talking about. And even though Florida currently holds the No. 3 spot by virtue of leading the Southeast Division, they are one of the teams the Devils have to worry about.

Saturday, the Devils lost to the Panthers -- their second straight loss, both at home, as their six-game points streak came to an end.

"It's a little bump in the road here," goalie Martin Brodeur said after losing to former backup Scott Clemmensen and his team.

The Devils, who visit the Sabres on Tuesday night, scored just 1:39 into the game and dominated early. Then, it stopped.

"I think we came out well the first 10 minutes," said coach Pete DeBoer. "I think it was a combination of a couple things. We were playing our seventh game in 11 1/2 days and ran out of gas. On the other side, I thought Florida did a good job bottling us up. I think it was a combination of those two things."

Right wing Steve Bernier scored his first goal as a Devil and his first in the NHL in one day over a calendar year, but that was it, and now the team that had just won five in a row has dropped two straight.

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