Last night was a gut punch, no two ways about it. The New Jersey Devils got absolutely flattened by the Philadelphia Flyers, a 5-1 loss right here at home in Newark that felt worse than the score even says. You miss the first five minutes and you're already in a hole, with Trevor Zegras scoring two quick ones for Philly – one even on the power play. We got a little life when Curtis Glass finally put one past their goalie in the first, but that was pretty much it for us. The whole night, it felt like we were chasing.

The second period was another mess, with Tyson Foerster getting two more for the Flyers, and then Nick Seeler just piled on in the third. Our shots on goal were pathetic, only 19 compared to their 24, and it showed. You can't win hockey games when you're not putting pucks on net, especially not against a team like the Flyers who were clearly hungrier. It was one of those nights where the Prudential Center was buzzing at puck drop, then by the end, it was quiet enough to hear the trains over by Penn Station.

This loss stings, and it's bad for the standings. We're sitting at 40-35-3, 83 points, still clinging to seventh in the Metro and Wildcard #7, but that lead is shrinking like a cheap t-shirt. With only four games left, every single point matters, and we just let two slip away at home. We gotta regroup, and fast. The season's on the line, and we need to play with some fire, some Jersey grit, if we want to make anything happen.

Devils hockey, Jersey proud — Ant Ferriola, MiTL Sports Desk.

You gotta hear what the guys on the morning show are saying about this mess — catch 'em live at mornings.live.