Deflated Devils lose another, stuck in 7th hell

SERGEI Bobrovsky is having one of those years goaltenders dream about, and it is making the Columbus Blue Jackets a team to fear when the playoffs start next month.

Bobrovsky made 20 saves in posting his second-straight shutout and franchiserecord 34th victory of the season Sunday and the Blue Jackets sent the reeling host Devils to their seventh loss in a row, 3-0.

“Bob’s been pretty good all year long,” Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. “There really hasn’t been a dip along the way. I think he came in with the right mental attitude . . . . He has just locked himself in, so it gives us an opportunity to keep on climbing, and that’s your most important position in the game there and we have a pretty good one.”

Bobrovsky has been spectacular this past week. The 28-year-old lost a 1-0 game to Montreal in overtime on Tuesday and then beat Minnesota, 1-0, on Thursday, stopping 67 of 68 shots in those games. Cory Schneider made 19 saves for the Devils, who were shut out for the sixth time this season.

“They got the lead, added to their lead, and didn’t give it up,” Schneider said. “It’s one of those games where we didn’t find our groove offensively.”

The Devils had a few solid chances, with Taylor Hall generating good shots in each period, the best being a shoulder save on a power play in close early in the final period.

Former Devil Kyle Quincey also helped preserve the shutout. With the Devils on a power play early, he hooked Kyle Palmieri, who was about to corral a loose puck and shoot it into an open net.

“It’s a great penalty,” Tortorella said. “Those are the ones you kill off . ... It was ugly, but he got the job done because it’s in the net if he doesn’t do it.”