So Much is Wrong with the Devils

Losing 4-1 against the Boston Bruins on Saturday just added to more of the New Jersey Devils and their problems this season. Not only bad goaltending from Martin Brodeur but not enough scoring from their front line.
Of course every NHL team is almost hoping that the New Jersey Devils actually finish outside of the playoffs, but that's no way to think about this NHL season. So let's start from the beginning: The Devils lost to the Stars, then lost to the Penguins, won in overtime against the Sabres, and now this 4-1 drubbing by the Boston Bruins. That's how far this season has gone for these particular Devils.
So is there any chance of a turnaround? Of course there is. The Devils' season isn't over yet; they still have 78 games left and there's still time to turn it around. But there's going to need to get more offensive production from their forward lines like Travis Zajac, Zach Parise, Patrik Elias, Jamie Langenbrunner and most especially Ilya Kovalchuk.
With the kind of deal that Kovalchuk got in the offseason, you would expect the Devils to do very well, if not do better than they did last year, but so far the offensive gain has not given him a single scoring opportunity that he has wanted in a while. He will get back on his game, but the question is: When does he and the Devils finally realize that the teams they beat before are getting better? Everyone's beating them now except maybe the Sabres and Islanders, but they need to find ways to win even if it is ugly.
The next matchup will prove to be an ugly one, especially when they are not favored to win. They will have to go up to Montreal and face the high-scoring Canadiens as well as their rowdy fans. I don't think in the type of shape they're in, they're going to be winning that game in Montreal. But who knows? I would expect them to win the next game against the Sabres in Prudential because the Sabres are having trouble scoring, plus they lost to Chicago. Will the Devils get back on course? Or is it a sinking ship? We'll find out in the coming week.