Step 1

42 days ago, the Devils hit rock bottom. They had the worst record in the NHL, they had the second fewest points in team history and were dead last by a considerable margin.

Today, they wake up knowing that, finally, another team is behind them.

With their dramatic (and nearly heartbreaking) win over the rival Rangers last night, the Devils earned points 38 and 39. The latter helped them vault over the Edmonton Oilers who now sit alone at the bottom of the league. With the win, the Devils also pulled into a virtual tie with the Islanders for last in the East, but with more wins in regulation and overtime (fewest shootout wins is the tiebreaker, remember) the Devils are "ahead."

Recently, the Devils have been, for lack of a better term, rolling. Going into last night, they had won 7 of their last 9, earning points in 8 of 9, and with teams throughout the conference stagnating, their opportunity is now to play catch up. Two nights ago they picked up where the left off with a win at home versus Ottawa, while last night the journey took them to MSG versus the Rangers.

Just under two minutes into the game, on their first shot of the game, Ilya Kovalchuk fired a drive from the right wing boards, beating Henrik Lundqvist high short side for his 15th of the year.