NEWARK Sidney Crosby Jersey , N.J. (AP) It would be easy to say the New Jersey Devils are back after ending a six-year playoff drought.John Hynes’ team went from last in the Eastern Conference in 2016-17 to the postseason in less in the year, riding a career year by left wing Taylor Hall and outstanding first seasons by No. 1 overall draft pick Nico Hischier and Will Butcher. This was a team that made it tough on opponents almost every time it stepped on the ice.The standings said it all. New Jersey went from 28 wins and 70 points to 44 wins and 97 points.Still, it was only good enough to outlast the hard-charging Florida Panthers in the closing weeks of the regular season and get the No. 8 seed.The Devils discovered that playoffs were another level. They were eliminated by Tampa Bay, the top seed in the Eastern Conference, in five games.”Of course, we’re disappointed,” veteran center Travis Zajac said Tuesday as the Devils cleaned out their lockers. ”But we accomplished a lot as a team. This is just the beginning. I like how we come together as a team. We faced a lot of adversity, but we survived. Because the league is so close and it’s going to be that way again next year, we have to continue to get better.”The Devils have ridden a roller-coaster in Hynes’ first three seasons as coach. They exceeded expectations in his first year, plummeted two years ago and then stunned the league in getting back to the playoffs.”You have no idea of how good I feel about what we did this year,” said captain Andy Greene, who like Zajac was with the Devils when they reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2012. ”We were a lot better. The way we competed every game down the stretch. We were fighting for each other. We were picked last in the division and last in the conference. We took that to heart. It’s all part of the process. You don’t go from the bottom to the top unless you work hard.”Hall carried the Devils this season, scoring points in 26 straight games in which he played. He finished with 39 goals and 54 assists. His 93 points were 41 more than the next closest player on the team, Hischier (20 goals, 32 assists).”I knew he was a really good hockey player, but it was nothing like what I saw this year,” said forward Marcus Johansson Dougie Hamilton Jersey Womens , who was limited to 29 games by concussions. ”He was unbelievable day in and day out.”If Hall can match next season and young players like Hischier, Butcher, Myles Wood, Blake Coleman and Jesper Bratt improve and the work ethic remains the same, the Devils can easily make it back to the playoffs next season.Here’s some things to watch next season:GOOD GOALTENDING: The Devils have two starters. Backup Keith Kinkaid had 16 wins in the final two months to secure the playoff berth. Cory Schneider, who lost the starting job after groin and hip injuries in January, was outstanding in the playoffs after taking over for Kinkaid in the second game.FREE AGENCY: General manager Ray Shero has three big decisions with unrestricted free agents: forwards Patrick Maroon and Michael Grabner and defenseman John Moore. Maroon, who like Grabner was acquired in a deal near the trading deadline, played better and provided a net-front presence. Moore might be let go to create space for youngsters Mirco Mueller and Steven Santini.Blake Coleman and Stefan Noesen, who were the wings on the checking line with Zajac, are restricted free agents along with Wood, who had 19 goals. Expect them back along with Santini, another restricted free agent.HISCHIER: The 19-year-old can play. He’s not in the same class as Connor McDavid or Austin Matthews. Still, he does all the little things and he will score more if he starts hitting the net.DEFENSE: For the second straight year the Devils gave up 244 goals. That’s too many. Sami Vatanen, who was acquired from Anaheim, helped the defense and was Greene’s partner on the top pair. The defense needs a star and Shero may go after the Capitals’ John Carlson.—Associated Press freelancer Jim Hague contributed to this report.— DALLAS — Last Tuesday, the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Dallas Stars met at Nationwide Arena with Columbus ending the Stars’ six-game Eastern Conference road trip with a 4-1 defeat.Dallas (9-6-2) http://www.officialsharks.com/authentic-adidas-brent-burns-jersey , which lost 5-4 in overtime to Nashville on Saturday at home, finished that road trip 3-2-1, taking seven of a possible 12 points.However, the Stars, who are 6-2-1 at home, would like to exact a bit of payback on the Blue Jackets on Monday night when they match up again, this time at American Airlines Center.Article continues below ...And with the certain return of forward Alexander Radulov, who has played just once in the past 10 games, Stars rookie coach Jim Montgomery expects his team to have ample energy, something Radulov brings Dallas in big quantities.“It’s missed a lot and also just his intensity and the pace that he plays with,” Montgomery said after practice Sunday. “He brings people into the fight with him and it’s clearly something we miss when he’s not there.”Radulov has been a great complement to captain Jamie Benn and perennial All-Star Tyler Seguin, who has goals in back-to-back games, when he plays on the Stars’ top line.The Stars should also get fellow forward Brett Ritchie, out the past four games with an illness, back on Monday.Dallas will still be without veteran defenseman Marc Methot (lower body injury), but Montgomery takes solace in knowing that young defensemen Ben Gleason, impressive in his Saturday NHL debut Julien Gauthier Jersey Womens , and Joel Hanley, who made his Stars debut against the Predators, are more than up to the challenge.“He (Gleason) did everything with his head up. He made really good decisions,” Montgomery said of Gleason. “They (Gleason and Hanley) both showed well.”Stars veteran center Jason Spezza could register his 900th career point against Columbus, which would make him the seventh active player to reach that milestone.Columbus (9-6-2) lost 5-4 to the New York Rangers in a shootout on Saturday at home.Despite leaving a point on the table, Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella couldn’t fault much about his team’s play against the Rangers.“Certainly, the odd-man rushes early on in the game hurt us and some turnovers, but other than that we played a really good game,” Tortorella said.The Blue Jackets got three assists from defenseman Seth Jones, who grew up in the Dallas area.Columbus has a six-game unbeaten streak (4-0-2) against Dallas and the Blue Jackets haven’t lost to the Stars in Dallas since a 5-1 defeat on December 15, 2015.The Blue Jackets are 5-2-1 on the road but Tortorella knows that if his team is to continue their run of good form against Dallas, they will need to limit the Stars’ offensive chances.“We have created a number of chances, but we’ve given up too much,” Tortorella said after the loss to the Rangers. “The biggest thing we have to cut down on is the ones that we give for free. We’ve got to be a smarter hockey team.”