Devils hex continues for the Bruins, and other observations from another 1-0 loss

The Devils challenged for goalie interference, arguing that David Krejci jabbed the puck loose after Blackwood covered it, and made contact with the netminder after that.

They won the challenge. The Bruins weren’t so fortunate.

With Halak off again in the final frenzied seconds, Nick Ritchie got the last whack at a puck out of midair. It dribbled toward the line with 8.3 seconds left, and appeared to go over. After a Devils icing with 1.1 seconds left, referees Jon McIsaac and Furman South took another look. They ruled that Blackwood’s right skate kicked out the tumbling puck before it entirely crossed the line, and they may have been right.

“I don’t know,” coach Bruce Cassidy said, noting his club’s hard luck on reviews in recent years. “What am I supposed to say?”

Blackwood blanked the Bruins for the second meeting in a row. Backup Scott Wedgewood left a 1-0 winner here on March 7, submitting an identical 40-save outing. The Bruins are 1-3-1 against the sixth-place team in the East.

The Devils (13-16-4), who had lost two in a row to the Capitals and visit the Bruins again on Tuesday, are headed toward the April 12 trade deadline squarely in the “sellers” category. The only reason they are not in the East basement is because the Sabres have moved in all their furniture.

And yet, New Jersey may wind up remembering the 2021 Bruins as the team that made them feel hope for the future.

The Bruins were missing Brad Marchand again, running out Trent Frederic and Anders Bjork in his place on the top line. The power play fired blanks again (0 for 4), and is 0 for 9 the last two games without their half-wall wizard.

As Cassidy noted, his club didn’t lack for effort. It rarely does. But the offensive woes continue.

They outshot the Devils, 17-5, in the third period. They didn’t get the benefit of officiating: In addition to the too-close review at the end, officials missed a clear trip on David Krejci in the second, and needed a review to call a double-minor high-stick against Charlie McAvoy.

“You can outscore some of those calls,” Cassidy said. “We’re not in that position, clearly.”

Other observations from the game:

⋅ Much of the Bruins work the first two periods came off the rush, and was of the one-and-done variety. David Pastrnak led them with six shots on goal for the game.

⋅ The Devils capped the scoring with 3:23 left in the first, a point shot from Smith clanking in off the legs of Palmieri in the high slot. Palmieri, rumored to be of interest to Bruins general manager Don Sweeney the last few seasons, might be a wise add if just for damage control.

The lucky bounce, which saw him set up in a soft area and get hit with a double-deflection that bounced off Charlie Coyle first, boosted his line to 4-1—5 in five games against the B’s. He is 3-8—11 in 27 games against the rest of the division. His shooting percentage against Boston: 36.3 percent. Everyone else: 4.5 percent.

⋅ The Bruins averted disaster midway through the second, with starter Halak down and out for a pair of open-net chances. After Miles Wood knocked the puck out of Halak’s trap, Pavel Zacha hit the near post. He sent a follow-up into Nick Ritchie’s shinpads moments later.

⋅ Life was tough for Frederic on the top line. He was demoted after the first period, with Bjork getting a ride up top and Frederic instead paired with Coyle and Zach Senyshyn.

Frederic had to be feeling down after catching captain Bergeron with an elbow during a second-period board battle, sending the captain to the dressing room for the final 5:39 of the frame. Bergeron, who has a well-documented concussion history, said after the game he believed his nose was broken. He was back on the ice to start the third.

⋅ Bjork did his best work on the penalty kill. On a second-period PK, he beat Jack Hughes to a loose puck and shifted past the young Devils pivot, cutting in to force Blackwood to make an underarm stop. Bjork slammed his stick on the ice when it didn’t go in. In the third, he set up Coyle for a shorthanded chance after a high-speed steal.

⋅ The Bruins, killing the above Matt Grzelcyk holding minor without Marchand and Bergeron, submitted a top-shelf shift that ended with Jack Studnicka drawing a penalty. They opened the third with 1:43 on the power play and a unit of Grzelcyk, McAvoy, Krejci, Pastrnak, Ritchie.

No luck.

Matt Porter can be reached at matthew.porter@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter: @mattyports.