COLUMBUS, Ohio _ Maybe this seems more desperate than it really is because the starting goalie, who was not playing his best before getting hurt anyway, has been out for seven games with no timetable to return.
Or maybe this seems more desperate than it really is because the scoring chances did not equate to goals on Saturday night. Or because they allowed the most shots they have this season while matching the most goals they've allowed and their biggest margin of defeat.
But, maybe, there is now some real desperation with the Devils now having lost three straight and seven of their last 10 and sliding in the Metropolitan Division standings as they seek their first playoff berth since 2012.
Because these are the games that can cause a team to question itself, a 6-1 loss to the equally-struggling Blue Jackets, who scored three goals in the second period in a span of three minutes, nine seconds, at Nationwide Arena.
Needless to say, the team's first-ever moms' trip, not to mention coach John Hynes' 43rd birthday, did not go as hoped.
And things don't get easier with the Bruins coming to Prudential Center on Sunday night.
Keith Kinkaid, matching his career high with his sixth straight start, made 45 saves for the Devils (27-19-8) but was either out of position or had clean looks at all three goals in the second period. No. 1 goalie Cory Schneider (groin) was on the trip but it's not clear when he'll be able to resume practicing, let alone play.
Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 34 shots for the Blue Jackets (28-23-4), who snapped a five-game losing streak. Kyle Palmieri, at 16:26 of the third period, had the Devils' lone goal.
Kinkaid stopped 30 of the first 31 shots he faced before the Blue Jackets took a 4-0 lead on three straight shots in the second period.
Artemi Panarin was in position in front of the crease to lift the puck over Kinkaid for a 2-0 lead at 11:49 after Cam Atkinson lost the puck on a wraparound try. That marked the first time the Blue Jackets had held a two-goal lead in a game since Dec. 29.
Josh Anderson then kept the puck on a two-on-one rush and beat Kinkaid over his glove from the left circle at 13:09.
Oliver Bjorkstrand finished the second-period onslaught at 14:58 with a rising shot that slipped just under the crossbar to make it 4-0.
Nick Foligno increased that to 5-0 with a rebound goal at 6:25 of the third period and Matt Calvert's power-play goal at 9:45 completed the scoring.
Before the second-period collapse, there was an urgency evident from the opening faceoff with both teams on losing streaks and a physical edge to the game was established early, even if the play wasn't necessarily the crispest.
Stefan Noesen got the bridge of his nose bloodied in a scrum at Bobrovsky's net at 7:16 of the first period and Taylor Hall, seconds after missing a chance at the left post on a two on one feed from Nico Hischier and then being called for holding Atkinson at 7:46, expressed his frustration and anger by savagely attacking the glass in the penalty box with his stick.
Hall went without a point for the first time in his last 13 games.
The Blue Jackets had an apparent goal by Foligno waved off at 10:07 as he knocked down Travis Zajac from behind before getting to the puck at the crease, drawing a whistle.
But the Blue Jackets did take a 1-0 lead at 17:30 as Panarin, who had five primary assists in the Blue Jackets' 5-3 win at New Jersey on Dec. 8, set up Pierre-Luc Dubois in the slot.
