Right before the Stanley Cup Playoffs began, we received an impassioned e-mail from a Devils fan named Steve, imploring us to adopt the Devils on this blog during this year’s postseason. It was a terrific, eloquent letter: He explained how New Jersey was a model, fans-first organization, especially when compared to his other favorite team, the Mets. Now, we haven’t really covered the Devils all season, plus we pretty much jinxed Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament, so we didn’t want another team’s blood on our hands. But his point was well taken, and we were thinking of poor Steve last night as the Flyers finished off the Devils, 3–0, in game five in Newark — another disappointing early exit for New Jersey, if not quite as dramatic as last year’s. All Steve has left now is the Mets, a team even he describes as “an amazingly mediocre squad.” Having watched the Rangers all season, we kind of know the feeling.