Against another division rival on Thursday night, the bleeding continues in the New Jersey Devils‘ fiasco.
The Pittsburgh Penguins, who have been a surprising-mixed bag this season, made it six straight wins as they continue to climb in the standings after what’s been a rollercoaster season for them. Whereas, the Devils have, instead, have only gone in one direction after an early eight-game win streak.
Down.
A 4-1 loss against another division rival brings their record vs. the Metropolitan Division to 4-8-1.
That’s abysmal.
We have yet to hear from general manager Tom Fitzgerald amid the plethora of struggles. And after the debacle on Long Island, when both he and Sheldon Keefe remained employed, it became apparent that the Devils ownership is sticking with them, for now.
Captain Nico Hischier explained he expected more from the Devils in Pittsburgh. Okay, fine. They scored one goal on the power play.
Yet, for the most part, it was more of the same. No fight, no emotion, no urgency. Just a collection of players who are out of sync, fragile, and shaken.
It’s become clear, the answer isn’t in the room. Perhaps the Devils’ core needs a shake-up. It’s still unclear if the man behind the bench can turn this around. And if there’s going to be some sort of jolt, the man steering the ship that no one has heard from since the eight-game win streak needs to figure out what this team needs.
He claimed he knew before. He has since been proven wrong. And now he’s backed into a corner with his team drowning and on its last breath.
Let’s look at some of tonight’s observations.
Observations
- The Hischier, Jack Hughes, and Jesper Bratt line should be the Devils’ best line. And it has been, which isn’t saying much with their lack of scoring, but it’s not for a lack of trying. I really liked one of Jack’s early shifts. It was a forechecking play about four minutes into the first period. The Penguins dumped the puck deep into their zone for their defenders to retrieve it. Jack anticipated the wrap behind the goal to the opposite defender, but anticipated the pass, forced the turnover, and fed Hischier at the crease for a grade-A scoring chance. It was stopped, but that’s the underrated part of Jack’s game. His forecheck is actually quite good, and mixed with his elite playmaking, it should be a huge benefit to Hischier and Jesper Bratt whenever this collective team drought ends.
- Unfortunately, he appeared to be coasting for much of the game after this play.
- It’s a shame that Jake Allen gave up the first goal he did, because just before that, he was playing quite well. A streaking Erik Karlsson snuck a shot past him short side. He probably could have been a bit further up in his crease, and as he dropped to the butterfly, he dropped his glove, instead of snagging rubber. Allen’s going to want that one back.
- It wasn’t the best defense by both Hughes brothers, however. Jack let Karlsson blow right by him and gave the Penguins defender a shooting lane. Luke Hughes lost his net-battle to Rickard Rakell. Don’t underestimate that losing the net-front battle perhaps took Allen’s attention away from Karlsson for even just a second.
- Look, the shots just aren’t falling. The Devils, once again, did a lot of things well offensively. As a result, they led the shot battle11-7, and the scoring chance differential 12-7. In fact, all of Hischier, Bratt, Dawson Mercer, and Connor Brown created grade-A, uncontested scoring chances in the first period. Yet, they just didn’t find twine.
- And why aren’t they finding said twine, you ask? Well, because Stuart Skinner’s job was just too easy. If you go back and watch the replay’s, Skinner saw every single shot. No one was standing at the net-front to play disruptor. Screening the goaltender has become a lost art in New Jersey, and that’s part of the problem. In fact, Luke even had an opportunity in the first, streaking down the offensive zone and had a prime scoring opportunity in the left circle. Yet, no one was standing net front, and Karlsson even moved out of Skinner’s way to let him see the shot all the way, which he promptly saved. You just have to make the goaltender’s job harder, and try to take his eyes away. No one did that.
- The only time someone did screen Skinner was on the Devils’ third power play. Stefan Noesen blinded Skinner, and he didn’t even see Luke Hughes‘ shot from the point. What do you know? A goal. That’s not happening at 5-on-5.
- Here’s something I’ve never seen before. The Devils’ power play has become their bane, so much so, that the opposition is benefitting from New Jersey going to the advantage. It’s baffling. The Devils have struggled so hard that when they don’t score on the power play, it completely sucks the life out of them. It was evident in the second period when trailing 1-0, but they still had some legs. Dewar went to the box, the Devils power play expires, Dewar quickly scores, and any energy New Jersey had completely left the building. It’s not the first time this situation has happened. I have no reason to believe it’ll be the last.
- Zooming the lens in a bit further on that specific play, Simon Nemec has to be more aware of the man exiting the box. It was his man to cover, and I know it was his first game back, but that’s an error that can’t happen.
