In a season full of gut punch losses, the Devils added another one to the list tonight
In recent times, the New Jersey Devils have made a habit of losing in the most brutal fashion possible. There was the devastating last-second loss to the Dallas Stars a few weeks back, a game that also cost them Dougie Hamilton, possibly for the season. There was the shocking third period collapse against the Calgary Flames last week. There was the near epic comeback that fell heartbreakingly short against the Ottawa Senators last time out. And tonight, the Devils allowed a tying goal with under a minute to play in regulation, and eventually lost in a shootout to the Vancouver Canucks, 4-3.
To me, the theme of this game was poor fundamentals. You could talk about an offense that was nonexistent for about 80% of this contest. You could talk about Jacob Markstrom looking better but still putting up a shaky effort. You could talk about the Devils once again coming up small in the shootout. All of those are perfectly valid topics to focus on. But to me, when I think of how the Devils lost this game, I think of poor fundamentals.
Simon Nemec’s shockingly bad sophomore season has really kneecapped the Devils, because it has forced them to play Dennis Cholowski far too much. Cholowski utterly failed to make a simple breakout pass time after time after time, and those failures usually led to a turnover and more time spent in the defensive zone. Whenever he had the puck on his stick in the defensive zone, I just expected bad things to happen, and they usually did. In his brief time with the club, I usually haven’t noticed Cholowski, which I considered a good thing. Sort of like an offensive lineman in football, if Cholowski’s name is being called a lot, it’s usually a problem. Well tonight was the first time I noticed him a lot, and it was for all the wrong reasons.
There were also a slew of totally unnecessary icings committed by New Jersey tonight. A part of this was Cholowski (and others) not being able to make those simple breakout passes, but there were also miscommunications and lazy clearances that led to more and more offensive zone time for the Canucks.
Speaking of lazy, that’s the word I’d use to describe Johnny Kovacevic’s two high sticking penalties tonight. Yes, Kovacevic managed to commit multiple high sticking infractions. Both of them were on plays where Kovacevic was turning to skate back for a puck, and he just kept his stick shoulder high and it clipped a Canuck attacker. Perhaps dumb would be a better word, but I’ll go with lazy.
To Kovacevic’s credit, he did save a goal against tonight when he got his stick in the way of a rebound chance that absolutely would’ve gone in had Kovacevic not intervened. So it wasn’t all bad tonight for number 8 in red and black. But one game after he was called out by his head coach Sheldon Keefe (which the ESPN broadcast could not stop talking about), even saving a goal might not make up for taking two lazy high sticking penalties. Thankfully neither of those led to goals against.
Then there was Brett Pesce’s decision making in the final minute of regulation. I think Pesce has had a solid first season in New Jersey. With the injuries to Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler, Pesce has served as the de facto number one blueliner on the club. He’s not wholly out of place in that role, but if Pesce is your top defenseman, it’s not a great sign, as he fits best on a second pair. But overall I’ve liked what I’ve seen out of Pesce this season, which is why it was so disappointing watching him hold onto a puck FAR too long with about 40 seconds to play, letting a couple of Vancouver forecheckers steal the puck, leading to the tying goal. On the ESPN broadcast, P.K. Subban felt as though Pesce was let down by his forwards not supporting him more on the play. But I’m sorry, a simple flip out of the zone would’ve sufficed there. Heck, I would’ve even taken an icing instead of what we got. I complained about unnecessary icings earlier, but that would have been a completely necessary one.
Finally in the overtime period, the Devils just flung shots at Canucks goalie Thatcher Demko from every angle, seemingly with no plan at all. Everyone knows that possession is the most important thing in the 3-on-3 frame. Vancouver understood this, which is why their attack was deliberate and precise. Markstrom made a few tough stops in overtime, while Demko made exactly one difficult save (speaking of bad fundamentals, Paul Cotter really needed to lift the puck on his OT chance). All those hopeless Devils shots were easily steered aside, and the Canucks swooped in for every rebound to kickstart their calculated attack.
And by the way, all of this came against a Canucks team that was without their #1 center, Elias Pettersson. He was apparently injured on Saturday in Vancouver’s game against the New York Rangers, and he did not suit up tonight. The fact that the Devils played this poorly against a team that was playing without their second best player is completely unacceptable.
Failed breakout passes. Needless icings. Lazy penalties. Situational unawareness. Bad overtime gameplan. The Devils played some really bad hockey tonight. I guess I should be grateful we didn’t see an entire period where the Devils got their teeth bashed in like we’ve seen so often lately (the third period against the Oilers, Blue Jackets, and Flames, and the second period against the Senators). But it spoiled what should’ve been a big night for Timo Meier, who continues tearing it up in the month of March with two more goals this evening. It spoiled Erik Haula’s clutch go-ahead goal in the third period, and while I still have my issues with Haula’s game, credit to him for coming alive offensively over the last month or so. It spoiled Markstrom having his best game in a while, although the numbers still weren’t good at the end of the day. But that’s how low the bar currently is for Markstrom.
New Jersey got a point out of tonight’s game. Every little bit counts. But it’s another loss, their third in a row, and they continue to trip over their own two feet night after night. At this moment in time, despite the Devils looking broken for a while now, despite a pitiful 14 wins in 35 games since the Christmas break, I still think New Jersey will make the postseason. But games like tonight have become the norm for the Devils in the second half of the season, and it’s costing them dearly.
The Game Stats: The NHL.com Game Summary | The NHL.com Event Summary | The NHL.com Play by Play Log | The NHL.com Shot Summary | The Natural Stat Trick Game Stats
The Game Highlights: Courtesy of the NHL’s website
The Unstoppable Force
Much like Sheldon Keefe’s barbs toward Johnny Kovacevic after Saturday’s loss to Ottawa, the ESPN broadcast would not shut up about Quinn Hughes. That one I understand though, as the eldest Hughes brother is having yet another fabulous season.
Quinn played completely absurd 31:38 tonight. Yes the extra time played a role in that, but over 31 minutes of ice time is still silly. He had one assist, six shots on goal(!), and two hits just for good measure.
As far as his advanced numbers go, according to Natural Stat Trick, at 5-on-5 Hughes posted an Expected Goals For% of 55.66%. Nico Hischier and his line drew the Quinn Hughes assignment tonight, and they were caved in whenever they all shared the ice together. There’s no shame in losing the possession battle to Quinn Hughes, he’s a terrifyingly effective player. But the fact that the Devils could not win the Hughes matchup was a big reason why they lost the game.
Utter Dominance
Sometimes a team has another team’s number. There might not be a specific reason why, but it happens. Not too long ago, teams like the Capitals and Blue Jackets always seemed to beat the Devils. Today, it seems like the Maple Leafs and Jets are the new random matchup nightmares for New Jersey. Well it goes both ways, and for whatever reason, the Devils have been the Canucks’ kryptonite for a while now.
Entering tonight’s game, the Devils had won 16 of the last 19 meetings between these two squads. This included a ridiculous 12-game winning streak that stretched from 2014-15 to 2021-22. The last time Vancouver won both games against New Jersey in the season series was 2013-14.
But with the loss to the Canucks tonight, the Devils have now split the season series with them in three of the last four seasons. Perhaps the dominance has run its course.
The Drought Continues
We all know the Devils are a fundamentally broken team, particularly on offense. In fact it’s so bad that I would consider reaching 30 shots on goal to be a win at this point. New Jersey failed to get there tonight, even with the extra five minutes of overtime. In fact they didn’t even come close, finishing with 25 shots in 65 minutes of play.
The last time New Jersey posted 30 or more shots in a game was all the way back on February 23rd against the Nashville Predators. That means that it has now been 13 consecutive games in which the Devils failed to crack the 30-shot barrier. That is offensive ineptitude on a level that is hard to fathom. If New Jersey can’t muster up 30 shots against anyone other than one of the worst teams in the NHL in Nashville, they don’t deserve to win games.
Out Of Town Scoreboard
On a light night across the league, the only major game of importance elsewhere in the NHL was the Blue Jackets vs. the Islanders on Long Island. Unfortunately it was about the worst case scenario for New Jersey: a three point game. Much like the Canucks, the Blue Jackets made a third period comeback to send the game past regulation, where they eventually took a 4-3 win in a shootout.
It was a mere couple of weeks ago that the Blue Jackets were the main threat to the Devils’ grip on the third slot in the Metropolitan Division. But New Jersey beating them 5-3 at The Rock on March 11th kicked off a devastating six-game losing streak entering tonight, with only one of those wins coming post-regulation. They finally got back in the win column tonight, but their magic carpet ride might finally be over, as they now stand at 73 points through 70 games played. They are currently behind Ottawa, Montreal, and both New York teams in the chase for a playoff spot.
Meanwhile the Islanders, the undisputed champs of the loser point, have been making a hard charge for the playoffs. New York collected eight points over their last five games (3-0-2) coming into their match against the Blue Jackets this evening, and tonight’s shootout loss makes it 9 out of a possible last 12 points.
So the Devils managed to hold serve against the Isles, who have replaced the Blue Jackets as the biggest threat to New Jersey in the Metro. The Devils now have 81 points in 72 games, while the Islanders have 74 points in 70 games. It doesn’t help New Jersey that the Islanders’ last three losses have come post-regulation. That’s three additional points that have helped them a lot in the standings. Like I said: undisputed champs of the loser point.
The Devils and Islanders have one more head-to-head showdown this season, a matinee game on April 13th. That will be New Jersey’s third to last game of the regular season. A lot can change between now and then, but that’s shaping up to be an absolutely massive clash down the road.
Next Time Out
The Devils will now hit the road for a three-game trip through the Central Division. Their first stop will be in Chicago to take on the Blackhawks on Wednesday. Puck drop is scheduled for 8:00pm.
Your Take
What did you make of tonight’s game? Were you as frustrated with New Jersey’s attention to detail as I was? What are you expecting on this upcoming road trip? As always, thanks for reading.