How Did The Devs Execute Jon’s Keys To The Game?

The Devils were defeated by the Buffalo Sabres 5-4 in a shootout last night in Newark. This was a result of the Devils blowing 1-0, 3-2, and 4-3 leads. If not for a brilliant save by Johan Hedberg in the opening seconds of overtime, the game would not have even reached a shootout. So now the question looms; what went wrong?

In a very good and detailed article yesterday, Jon pointed out what the keys to the game were for the Devils to achieve their first home victory of the season.

The most glaring failure for the team to achieve those goals came in Tyler Ennis’ game tying goal halfway through the third period. This would be the third lead the Devils would blow on the night and it was the most disappointing one. Henrik Tallinder and Colin White, two very reliable defensemen, were the defenders that committed the glaring error. Tyler Myers had the puck behind the Devils net and moved to backhand it in front. Both Devil defenders went to cover Myers while Tyler Ennis was left alone in front of the net to cash in and tie the game.

This is an area that the Devils have struggled at for years. I remember in the 2006 playoffs when the Devils and Hurricanes were battling. The Devils had a 2-1 lead in what I believe was game 2 with less than a minute to go. Erik Staal was in front of the net with Colin White. A pass came from the corner with less than 10 seconds left to the front of the net where Staal stuffed him home going untouched by Colin White. With less than 10 seconds left, White should have knocked Staal out of the way even if it meant getting a penalty because the game was pretty much over. Instead of tying the series at 1-1, the Devils went down 2-0 and the rest was history. Last night was the same thing. While not in a playoff situation, the Devils need to be angry and physical in front of their goaltender. Had one of the defenders covered Ennis, the game would not have been tied.

The next area of concern for the Devils is the special teams play. The penalty killing has not been terrible but the power play has. The Devils power play was limited to two chances last night and they cashed in once on a slapper from Jason Arnott. The other powerplay still displayed the frustration that the team has been going through. Everyone is looking for the perfect play . There are too many passes and not enough shooting. It is such an old saying in hockey, but shoot the puck and good things will happen.

Jon also called out Jason Arnott and David Clarkson who both scored last night.

The biggest factor is CONFIDENCE. How could the team possibly have any at this point? Which brings me to my next topic: Ilya Kovalchuk.

I really wish people would stop writing articles referring to him as the ‘100 Million Dollar Man’ and saying that he has no lived up to expectations. This is not a situation where the team is fine and the only player struggling is him. He clearly cares. One thing that has impressed me greatly about him is that he is one of the first guys to jump into a scrum to protect his teammates. He really is just gripping the stick too tight. Now that the team is struggling so badly, everyone turns to the guy with the shiny new contract to be the savior. If the defense was playing better, the offensive players would not have to constantly keep an eye out and can focus on creating plays. A lot of Devils’ rushes come after they have ‘finally’ gotten the puck out of their own zone.

The absolute worst thing is for the fans to start booing him. This team needs to come together as a whole before Kovalchuk will have the confidence to play and succeed on this team. I would think that the return of Rolston and Brodeur will help. I say the Devils will win tomorrow night.