New Jersey Devils Must Take Responsibility For Losing Streak
By Nick Villano
The New Jersey Devils were well on their way to a win against the New York Islanders until they blew a two-goal lead in the third period. Despite the excuses that could be made, there’s nobody else to blame but the team.
The New Jersey Devils were the light of fans eyes. If things were going wrong in our lives, the Devils made it just a little bit better. Things were just going so well for Jersey’s Team that it seemed like nothing was wrong from 7-9:30 p.m. on game nights.
Then the past two weeks happened. Sure, we can’t be all doom and gloom about the Devils yet. The team is just 41 games into the season, and are in second place in the Metropolitan Division.
Still, this losing streak has been rough. The Devils lost five straight games after blowing a huge game against the New York Islanders. Both teams came in on a losing streak, so when the Devils took a two-goal lead in the third period, that should have been it.
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However, the Devils allowed the Isles to come back, scoring two goals in the final ten minutes of play. Then in overtime, the Devils were given a gift of a John Tavares penalty but didn’t even get a shot on net. Yeah, Taylor Hall hit the post, but according to counting stats the Devils were not able to get a puck on net despite having a power play in overtime.
The Devils have been snake bitten by the referees, and that was the case again today. I won’t talk about the missed or made penalty calls, because that can be argued on both sides until eternity. However, how did another Devils goal get called off? This time, it happened on a Kyle Palmieri wrap around where not a single inch of contact came inside the blue.
Here’s the thing, however. That happened in the first period. The Devils were just not good for the rest of the first period, shooting 16 shots in the first half and five in the second half. You absolutely pepper Jaroslav Halak, but when the refs take something away you fall off?
Maybe the Devils were tired from the onslaught of shots they put on Halak, but alls I know for sure is the Devils were up on shots 21-10 but down on the scoreboard 1-0.
The Devils had five power plays in the game, and never scored. That’s just pathetic with the talent you put on the ice on a nightly basis.
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This Devils team has nobody to blame but themselves for this loss. There were a ton of chances to capitalize, but every time they did they allowed the Isles to return the favor. The same goes for this entire five-game losing streak. It’s time to end the blame on the referees, time to end blame on puck luck and time to end blame on anything that’s not the players or the coaching staff.
The Devils now go into the bye week on the worst note of the season. It’s time to take a good, hard look in the mirror for this team. What do you want to be? You can either be the team that showed some promise, or the team that makes the playoffs. This week may be the most important of the season.