The New Jersey Devils took the worst beating of the year on Saturday night. There were no excuses, they were just whooped. There are two very opposite places the team can go from here.
What can you say about the New Jersey Devils performance on Saturday night? Pathetic comes to mind. That whole performance was very much pathetic. The team couldn’t get passed the neutral zone. No players were able to clear the zone. Keith Kinkaid couldn’t make the big save after a tough first period. The shots on Sergei Bobrovsky were not good.
Let’s put things into perspective for just a second. With the Devils losing to the Columbus Blue Jackets 6-1, this makes the second time the Devils lost by five goals this season. Last year, which was an atrocity, the Devils lost just one game by five goals.
This was one of the worst games the Devils played in half a decade. It showed the immense flaws this team still has. And what’s worse, is they did it in front of every players’ mom.
So what happens now? The Devils just lost their third straight game. This was the seventh loss in the past ten games. In none of those seven losses did the team salvage a point. For the first time this season, the Devils have lost as many games as they’ve won.
There are two choices for the Devils now. They can either tank like they did last season, or use this as a turning point to prove everyone wrong.
More from Pucks and Pitchforks
- Should New Jersey Devils Try Load Management With Vitek Vanecek?
- New Jersey Devils Will Prove That Last Year Wasn’t A Fluke
- New Jersey Devils: Luke Hughes’ Playmaking Will Outshine His Mistakes
- New Jersey Devils: Chase Stillman’s Performance Causes Concern
- Can Devils Fans Separate Zach Parise Heartbreak From Achievements?
When I say tank, I don’t mean purposely lose. I don’t think this team has that in them. I mean, the season just starts to tank in of itself. Just wanted to get that out of the way.
The major issue is the Devils don’t have any time to sit and think about this loss. They have a plane ride with their mothers. Then, tomorrow night they play the Boston Bruins.
This is the most important stretch of the season. How the team rebounds from this will show who they really are. After losing 5-0 to the Arizona Coyotes, less than two weeks later the Devils won five in a row. If that Devils team shows up after this loss, then great. If the team I saw on Saturday night shows up, this will be a rough two months to end the season.