5. Responding To A Loss
The New Jersey Devils never had to respond to a loss this season, because they never lost. That is, until Thursday, when a bad performance ended in a mark in the L column for the first time. So, how do the Devils respond to that?
It will show a lot with how the Devils play on Saturday. The Devils already made huge reactions to the loss, moving around the lineup and switching out John Quenneville for Kevin Rooney. I think that’s a bad idea, but that’s for another time.
Last season, the Devils would go on streaks, which can be great, but they can be terrible. The Devils won five straight games in December, but immediately followed it with six straight losses. Most of their season went win two, lose three, win four, lose three. It seemed like it was two steps forward, two steps back and over again. This season, it likely won’t work doing that. The Devils need to be a little more consistent. They need to prove they can respond to a loss starting on Saturday.