Pucks and Pitchforks
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New Jersey Devils Lose To Ottawa Senators After Another Strong Start

By Vincent Parise

OTTAWA, ON - NOVEMBER 6: Craig Anderson #41 of the Ottawa Senators makes a stick save against Kyle Palmieri #21 of the New Jersey Devils at Canadian Tire Centre on November 6, 2018 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/NHLI via Getty Images)
OTTAWA, ON - NOVEMBER 6: Craig Anderson #41 of the Ottawa Senators makes a stick save against Kyle Palmieri #21 of the New Jersey Devils at Canadian Tire Centre on November 6, 2018 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. (Photo by Andre Ringuette/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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You cannot take any team lightly. Every team in the NHL is playing for something. Every team is a professional, and anyone can win on any given night. That includes the Ottawa Senators. Most hockey fans believed going into the season that they would probably land in dead last. Especially after dealing superstar defenseman Erik Karlsson, and some dysfunction and turmoil within the organization, it seemed like a lock.

The Devils went into Ottawa on the second half of a back to back, and lost big. The final score was 7-3. It is weird to see them lose to Ottawa after defeating one of the best teams in the National Hockey League the night before in the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Something concerning came to mind while watching this game, the New Jersey Devils are allergic to early 2-0 leads. You may remember a game earlier against the Tampa Bay Lightning where they were up 2-0 early, and went on to lose in ugly fashion. The same thing happened tonight Tuesday night against Ottawa.

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The Devils looked very bad in their own zone. Ottawa was able to play with pace when they had the puck in the Devils’ zone, and there seemed to be nothing the Devils were able to do about it. They looked lost in their own zone. Pucks weren’t won in the dirty areas, and nobody was able to take control with any regularity.

With all of that being said, it means that you can’t really put to much blame on the goaltenders in this one. Cory Schneider was replaced by Keith Kinkaid after surrendering a fourth goal to Ottawa, and Keith Kinkaid came in and relinquished another two. Yeah, in a 7-3 loss, every player on the team can be held responsible, including the goalies. But there aren’t many goalies who would have played well with how the team played in front of them tonight. Rebound control would be my biggest criticism.

After the back to back in Pittsburgh and Ottawa, they are now off until Friday, when they visit Toronto to play John Tavares and the Maple Leafs. The Devils are 1-4-0 on the big seven game road trip. Toronto and Winnipeg will close it out, and those are two of the elite teams in the league. The Devils could really use a home game. They are going to need to start stacking up some wins otherwise this could get ugly, as they will wake up on Wednesday in last place in the Metropolitan Division.

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