New Jersey Devils: That Was Pathetic
By Nick Villano
![CALGARY, AB - MARCH 12: Austin Czarnik #27, Sam Bennett #93 and Derek Ryan #10 of the Calgary Flames celebrate a goal against the New Jersey Devils during an NHL game on March 12, 2019 at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Gerry Thomas/NHLI via Getty Images) CALGARY, AB - MARCH 12: Austin Czarnik #27, Sam Bennett #93 and Derek Ryan #10 of the Calgary Flames celebrate a goal against the New Jersey Devils during an NHL game on March 12, 2019 at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. (Photo by Gerry Thomas/NHLI via Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/3995cd661a837214872fb55ec30da168b2c8d173203c1fedd416b210ea3f9328.jpg)
The New Jersey Devils put together the worst period of the entire season. We’re not talking about just this team, this was the worst period in the entire NHL this season.
The New Jersey Devils were putting up quite the fight against one of the better teams in the NHL. They went into the third period up 4-3, and despite giving up some high-quality chances, they were delivering on their own chances.
Then, the third period happened. We are going to keep this quick, because it doesn’t deserve yours or my time more than it should. The Devils looked like the worst team ever. This was a pee wee effort going against Wayne Gretzky’s Edmonton Oilers. The Devils gave up six goals in one period. A period they went into leading, they gave up more goals than some teams give up in a week.
The headline says it all; this was a pathetic effort. The last two goals were the Devils just leaving Mackenzie Blackwood out to dry, trying to make up for a feckless effort from the defense.
Literally every single stat says the Devils were all-time bad. Are you an old-school fan who likes goals and plus/minus to tell you who’s good? The Devils lost the period 6-0 and none were power play goals. They literally dominated at 5v5 play.
Are you a new-school fan who loves the advanced stats? The Devils put up a 25% Corsi and a 26% Fenwick. Those are two numbers you will never see unless you’re watching high school hockey. (I know people aren’t doing advanced stats for high school, just go with it.)
It was almost like this team gave up when it became 7-4 in the third. They then let two golden chances in the last 90 seconds to take this from awful performance to all-time bad performance. The team hasn’t given up nine goals since 1993. That’s before their first Stanley Cup winning season!
We don’t need to get into what happen. This was so bad. The Devils fans is a passionate one, and they deserve better than what they got on Tuesday night. There’s not much more to say.