The New Jersey Devils fan base began to see a glimpse of what the team could be with wins two impressive road wins against the Carolina Hurricanes and Winnipeg Jets. The lines began to play with chemistry, their special teams were efficient in both scoring and preventing goals, and MacKenzie Blackwood was a force in net. Everything that the Devils have been doing right, they did the complete opposite against the Calgary Flames.
The Devils could not get out of their own way as they awarded the Flames with six power play opportunities, cashing in on two of them. Playing undisciplined, sloppy hockey on the road against a formidable opponent such as the Calgary is a recipe for disaster. Blackwood was not at his best, but hardly to blame in a game where the Devils were dominated and spent a majority of the game pinned in their own zone.
Defense continues to be a glaring issue, as Johnny Gaudreau utilized his speed to seemingly do whatever he wanted through the neutral zone. The third pairing of Will Butcher and Matt Tennyson continued to be a liability when on the ice with one another. Fans who watch every night know that Tennyson should not be part of the plan moving forward, both in the short term and long term. One could only hope that general manager Ray Shero is working vigorously on the lines to help bolster the defense, as viable reinforcements are not in the Devils’ system to improve this season.
The positives continue to be the play of rookie sensation Jack Hughes. He was a part of both goals, one on a beautiful move on a partial breakaway and another on a nifty set up to Nikita Gusev after a neutral zone turnover by Michael Stone. One wonders why coach John Hynes does not play Hughes and Taylor Hall in more even strength situations as both have shown undeniable chemistry together when given the opportunity. Sami Vatanen continues to impress with his play both offensively and defensively.
The Devils have little time to dwell on this loss as they have a quick turnaround against the Edmonton Oilers. Edmonton plays extremely well on home ice and will need to defend a lot better against a Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl led offense. Let’s hope the Devils play much more inspired hockey just as they did earlier in the road trip.