Unacceptable Loss For New Jersey Devils Should Lead To Change

The New Jersey Devils have underwhelmed this season by a large margin, but a loss to the Ottawa Senators leads to a new low for them.

It is starting to become apparent that the New Jersey Devils just might not be a good hockey team. It was easy to say that they have a lot of young pieces, a lot of new players and would need time to gel. Those things might have been true but there has been enough of a sample size now to start noticing that the team just isn’t very good. That is not to say that they have no chance to salvage the season because they can. Way weirder things have happened, even if you look back to last year with the St. Louis Blues.

The thing is, something had to give when they were playing the Ottawa Senators. They have one of if not the worst roster in the National Hockey League. They are clearly rebuilding and are still putting it all together. They are where the Devils were multiple years ago but the Devils allowed them to come into the Prudential Center and bully them around. It wasn’t all bad as the Devils had a 2-1 lead going into the third period but in typical Devils fashion, they lost the game in regulation by a final score of 4-2.

Ottawa has talented players on their team and every team in the NHL should be respected but if the Devils see themselves as a team that can come back and makes the playoffs they need to beat Ottawa, They didn’t and it is an embarrassment. The Devils have been okay lately as they had a winning road trip before this game, but it feels like it is all for not with this ugly loss.

There are two players that stood out as positives in this game. Nico Hischier had another fantastic game. He was the Devils’ best player by far and he continues his upward trend. This is a player that the Devils are going to rely on for a very long time. He is amazing in all three zones and is only getting better. If he keeps this up, 2019-20 is going to be his breakout year.

The other player is MacKenzie Blackwood. He gave up a soft goal that allowed Ottawa to tie it in the first period but he was brilliant from that point on. He made a bunch of really nice saves when the game was tied at two late. Ottawa was able to tie it late but you can’t blame Blackwood for that as the Devils had breakdowns that simply should not happen. He made 21 saves on 24 shots. There were a lot of high danger chances for the Senators late and he gave the Devils a chance and they couldn’t grab it.

You would think that something needs to change to get these guys going. They keep digging themselves deeper into the ground in the playoff chase. It is early but losing these early season points at home is a big problem. They are back at it to try to get things right again when the Pittsburgh Penguins make their first trip to Newark this season. Things don’t get any easier from Ottawa, especially with Pittsburgh, so the Devils are going to need to bring a much better effort.