New Jersey Devils: Third Straight Loss Is A Cause For Concern
The New Jersey Devils have now lost three-straight games. That came after winning three straight right before that. It is a cause for concern because they are still a young developing team. All of their best players are on the young side, and most of them are on the really young side. These losses are learning experiences and ones that will help them along down the road. There are some things to consider when evaluating this loss.
First of all, Linus Ulmark was incredible for the Buffalo Sabres. The only goal he gave up was another garbage time goal by Nikita Gusev with 27 seconds left. He was that close to a shutout but instead earned the 3-1 victory. He made 41 saves on 42 shots to stone the Devils. Mackenzie Blackwood didn’t play bad at all either, but Ulmark was on another planet to win this duel.
One thing that was apparent online was the debate over Nico Hischier‘s play. The captain doesn’t have a point in his return to game action, but that isn’t for a lack of chances. His ice time has been limited from what we are used to seeing as well and it will only increase as his conditioning improves.
Keep in mind, thanks to a broken leg and COVID-19, he went almost one calendar year without playing a single game. Those are some tough things to come back from and light the world on fire. It won’t be long before he gets going. When that happens, having Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier as a 1-2 punch will be so dangerous almost every night.
Going into the season, not many people expected the Devils to have a chance in the East Division. Maybe they still don’t but they have played well at times and not so well at other times. They are exactly what you would expect from a team this year and a limited amount of veterans. The most important thing is that they keep developing.
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Where do you go from here? Well, you keep grinding. You have to find a way to score no matter who is in the net. The defense wasn’t terrible in this one but it could always be better as well. They are right back up to Buffalo to play the Sabres on Thursday night with a chance to get some revenge on them. They need to come out with a purpose, be hard on pucks, and make some plays. If that doesn’t happen, they will likely find the same result. They can beat these guys, they just have to go do it.