As the four game series continues the Devils have dropped a third straight to their biggest rivals the New York Rangers who are making a move towards the playoffs. Though they have played 2 more games the Rangers are only 4 points behind Boston and quite likely 2 after tomorrow which should sting the Devils and their fans as this was a golden opportunity to destroy the playoff chances of the most hated team for fans. Tomorrow will be a huge game and while it really means nothing in the standings you can not lose 4 in a row and then be going on to play the next biggest rivals for 6 games.
The Good
The fourth line still looks like one of the best in the league at their job as Mcleod scored threw some punches and the line as a whole drove the play quite well. They were the best thing on the ice for the vast majority of the game in Devils red and combined for 8 hits though somehow they gave Miles Wood zero. Without them in the lineup this team would probably have just quit on the game and it would have been boring to watch.
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Jack Hughes and his line were given a big role as the top line and had a good game despite the score. Jack and Yegor played 20 minutes which is nuts for a forward and Janne played 16 and they all did a good job considering it is a rookie line. They should be playing in the middle of the lineup in a normal situation but with Bratt and Zacha out the coaching staff had little choice but playing a consistent line is a good choice. Hughes is continuing to fire the puck at a massively increased rate which is going to show up big likely next year and his playmaking is a good as ever with a pair of assists.
The Bad
Johnsson was rewarded in game 30 without a goal by being paired with the Captain Nico Hischier for some reason and while the lineup is bare at the moment the answer to who should play in this spot is literally anyone else. It really sends the wrong message when you can produce nothing and be rewarded with 17 minutes on top of that. This would have been an ok move after 10games to try and bust him out of a slump but now might be an appropriate time for someone to step in and ask the coaches why.
Dell let in a quick goal and the Devils were behind quickly again and that is never going to go well, especially for a young team. They followed this up with an awful period since the tone was set and in the second period the same problem occurred with Panarin scoring 30seconds in. Sometimes the goalie just needs to make the save and when you rock a sub .900 save percentage a good part of the loss has to be on you. Hopefully the Devils will be able to get more games out of Blackwood and Wedgewood moving forward as both have been immeasurably better than Dell all year.