Pucks and Pitchforks
Fansided

New Jersey Devils Suffer First Loss Of The NHL Season

By David Holliday

Oct 21, 2021; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Washington Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov (92) scores a goal on New Jersey Devils goaltender Scott Wedgewood (41) during the third period at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 21, 2021; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Washington Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov (92) scores a goal on New Jersey Devils goaltender Scott Wedgewood (41) during the third period at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports /
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The New Jersey Devils dropped their first of the year and looked bad doing it. While it is no surprise that the Capitals won as they swept the Devils last year going 8-0 the team looked a far cry from the first two games. The effort was there for most of the game but thanks to a slow start there was never any real chance the Devils would come back.

The Good

Dawson Mercer has points in all three of his games and has been one of the best players on the team. That is great to see and a little surprising with the talent the team has now. His line has been the best the team has so far. The chemistry is clearly building between Mercer, Tomas Tatar, and Andreas Johnsson.

The Bad

The entirety of the defense was bad all night. There is not a lot more to say other than the passing was off and the coverage was poor. The puck was iced so many times it was getting hard to count and the lack of precision from the players made sure that there were no good rush chances for the Devils. Hopefully, Ty Smith is back soon and Damon Severson can tighten things up in the defensive end because P.K. Subban and Jonas Siegenthaler work a lot better on the third line. As for Dougie Hamilton and Ryan Graves, expect a big bounce-back game against Buffalo.

Scott Wedgewood got into his first game of the season as unfortunately, the Devils are already on a third-string goalie game three of the season. This was not his night. He looked a little slow and his positioning was not up to NHL or his own standards. If Bernier and Blackwood are out on Saturday, he will need to be better. He certainly can’t be sitting at a .852 save percentage to give the team a chance to win.

The top six had a bad game and really needs to clean things up and the first line needs to play like a first line, especially with Jack Hughes gone. Nico HIschier, Pavel Zacha, and Jesper Bratt have combined for three points in three games. The line was broken up for the end of the game and it will be interesting to see if this is a bit of a wake-up call when they are likely back together against the Buffalo Sabres.

The next game is a must-win against a Sabres team who is somehow undefeated as of Thursday but with that roster and on the second half of a back to back a loss would not be a good look. Even down Hughes, this team has the offensive talent if they play like they have shown they can and if the defenders are healthy things will be looking better in Jersey when things play out.

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