New Jersey Devils Underwhelm In Loss To Calgary Flames
The New Jersey Devils came out stale for a third straight game and spent the entire night chasing the Calgary Flames who looked dominant early. There were not a lot of good things going on for the home team and right now the thing that stands out the most is how much they need and miss Jack Hughes.
The Good
Dawson Mercer was one of the few bright spots again. With the way the rest of the team is playing, his line should be getting 20 minutes a night. He was an absolute steal in the draft. It’s an easy choice that he is not getting sent back to the AHL at any point this season, burning a year off his entry-level contract.
Dougie Hamilton was quiet until the third but put up another 2 assists while doing the little things right. Not his best night, but he was still the best defender on the ice by a mile.
Scott Wedgewood came in cold and put up above a .900 save percentage so it was a decent bounce-back performance. Especially considering he let in the first shot thanks to a bad play once again by Jesper Bratt who let Mangiapane get his second of the night.
The Bad
Nico Daws looked like he was too young letting in 3 goals on 7 shots but the team needed to do something to help the poor guy out. The first goal was a breakaway by Milan Lucic of all people and any breakaway is really a toss up. On the second goal, Bratt lost the battle against the boards and Siegenthaler gave the puck away to sniper Mangiapane who looks unstoppable at the moment while the third was a powerplay marker with a lot of traffic in his way. Saves need to be made but these were not all on Daws.
P.K. Subban took a bad penalty yet again, this time in the offensive zone on a pointless pinch. It was a little dirty, 100% unnecessary, and led to the goal that made the game feel out of reach barely halfway into the first period.
The so-called first line needs to step it up. Lindy Ruff even separated for large chunks of the game. Nico Hischier has shown a lot of heart, but he has not been driving the play this year and the Devils need more.
Pavel Zacha is the Devils’ leading scorer and did get two on Tuesday night. So why is he here? Well, he got an empty netter thanks to Vladar and a tap-in thanks to Hamilton getting the shot through and Mercer working hard. He was still a minus player on the night, his passing was in the skates numerous times, and any line he is on is not getting sustained pressure. It is also worth noting he is sitting on a 26.7 shooting percentage and one again is in line for huge regression offensively while bringing nothing else to the table so far.
The powerplay did score again and went 1/4 but overall was quiet and not getting the chances, the pressure, or building momentum. The best chance on a powerplay cant go to the other team and personnel needs to be shaken up on these before this is a year long trend. As for the penalty kill going 1/3 is awful and the final goal especially was painful to watch. Graves and Mcleod were in a battle in the corner and for some reason Severson and Hischier were floating near 0 Flames and thought it was a great idea to leave Tkachuk in the slot with 30 feet of free space.
And while a small note if both players drop the gloves please let them fight. There was not a lot to cheer about and the fans would strongly appreciate the entertainment and there was zero reason for the refs to stop a great part of the game we all love.
The Devils have a few days to work on things not playing till Saturday when they meet the bruised, battered and somehow good Penguins. This game could go a lot of ways and while it looked like free points on paper the team better come out ready to play or they will get blown out. As for the next practice, however, this team should expect to be bag-skated into the ground for the multiple poor performances because it is time to make sure they are ready to play early or players need to be sat or see their minutes drop.