Pucks and Pitchforks
Fansided

New Jersey Devils Have Disappointing Effort Versus San Jose Sharks

By David Holliday

Nov 30, 2021; Newark, New Jersey, USA; San Jose Sharks center Noah Gregor (73) skates the puck past New Jersey Devils left wing Jesper Bratt (63) during the first period at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Tom Horak-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 30, 2021; Newark, New Jersey, USA; San Jose Sharks center Noah Gregor (73) skates the puck past New Jersey Devils left wing Jesper Bratt (63) during the first period at Prudential Center. Mandatory Credit: Tom Horak-USA TODAY Sports /
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The New Jersey Devils had a lot of motivation coming into the day thanks to the return of their best forward and new $64 million dollar man Jack Hughes. Out of the gate, the Devils looked like they were not ready to play again. Things went downhill till later in the third period when they showed more signs of life but it was far too late. Getting behind early is killing this team and they had no answer against a bad team letting four in before anything good happened.

The team needs to start playing better, but as it sits right now, the thing that is most worrying about this team is the coaching.

The Good

Mackenzie Blackwood had a sub-.900 save percentage but other than the first goal in which he should have swallowed up the puck and not given up that rebound, not a lot can be put on him. This game could easily have been at six or seven so numbers aside he should be given credit for a good effort.

The Mercer, Bratt, and Johnsson line did not have their best game, but they did push the play a fair bit and scored a big goal. Johnsson’s pass was really crisp and he set it up perfect for Bratt to control the puck on the break where he made no mistake.

The Bad

Another game and another shorthanded goal let in, another game and another powerplay that showed nothing. Right now, they are pretty much just praying that Jack comes back and carries it because it is clear that this setup will not work till changes are made.

The coaching decision to challenge a goal that was nowhere near being called back was just stupid and we all know the penalty kill will probably get scored on. Whoever made the call on challenging that whether it was Ruff or him listening to an assistant needs to take a second to watch it closely because it would have been backbreaking if they scored.

The Sharks scored three straight goals all thanks to defensive lapses that were 100% avoidable in the second period and it was unclear what anyone was thinking. There is no need to have four players go after the puck at once and when you leave a guy open in the slot he is going to bury it. This is something that should not happen but can at least be fixed by a few minutes of watching the game over and a quick talking to.

The lineups to start the game were interesting, but it was pretty clear quickly that it was a bad choice. Hughes showed so well with Kuokkanen and Sharangovich who have struggled without him so why not start them together right away. The same goes for Nico and Zacha who are a little up and down but at least they are getting points and building some chemistry.

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