Last-Second Goals Becoming A Problem For New Jersey Devils

The New Jersey Devils are slumping for the first time this season. They started 0-2-0, but that was the beginning of the year when we didn’t know anything about this team Now, the Devils are at the top of the Metropolitan Division in mid-December. We know this team is good.

On Wednesday, they lost a close game to the Dallas Stars. That is their third loss in a row (0-2-1), so there are clearly some things that they can work on. It was a 4-1 final, but the score was 2-1 before the Stars scored two empty net goals.

The problem came with the game-winning goal for the Stars, which was their second of the game. It came with just over two seconds left in the second period. The Devils have been awful in the final minutes of periods. It’s something the coaching staff must address to change the team’s fortunes.

Instead of entering the third period tied at one, they were down 2-1. That changes the entire game plan. It ended up costing them at least one point in the standings. That’s not what you want to see at this time of the year. They got off to a great start, but they need to keep playing well.

The New Jersey Devils have some adjustments that they need to make.

How do you fix this problem? Well, there are a couple of different contributing factors. For one, they just need to understand situations. When it is the final minute of the period, at this point it won’t be a bad thing to just play lockdown defense.

It is also important to get faceoff wins late in the period so that they can possess the puck for that remaining portion. It can also be just playing hard until the horn so that you don’t give up these goals in the final seconds of periods. Sometimes stretches like this happen, but it needs to end.

Lindy Ruff and his coaches have done a great job this season. They can get this problem figured out through practice and hard playing, but it’s up to the players and the coaching staff to execute.

There is a great chance in front of them to play well with the Philadelphia Flyers coming to town on Thursday night. They aren’t a winning team, but under John Tortorella, they play hard every minute of every game.

With the talent disparity here, it would be nice to see New Jersey really beat down Philly, but it is more important to see them start getting back into these good habits. These final-minute goals have got to stop.