New Jersey Devils Should Embrace New Underdog Role
The New Jersey Devils are watching everyone jump off the bandwagon after a disastrous performance against the Colorado Avalanche. Don’t get us wrong, the Devils were atrocious on Tuesday night. However, it seems pretty early to claim the Devils didn’t deserve the hype of the offseason.
Many nationally recognized names were on the Devils bandwagon before the season. After what some assess as a rough start, the bandwagon is much lighter than it was a month ago. Things hit a fever pitch after the Avs game early Wednesday morning. Analyst Paul Bissonnette had some harsh words for Jersey’s Team.
Biz went OFF on the Devils 😳 pic.twitter.com/7cgdg7kaih
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) November 8, 2023
Biz builds his reputation on shock and awe. If he isn’t saying anything controversial or brazen then he’s not talking. So, this really isn’t a surprise.
To be fair to the former NHLer, the Devils forced him to stay up until after 1 a.m. EST to see that terrible third-period performance. The Devils were pretty atrocious for most of Tuesday night, but the third period might be their worst period in a very long time. They were fruitless. The effort was borderline pathetic. It was bad from top to bottom.
Despite that, the Devils are in second place in the Metropolitan Division by points percentage. Second place! The New York Rangers are having an unthinkably good start to their season. They are four points ahead of the Devils. Again, how is there a freak out already?
The Devils are going to be without Jack Hughes for the next few weeks. Nico Hischier is still out, but he will hopefully be back soon. This is a decent month to be dealing with this. They have zero four-game weeks. If Hughes takes until the end of the month to return, he will only miss 11 total games. That’s really not that big a deal.
dark. Next. Hughes Injury Costs Him Hart Trophy
Tuesday was not the type of performance that beats bad teams let alone the Colorado Avalanche. The defense has been brutal, and Vitek Vanecek isn’t doing enough to overcome that. The 5v5 offense needs to be much better. However, this might be exactly what this team needed. Too many people were blowing smoke, and maybe the Devils felt too good about themselves. Be the underdog. Let analysts underestimate you. Just keep winning, even if it’s ugly. Then, when they least expect it, make the playoffs and go on a run.