The New Jersey Devils fell to the Washington Capitals in overtime by a score of 6-5. It was not a pretty effort by the Devils, and it might be the first loss of the season without an embedded excused (like jetlag from Czechia or playing on a back-to-back). This was just a poor performance, especially by the Devils defense.
The defense has received a lot of the headlines this season. Both Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce have yet to make their season debuts due to injury, and it's forced the Devils and Sheldon Keefe to get creative. He made Johnathan Kovacevic an everyday player, and he's been mostly good. At times, the team relied on him heavily over the first eight games.
Another player who was given a shot because of the injuries is rookie Seamus Casey. Casey had a fantastic (albeit short) training camp and preseason, which gave him a chance to take the trip to Czechia with the Devils. We learned there that he would make his NHL debut on that trip, and he hasn't left the lineup since.
Casey at times has been really good in his first few games. He's been a playmaker, has been scoring goals, and his confidence level has boiled over from his time at the University of Michigan. Casey has even been playing on his off-hand, taking the spot of fellow Wolverine alumni Luke Hughes.
However, it appears the good times with Casey are just about through. Despite leading all rookies, forward or defenseman, in goals with three, Casey will probably be the next player taken out of the lineup after Pesce or Hughes return from injury. Both players are in full-practice mode, so either could be ready to go any day now.
Casey's time on ice is showing where Sheldon Keefe's head is at. He's often had the fewest minutes each game, but it's starting to look like he's falling out of favor. And Keefe said as much, as reported by Devils reporter Amanda Stein after the game.
"(Casey)'s struggled the last little bit. To me, Case has done a really good job here, we've talked about it, how impressed I've been with him. To me, it looks like the schedule is eating him up... I think that kind of, for perhaps our whole group it shows up. For a young guy like Seamus, it's been piling on and when it happens, coach loses some confidence in you and it's kind of hard to get going. "Sheldon Keefe, Devils Head Coach
That's a telling quote, but Keefe went on to say he planned to use Casey in overtime before Tom Wilson scored a game-winner for the Capitals on Saturday night.
Casey is young, and he will likely be the next guy up if another defensive injury happens, but there is value letting him go down to the Utica Comets. There, he can play a similar schedule to the one he played in college, giving him more time to get used to a professional cadence. He can also help a Utica team that hasn't won a game yet. (They do play on Sunday, so that could change.)
While we would have loved to follow Casey's push for Calder Trophy love, it just makes sense to send him down for a few weeks. Let him develop properly, and give him a chance to show he can be a star.