There is a lot of blame to go around after the New Jersey Devils lost to the Carolina Hurricanes in five games. A few really bad stretches were the reason they lost two of the games in the series. The defensive injuries became too much to handle. The offense didn't step up in Games 1 and 2. However, the consensus blame is going to the team's power play.
The New Jersey Devils' power play finished the series with the Hurricanes 0-for-16. They had 16 opportunities with the man advantage, and they scored zero times. Honestly, they didn't even make a dent.
The Devils finished the series as the only team in the NHL without a power-play goal this postseason. No other team was as bad as them. This is a team that was third in power-play percentage in the regular season. They did finish with the fifth-most high-danger chances according to Natural Stat Trick, so there's a luck factor and opposing goaltender factor here. Yet, the Devils never really felt like they could string together multiple opportunities in a row, especially with the first power-play unit.
The Devils are preparing for the offseason on Wednesday because of the power play. It's the sole reason they lost this series. Well, the special teams difference is the sole reason. The Hurricanes scored six power-play goals and added a shorthanded goal. A +7 special-teams goal differential in a five-game span makes life impossible for any team.
The architect for the Devils' power play is assistant coach Jeremy Colliton. When Sheldon Keefe added Colliton to his staff, it was widely praised as a great move. For most of the season, that was confirmed. Colliton had the Devils' power play buzzing, and his additions to the offense really helped the progression of the team's stars. Players like Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt were enjoying career years.
While Colliton, who was once the head coach of the Chicago Blackhawks, wasn't the front runner for any NHL job this cycle, we expected him to be part of the interview process for a few openings. After the Devils' performnace this postseason, that's probably off the table.
Colliton was already an outside candidate who could talk himself into a job. Now, he's likely returning to New Jersey where he can fix the team's mistakes of the postseason. It's good news for the Devils. Despite the playoff failure, the positives from Colliton's tenure outweigh the negatives by a lot. This is a coaching staff that got this team to play well and survive an insane level of injuries.