The New Jersey Devils put forth the worst effort of the entire season on Thursday night against the Vegas Golden Knights. They had a weak first period, but they escaped with a 0-0 score thanks to Jake Allen. Then, the second period started. The Devils put up an effort that wouldn't be good enough in pee-wee hockey.
The Devils lost the game 3-1. There's no point in actual analysis or game break down. It couldn't have been a worse effort. This is the type of effort that forces teams to look themselves in the mirror and ask if this is the roster that's going to go very far. Most fans would say no, but teams can have the value that comes with patience.
We've had patience with the Devils. It's time to do something. Anything. Obviously, it has to be something with logic steeped in its core, but it still needs to happen. Whether it's a trade or a surprise benching or something. Nobody needs to be fired or anything extreme, but a message must be sent.
This type of a loss isn't going to go away with an angry Sheldon Keefe or a bag skate on Friday. There is something wrong with the roster. There's a serious issue with the Devils centers, as Erik Haula, Justin Dowling, and Curtis Lazar are not good enough as a 2-3-4 combo. Nothing against them. Adding Nico Hischier back into this lineup will help so much, but it doesn't completely fix the problem.
This is going to be a short one folks because the message is clear. Do something. This game can't be something that just has everyone sitting by. Call up four forwards from the AHL. Just completely try something at this point if a trade can't materialize. It's one game, so a message can be sent before the 4 Nations Face-Off break.