The New Jersey Devils didn’t score a goal on Thursday night. They literally needed one goal to get a point, and they couldn’t get it. They were facing Sergei Bobrovsky, who is one of the best goalies in the world and the reigning Stanley Cup champion, but the Devils should have scored a goal. Unfortunately, they were shut out for the first time this season.
The Panthers scored a goal in the first period. That was the end of the scoring for the game. Sam Reinhart was all the Panthers needed, as he got around Luke Hughes for a pretty goal against Jake Allen. Allen was superb for the rest of the night, giving the Devils a chance to win. Unfortunately, since Jack Hughes went down, this offense is nonexistent.
It’s really unfortunate because this should be a team that can create offense. There are still stars in Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Timo Meier, and Dougie Hamilton. Young offensive defensemen like Simon Nemec and Luke Hughes should be creating opportunities from the back end. Rookie Arseny Gritsyuk can make plays on his own. The chemistry is just in the toilet right now.
It’s clear that the Devils are running their wheels right now. Something is very off with the lines. Head coach Sheldon Keefe has tried a few different combinations, especially with Connor Brown and Evgenii Dadonov back from injury, but nothing has worked. We expect to see new line combinations again come Saturday against the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Devils got 31 shots on Thursday, but they weren’t exactly quality chances. Outside of the flurry of chances they had at the end of the game with the goalie pulled, the Devils weren’t really making Bobrovsky sweat. Even on the two power plays they had, the offense wasn’t making anything happen.
Bratt played 20 minutes and took six shots. That’s what you’re looking for from him right now, but it isn’t leading to the type of chances to get in the net. Timo Meier did well on board battles and in the middle of the ice, but it’s unacceptable that he had just one shot this game.
New Jersey Devils must find their offensive game to survive without Jack Hughes
The Devils were clearly frustrated all game. Nico Hischier even punched Evan Rodrigues in the face at the end of the second period. Rodrigues took exception to Hischier taking a shot after the buzzer, but he barely started the conversation before Hischier was throwing haymakers.
Hischier is obviously the main culprit for the offensive disappearance. He’s struggled mightily to start the season, and now the Devils really need him to reverse his game and focus on scoring goals. He has just four goals this season. He scored the Devils' only goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday, but that didn’t carry over into this game.
Something has to give for this team. They have one goal since the first intermission against the Washington Capitals this past Saturday. That’s eight periods with one goal, all without Jack Hughes. Keefe has to figure out how to make the offense go without Hughes. They can’t survive his injury playing this poorly.