New Jersey Devils just suffered, by far, their worst loss of the season against Detroit

The New Jersey Devils looked awful in their loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night. Their home opener loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs made it feel like they weren’t ready to call themselves contenders. The OT loss to the Washington Capitals was an entirely terrible effort outside Nico HIschier. The losses for the Devils have all been terrible. Nothing compares to what happened on Thursday night against the Detroit Red Wings.

It’s not because the Devils looked bad in the game. Quite the opposite, actually. There is so much that came out of that game that’s incredibly positive. Nico Hischier might win the Selke Trophy this season. Jack Hughes is back to normal, and his dynamic puck possession tactics are leading to goals again, especially on the power play. The bottom six is bringing physicality, and that physicality is either bringing offense or drawing penalties. 

The Red Wings had three high-danger chances at 5v5 according to Natural Stat Trick. If you add in the power play, there are still only six. A team should not score four goals (five including the empty netter) on six high-danger shots. It just shouldn’t happen. Jacob Markstrom was not good on Thursday night, and this is especially worrisome after Jake Allen was dreadful on Tuesday. 

It’s back-to-back awful goalie performances, and it’s the reason the Devils lost these last two games. It was especially bad on Thursday, and that has Devils fans wondering if the goalie situation is actually finalized. 

The Devils looked like the better team, the tougher team, the more skilled team, and the superior team. And they lost. Sometimes that happens, but for that to happen right after that Lightning loss is rough. This week has been impossibly bad for the Devils, and they went from coming into November with a really good record to possibly falling out of the playoff spot they’ve been holding by Halloween. 

The worst part about this loss is the circumstances around the Red Wings. They were incredibly sick, dealing with a stomach bug that clearly sapped the energy out of them. The fact that the Devils allowed them to get two power plays late in the game is inexcusible. The fact their penalty kill didn't immediately shut them down makes it so much worse.

The Dawson Mercer penalty will be the one that many circle, and the Brenden Dillon penalty was a pretty awful call, but the PK has to step up there. Play incredibly aggressive and don't let the Red Wings take a shot. Force turnovers. The Red Wings know they have a gift, and they acted like a team with nothing to lose. Don't ever let that happen again.

It’s still not panic time, but it’s serious evaluation time. The Devils are losing in every way possible. Sometimes, they get dominated offensively. Other times, a goalie completely stones them. It’s way early in the season, and there’s nothing to say this is a bad team, but the goaltending is concerning.