What do the New Jersey Devils want from this season? Do they want to just return to the playoffs and call that a win? Do they just want more experience for Jack and Luke Hughes, building off that momentum? Do they want to take their time with Sheldon Keefe's system, putting together the makings of a future Stanley Cup contender? Or do they want to actually compete in the Eastern Conference?
The New Jersey Devils haven't looked like anything but possible collapse candidate since Christmas. They lose way too often, and they don't look like a good team more often than not. They've played increasingly bad against good competition for months now. Since the New Year, the Devils have beaten one good team. The Tampa Bay Lightning were defeated 3-2 in overtime on January 11th.
In that span, the Devils have lost to the Dallas Stars, Los Angeles Kings, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vegas Golden Knights, and on Wednesday, they had a dreadful effort against the Colorado Avalanche. The Avs blitzed the Devils in the first period, putting on a full-ice press after two-straight losses. They played like a desperate team, and the Devils were lucky to get out of the first period with a 1-0 deficit.
Colorado kept their foot on the gas peddle, and even when they slowed down, the Devils couldn't capitalize. They got a few good chances, and Jack Hughes even broke Mackenzie Blackwood's shutout streak against the Devils, but there was a point when it was clear the Devils took their own foot off the gas. When the Avalanche made it 3-1 with a little over five minutes left, their effort for the rest of the game should be studied and shown to them on a daily basis.
The New Jersey Devils really need to figure out what the point of this season is after dreadful loss to Colorado Avalanche
The final score was 5-1 because the Avalanche would not let statistics or possibilities decide their fate. They never stopped, and they took advantage of the Devils mistakes, even at the end of the game. This Devils team was awful at the logistics of hockey. They made penalties at the wrong time. They had more icings than most people could count, and they fumbled the puck on zone entries to end good scoring chances.
It was a putrid game. There are "throw out the tape" games that every team has, but the Devils have about 10 of them this season. It's time to watch the tape and understand why this keeps happening.
Sheldon Keefe and Tom Fitzgerald need to sit down and discuss what the goal is this season. There are horrendous holes on this roster. Fitzgerald did a tremendous job rebuilding this defense and goaltending unit, but he did it at the expense of the offense. Now, they can't score. Is it worth it to lose future assets to build around this team? Should he even be active at the trade deadline?
It all depends on what's on the line here, but the team that went out there on Wednesday night isn't going anywhere. It doesn't matter if they add a Jake Evans or Scott Laughton. That's not fixing what's wrong with this team. It's time to find the soul of the Devils. Or maybe it's already been sold.