We all know about New Jersey Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe's comments after their Saturday night loss to the Ottawa Senators. Johnathan Kovacevic made a comment in a postgame interview about playing with a "playoff mentality." When a reporter asked Keefe about that exact comment, he said Kovacevic "needs to play better."
The comments were discussed across platforms. TV shows, radio shows, and articles came out specifically on his comments. Who knew one reactionary sentence could provide so much in terms of content across platforms. And that's not even talking about social media, where the comments were viewed millions of times. It was possibly the most viral moment of the Devils' season.
With a day off on Sunday, many were very interested to see what Sheldon Keefe has to say about the reaction to his comments. ESPN spoke to him during the second period of a 1-1 game with the Vancouver Canucks, and his tone has dramatically changed.
“He’s the best”#NJDevils head coach Sheldon Keefe on Jonathan Kovacevic during the in-game interview.
— Vinnie Parise (@VinnieParise) March 25, 2025
Amazing.
Of course, there's a possibility that Keefe is trying to send more positive comments into the universe about his defenseman to downplay any attention his press conference might garner, but it definitely helps that Kovacevic made an insane play to say the Devils. His strong stick stopped a shot at the doorstep, keeping the Canucks at one.
Johnathan Kovacevic makes a clutch defensive play after being called out by his coach the previous game 💪 pic.twitter.com/pgNAUbYVx5
— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) March 25, 2025
Sheldon Keefe said something nice about Johnny Kovacevic after his game-saving play
That's a huge play by Kovacevic to stop a sure chance by Nils Aman. If Kovecevic doesn't have the strongest possible grip on his stick, and if he's not able to get his stick level with the goal post, then that puck is going into the net.
It really helped Keefe forget about Kovacevic's penalty in the first period. He had a high stick call after he mishandled a puck at the blueline. He turned around quickly with his stick going too high, and hit a Canucks forward in the face. Luckily, nobody scored on the ensuing power play.
We don't expect much consternation between Kovacevic and Keefe moving forward. Devils beat writers will ask about it after the game, and that will be about it. Hockey fans will move on to the next viral thing that happens.