The New Jersey Devils suffered a fifth straight defeat on Saturday night, falling 4-1 to the Boston Bruins. After the game, head coach Sheldon Keefe told NJD.TV, “It’s a crappy feeling and there’s no one that wants to get out of this more than us.”
Related: Devils News & Rumors: Quinn & Jack Hughes, Yegorov Shines at MSG
Struggling to Score First Goal
Giving up the first goal of the game has been an issue that, historically, has plagued the Devils at different times. While they’ve been around the 50% mark this season, tonight marked the third game in a row where they conceded the first tally.
Their record when they score first is a remarkable 11-2-1 (.821 PTS%). When they give up the first goal, it’s 5-10-0 (.333 PTS%). While it’s far from the only issue right now, the numbers don’t lie. Scoring the first goal will put them in a position to pick up at least one standings point more often than not.
Struggling to Score *Any* Goal
Forget about the first goal, though, scoring any goal has been a tough challenge for the Devils. Since Jack Hughes went down, the Devils’ 1.69 goals per 60 minutes (GF/60) at 5v5 ranks 31st in the league, trailing only the Los Angeles Kings.
As New Jersey Devils goaltender Jake Allen skates away, Boston Bruins center Casey Mittelstadt celebrates his goal with center Pavel Zacha (Winslow Townson-Imagn Images)
Since Oct. 30, the Devils have scored 13.27 goals below expected (via Natural Stat Trick). Even if they were regularly finishing their chances, it would still be tough to win as they aren’t generating enough. This level of finishing makes it near impossible.
After Timo Meier’s first period goal marked their first tally in over 146 minutes, they proceeded to not score any more. They’ve scored just once in their last three games.
Wheels Falling Off the Bus
Unlike some of their previous games, the Devils dominated the pace of play tonight in Boston. After the second period, they were leading in virtually every category — from high danger chances, to regular scoring chances, to possession time. But down 2-1, they were unable to tie, hitting two posts.
Then in the third, when they should’ve come out hungrier, they fell flat. Ondrej Palat made a perfect move to cut to the inside and set up a scoring chance for Connor Brown. Jeremy Swayman sprawled post-to-post and robbed him. Less than a minute and a half later, a defensive breakdown led to an easy goal for Casey Mittelstadt, giving the Bruins some much needed insurance. That’s how it’s went for the Devils as of late.
In such a dire third period, the Devils got out chanced 12-7 and gave up more high danger chances (7) than the other two frames combined (6). Simply put: there’s not much to be positive about regarding the team when they struggle so hard to show energy in crucial situations. They need to figure it out quickly.
Moving Forward
The Devils — now 16-12-1 — will continue their road trip on Tuesday as they face the Ottawa Senators (7:00 PM EST).
