The Matchup: New Jersey Devils (28-29-2) @ St. Louis Blues (21-28-9)<\/p>\n
Last Devils Game<\/p>\n
On Thursday night, the Devils played their 2nd game in 2 nights and did what they do best, losing 4-1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins.<\/a> I came to the realization that the Devils actually do excel at something. They lose so often and are so good at it, that you would not be blamed for thinking that they might actually be actively trying to be this bad. Maybe they want to get Sheldon Keefe or Tom Fitzgerald fired. Maybe they just want to play golf. Maybe like all of us (or most of us), they just want this season (and winter) to finally come to an end and put us out of our collective misery.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n The Devils offensive struggles continued against the Penguins. Surprise, Surprise. Paul Cotter scored his 6th goal of the season in the 2nd period, his first goal since 12\/13\u2026.his first goal in 24 games. Yay\u2026so exciting. The Penguins scored 4 goals, including 1 empty net goal, but let\u2019s be realistic here. The only thing they needed to do, was score 1 or 2 goals at most, and the game was over. During their current 5 game losing streak, the Devils have scored 4 goals\u2026.in 5 games. Fantastic! Jack Hughes continues to rack up assists, but it would be nice if he could score goals, well you know, for the team that actually pays him to score goals. 2 goals in his last 21 games, like so many things with this team, and this franchise, just doesn\u2019t cut it. The golden goal was great. I\u2019m happy everyone loves him now. But for the love of god, score some (insert expletive of your choice here) goals for your NHL team. Be a leader here. Enh, who am I kidding? There are no leaders on this team, just paycheck collectors, followers, and quitters.<\/p>\n Last Blues Game<\/p>\n Also on Thursday night the Blues defeated the Seattle Kraken 5-1.<\/a> To make you all feel even better, the Blues, a team with an even worse record than the Devils, scored more goals, in 1 game, than the Devils have scored in their last 5 games combined. Fitz knows it\u2019s not acceptable though and it\u2019s on him, so no worries everyone! In the words of Bobby McFerrin, don\u2019t worry, be happy!<\/p>\n The two teams traded goals in the first period to start the 2nd period tied at 1-1. However, St. Louis would go on to score 4 straight unanswered goals, including an ENG, to win the game 5-1. I didn\u2019t realize one team was allowed to score that many goals in a row, or in one game. Go figure. Heck, Dylan Holloway had a had trick in this game. He might be able to score more goals on his own than the entire Devils roster tonight!<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Joel Hofer started in net for St. Louis on Thursday, so I would expect to see Jordan \u201cSilver\u201d Binnington get the start tonight.<\/p>\n Injuries, Roster for Tonight, Yada, Yada, Yada.<\/p>\n Does this section really even matter anymore? The Devils will roll out the same bums players and expect different results and then act surprised when it plays out exactly like anyone with a brain (apparently not Fitz or the coaches) expected. \u201cWe did the same things with the same players and lost again!? Inconceivable!\u201d<\/p>\n The Devils \u201cplayed\u201d back to back games on Wednesday and Thursday, so I would assume they will have the day off on Friday and not have practice, but let\u2019s be real here folks. They\u2019ve been off now for months. Since Jacob Markstrom was the latest victim of the Devils \u201coffense\u201d I would expect Jake Allen to be the sacrifical lamb for tonight.<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n Grimace\u2019s Prediction and 2025-2026 Record Tracker<\/p>\n I asked Grimace this morning if he wanted to make a prediction for the game tonight. After 5 minutes of non stop laughter, he asked \u201cYou\u2019re serious?\u201d When I told him that I was, he said \u201cdude\u2026come on\u2026they\u2019re going to lose, obviously.\u201d Whatever happens tonight, at least Grimace is over .500 for the time being.<\/p>\n Grimace\u2019s 2025-2026 Season Prediction record currently stands at 12-12-0.<\/p>\n Your Take<\/p>\n I posted this information in the recap comments from the Pittsburgh game, however, I feel this belongs here too, for anyone that missed it. The Devils recorded their 20th win of the season back on December 19th. Since then they have played 24 games. They have won 8 of those 24. Eight wins\u2026..in their last 24 games. Do with that information what you will. I know what I will do with it, and it sure won\u2019t be watching this dumpster fire. Actually scratch that, at least a dumpster fire is fun to watch. Feel free to leave your thoughts and comments below and thanks for reading!<\/p>\n Advertisement<\/p>\n In a shameless bit of non hockey related self promotion (approved by Chris \u2013 thanks Chris), I wanted to plug my brand new podcast on here, if any of you are interested in listening. We have a light hearted, fun discussion about any movies, music or video games mostly from the 1980s and 1990s. Please feel free to listen to us on any of the formats below and any feedback is welcome (positive and negative). Also, please follow us and subscribe, even if you think we stink. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n