All About The Jersey - All PostsA world class blog for Jersey's team: the New Jersey Devilshttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47083/lou-fave.png2024-03-18T12:45:00-04:00http://www.allaboutthejersey.com/rss/current/2024-03-18T12:45:00-04:002024-03-18T12:45:00-04:00The Grass is Not Always Greener: What's Really Wrong With the Devils?
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<img alt="St Louis Blues v New Jersey Devils" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/uCZqpwtTrZbjTNPFeoQotAxuyUg=/0x0:4500x3000/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73215525/2066880201.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Is it toughness? Is it the leadership? Is it the coach? Is it the GM? | Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Since the coaching change, the Devils are 2-5-0. It’s almost like the problems ran a bit deeper.</p> <p id="k8NSNG">We all know this is a deeply flawed Devils team. Today, I would like to take a dive into several things plaguing the Devils this season, as I have been dissatisfied with new head coach Travis Green blaming the Devils’ “immaturity” for their losing ways. Of course, nobody pushed back on his comment about needing to learn how to win, when he was not on the staff that saw the Devils win a playoff round last year, so I would like to add some much-needed context and pushback on Travis Green’s public statements so far. In short: immaturity is only the very tip of the iceberg (and Dougie Hamilton’s loss is a real killer). On we go with problem one:</p>
<h2 id="sDmUfj"><strong>Problem Number One: The System Change Hurt the Team</strong></h2>
<p id="bCQeuM">Despite being one of the most dominant teams at even strength last season, the <a href="https://www.allaboutthejersey.com">New Jersey Devils</a> have struggled mightily with generating non-rush chances at five-on-five this season. Over the past five or so weeks, since the grand “system change” has been unveiled, this problem seems to have worsened. Between games 21 and 47 — when Dougie Hamilton hit IR to the All-Star Break, the Devils had 78 even strength goals in 27 games: about 2.89 per game. They also allowed 74 even strength goals: about 2.74 against per game. They were 14-11-2 in that span.</p>
<p id="BfLsMb">Since the system change, the team has gone 8-12-1. They have scored 51 even strength goals in 21 games: about 2.43 per game. They’ve allowed 58: about 2.76 against per game. So, for all of that talk about how Lindy Ruff’s original system was the problem with this team, it appears that the softer, more conservative style they’ve reverted to has done more harm than good to the team. Mind you: the Devils have been significantly healthier <em>since</em> the systematic change.</p>
<p id="HYoWex"><a href="https://www.nj.com/devils/2024/03/devils-travis-green-makes-his-case-for-becoming-njs-full-time-head-coach-in-qa.html">In his interview with Ryan Novozinsky</a>, in which he advocated for himself to take over as head coach on a permanent basis, Travis Green had this to say about the system that the team has played:</p>
<blockquote><p id="UWLBUKBUSNEINMVLXHTYC4SKCE">Have we made little tweaks in our system? A little bit. Small, minor details that I think I put an emphasis on. But we haven’t really made any wholesale changes to any part of our as we’ve only had a couple of practices and I didn’t think that was the way to go. Quite honestly, I like a lot of our system that Lindy installed into our team. He gave us a voice in that area as well.</p></blockquote>
<p id="kmkIK8">Perhaps Lindy’s assistants got too much voice in creating this system. The more it’s changed, the worse it’s performed. And this is not me claiming the original system this year was great — but it definitely helped create those extra chances that led them to win more games compared to now.</p>
<h2 id="fHvOAU"><strong>Problem Number Two: Travis Green Brought a Coaching Change Dip Instead of a Coaching Change Bump</strong></h2>
<p id="GP6SP4">According to <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/ottawa-senators/latest-news/which-nhl-teams-have-had-the-most-success-after-firing-their-head-coach-this-season">Steve Warne at The Hockey News</a>, every single coaching change in the NHL this season prior to Lindy Ruff’s firing led to a positive bump in points percentage. The least difference belonged to Patrick Roy at the time, who only improved the Islanders’ point percentage by .023, as he was 7-5-3 compared to Lane Lambert’s 19-15-11 at the time. He also successfully turned around Lambert’s last ten games, in which they went 2-6-2. The greatest bumps belonged to John Hynes and Kris Knoblauch. The Wild jumped .223 in points percentage under Hynes, while the Oilers jumped a whopping .<em><strong>481</strong></em> under Knoblauch. </p>
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<cite>Evolving-Hockey</cite>
<figcaption>This team’s even strength shot rate took a dive after Lindy Ruff got fired.</figcaption>
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<p id="v7Jt2X">Travis Green’s 2-5-0 record has him at a .286 points percentage: good for a dip of .238 in points percentage from Lindy Ruff. You can also see above that the team had a <em><strong>post-system change peak in shot share</strong></em> at the moment <em><strong>right before Lindy Ruff got fired</strong></em>. Yes, this team lost Tyler Toffoli in the process of the trade deadline — but I don’t think anyone would have been pointing to Toffoli as an offensive playdriver. He was a finisher, sure, but not a shot creator with the Devils.</p>
<h2 id="avHnI8"><strong>Problem Number Three: Special Teams, Which Were a Strength Last Year, Have Not Helped This Season</strong></h2>
<p id="FMQISS">Since Dougie Hamilton tore his pectoral muscle, the Devils have had the worst power play in the NHL. It’s almost a bit humorous to note that Travis Green had Dougie on PP2 when he was healthy, as Hamilton was rifling away with 15-45 seconds to work with per power play. Since then, it’s been all-too-easy for opponents to zero in on Luke Hughes at the point, neutralizing what was a threatening power play last season. Prior to Dougie’s injury, the Devils had 25 power play goals on 68 opportunities for an astronomical <em><strong>36.76% </strong></em>effectiveness.</p>
<p id="wV3Ybw">Since then, the Devils have had 19 power play goals on 136 opportunities for a pathetic 13.97% effectiveness. If you want to punish them further for their six shorthanded goals against in that timeframe, it drops to a 9.5% true effectiveness. They only allowed one shorthanded goal against before Dougie’s injury. No coach in charge of something like this should even be retained for the next season, let alone be handed the keys to the head coaching job.</p>
<p id="rD82Ss">On the penalty killing side, the Devils have been rather average at 79.70% effectiveness, above the league average of 79.15%. Last season, the Devils had a power play that converted at a slightly above-average rate of 21.88% on very few opportunities. The penalty kill successfully killed 82.61% of their power plays against, which was well above league average. And importantly, the Devils did not allow many shorthanded goals against, scoring one more than they allowed (they’re at a -4 differential this season). Going from having a +10 special teams differential to a -1 differential this season (or -10 in the 48 games since Dougie got hurt) has made it much more difficult to win games.</p>
<h2 id="1QRLaM"><strong>Problem Number Four: The Devils Are Too Soft in Transition</strong></h2>
<p id="SJT7AL">I have been complaining about the Devils’ neutral zone structure all year. Huge gaps from the defensemen, who drop behind the blueline before the other team has even entered, ceding the zone regularly is what led to that dagger from Jack Eichel last night. The defensemen are hunched over, with their stick outstretched, acting like making a stand-up play isn’t even allowed in hockey. That Smith-Nemec pairing was also an interesting choice. If you check below, you will see that Nemec and Smith are two of the worst players on the team at preventing transitions against.</p>
<p id="ruP5ek">To read this: higher placement is better for defense (time to Devils’ defensive blueline); to the right is better for offense (time to opponent’s defensive blueline). </p>
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<cite>HockeyViz</cite>
<figcaption>A problem: some of our most skilled players are the easiest to transition against.</figcaption>
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<p id="Clr75Q">Worst here is Alex Holtz, whose placement on the fourth line is rather appropriate when you see his impacts on transition play: it is very possible that he would be eaten alive by more skilled opponents than the ones he has faced. But aside from Holtz, who is off-the-charts bad in defensive transition, it should be no surprise to see Brendan Smith, Timo Meier (who started the year extremely poorly), Jack Hughes, and Dougie Hamilton on the poorer end of the defensive transition time: this means opponents get into their offensive zones <em><strong>very quickly</strong></em> against guys like Jack Hughes. Which, if you’ve watched them this season, is not very surprising. </p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">A rip from <a href="https://twitter.com/jackeichel?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@jackeichel</a> gives the <a href="https://twitter.com/GoldenKnights?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GoldenKnights</a> the lead! ⚔️<br><br> : <a href="https://twitter.com/NHL_On_TNT?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@NHL_on_TNT</a> & <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsonMax?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SportsonMax</a> ➡️ <a href="https://t.co/W9mpYG1lMO">https://t.co/W9mpYG1lMO</a> <a href="https://t.co/lizOwHpjXw">pic.twitter.com/lizOwHpjXw</a></p>— NHL (@NHL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NHL/status/1769486235045618095?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2024</a>
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<p id="6481ir">The surprise to some, I’m sure, would be Nemec. Nemec does have great transitional impact for offense, but his neutral zone defense leaves a lot to be desired: Luke Hughes is in a far more favorable position as having the best offensive impact for defensemen when accounting for his relatively even defensive impact. This is not to say anything of their <strong>in-zone</strong> defense, which I think is more of a strength for Nemec at this point, but the data backs Nemec being a likely victim of plays like the one Eichel made above.</p>
<p id="LTxlFz">There are some other issues here. McLeod was a great transitional player who Fitz neglected to replace (more on that later). John Marino is a great transitional player who turns into a pumpkin the moment he enters the offensive zone with the puck. Dawson Mercer has had no offensive transitional ability this year. Colin Miller, probably the best all-around transition defenseman, was traded. In all, though, this team is <em><strong>too middling </strong></em>in the neutral zone to be a truly great rush team, as they give up just about as much as they create, with some players like Jack Hughes and Dawson Mercer being far below their pre-season expected impact. </p>
<p id="ahyspc">Going from guys like Damon Severson and Dougie Hamilton on the right side — guys who would spring Jack Hughes for chances left and right last year — to the crop of defensemen we have now, along with Jack slowing his game down, was a recipe for disaster. Teams now know they just have to sit back and wait for the Devils to turn the puck over.</p>
<h2 id="8S3hYz"><strong>Problem Number Five: Tom Fitzgerald Waited Too Long to Address the Goalie Situation; Did Not Address the Center Situation</strong></h2>
<p id="BE178N">Since Jake Allen and Kaapo Kahkonen have joined the Devils’ netminders group, the team has seen a marked increase in saves on dangerous chances. While Allen not joining the team due to his no-trade clause can be attributed to extremely poor communication, there is no such excuse for Kaapo Kahkonen. Now, Kahkonen might not be a world-beater goalie, but he has produced a lot of high-danger saves behind the worst defense in the NHL. It was not much of a surprise that Kahkonen played respectably immediately upon putting on the red and black — yet Fitz was rather dismissive of him as an acquisition, pointing to it as just a way to get rid of Vitek Vanecek. Had Kahkonen been here since, say, <em><strong>December</strong></em>, the Devils might have gotten a few more wins where Vanecek, Schmid, and Daws received losses.</p>
<p id="6tHvC5">The Devils are also 8-14-1 since Michael McLeod and Cal Foote took leaves of absence and were then arrested in conjunction with the Hockey Canada sexual assault scandal. While some may say that the team took an emotional hit from those events playing out — and I don’t doubt that they felt it — I would point to Tom Fitzgerald’s “everything is fine” attitude as having the actual <em><strong>on-ice</strong></em> impact. Trade deadline prices might have been a bit on the inflated side for the center market, but Fitz did not even attempt for a guy like Alex Wennberg (though Henrique should have been his target). His preference for leaving the 2-4Cs as Haula-Lazar-Nosek/Tierney killed this team down the stretch. Haula, is at best, a 3C. Lazar is a 4C or middle six defensive winger. Tierney has been a decent fourth liner this year. Nosek has been one of the worst forwards I’ve seen since the days of John Hayden.</p>
<p id="bVyV8o">With a languishing bottom six as a result, it’s no surprise that a top-heavy first line of Hughes-Hischier-Bratt/Mercer has been unable to single-handedly outscore opponents over the last few games. That is pretty much the situation Fitzgerald and Green have put those guys, plus Meier, in: go win the games by yourselves. It’s not much different from watching the Taylor Hall + nobody or Henrique/Palmieri + nobody days.</p>
<h2 id="Ix6AIN"><strong>Your Thoughts</strong></h2>
<p id="zAbYT7">What do you think of these problems plaguing the Devils? What needs to be done this offseason to fix it? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and thanks for reading.</p>
<p id="7fEfTm">Credit to HockeyViz and Evolving-Hockey for their transition time impact and rolling Corsi share charts, respectively.</p>
https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2024/3/18/24104298/grass-not-always-greener-whats-really-wrong-new-jersey-devils-travis-green-lindy-ruff-tom-fitzgeraldChris Fieldhouse2024-03-18T07:00:00-04:002024-03-18T07:00:00-04:00DitD & Open Post - 3/18/24: Playing Out the String Edition
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<img alt="New Jersey Devils v Vegas Golden Knights" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/aTypVB4EUXcjTttwaNMgQb8GG5g=/0x0:3636x2424/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73214648/2092151750.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Nico Hischier #13 of the New Jersey Devils skates the puck past Ivan Barbashev #49 of the Vegas Golden Knights in the first period at T-Mobile Arena on March 17, 2024 in Las Vegas, Nevada. | Photo by Candice Ward/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>New Jersey Devils & Related Hockey Links for 3/18/24</p> <p id="o5Fj2Y">Here are your links for today:</p>
<h3 id="UD7E9q">Devils Links</h3>
<p id="dn5awz">Yet another disappointing effort down the stretch here as the Devils fell to the Coyotes 4-1 on Saturday. [<a href="https://www.nhl.com/devils/news/devils-at-coyotes-3-16-24-game-story">Devils NHL</a>]</p>
<p id="bynhmU">As we play out the string on this season, the road pain continued on Sunday as the Devils fell to the Golden Knights 3-1. [<a href="https://www.nhl.com/devils/news/devils-at-golden-knights-3-17-24-game-story">Devils NHL</a>]</p>
<p id="PkEoPh">…yay…</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr"><a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NJDevils?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NJDevils</a> move down a spot once more.<br>Now 8th-best odds for 1st overall pick. <a href="https://t.co/0Ze4bwmMsn">pic.twitter.com/0Ze4bwmMsn</a></p>— Daniel Amoia (@daniel_amoia) <a href="https://twitter.com/daniel_amoia/status/1769491105429533114?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2024</a>
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<p id="vXYnOO">Save us, Craig:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">I transcribed everything Craig Berube –– a possible head coaching candidate –– said about the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NJDevils?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NJDevils</a> during the broadcast today.<br><br>In case you missed.<a href="https://t.co/1eB2DWRcS7">https://t.co/1eB2DWRcS7</a></p>— Ryan Novozinsky (@ryannovo62) <a href="https://twitter.com/ryannovo62/status/1769504065439056319?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2024</a>
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<h3 id="ybADMC">Hockey Links</h3>
<p id="69zjlA">LTIR? Overtime? A look at some of the topics to be discussed at the annual March GMs meetings this week: [<a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516590&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheathletic.com%2F5343077%2F2024%2F03%2F15%2Fnhl-gms-meetings-overtime-ltir%2F&referrer=sbnation.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.allaboutthejersey.com%2F2024%2F3%2F18%2F24104412%2Fdevils-in-the-details-3-18-24-playing-out-the-string-edition" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">The Athletic</a> ($)]</p>
<p id="KYRm1o">Elliotte Friedman reports here on the future of the Coyotes in Arizona as the team eyes a chunk of land in Phoenix: [<a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/nhl/article/relocation-on-table-if-coyotes-dont-win-land-auction/">Sportsnet</a>]</p>
<p id="yBFPLY">Mike Modano has a statue in Dallas:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">You didn't just dream it.<br><br>Mike Modano has been Immortalized.<a href="https://twitter.com/PNCBank?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PNCBank</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/TexasHockey?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#TexasHockey</a> <a href="https://t.co/UWUmZxxGFc">pic.twitter.com/UWUmZxxGFc</a></p>— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) <a href="https://twitter.com/DallasStars/status/1769393919094063364?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2024</a>
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<p id="IH7yrT">Just watching these two plays on repeat:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr"> MORGAN FROST <br><br>That was nasty. <a href="https://t.co/M6F99LxbQ5">pic.twitter.com/M6F99LxbQ5</a></p>— NHL (@NHL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NHL/status/1769177736000475434?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2024</a>
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<div id="GAbqMp">
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The skate-to-stick move by Nathan MacKinnon right before he set up the OT-winner showed why the Dogg is one of the best players in the world <a href="https://t.co/wuJphyiOBe">pic.twitter.com/wuJphyiOBe</a></p>— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) <a href="https://twitter.com/BR_OpenIce/status/1769364046543814774?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2024</a>
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<p id="rn0OJb">Congrats to T.J. Oshie on 1,000 games:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">1K for Oshie!<a href="https://twitter.com/TJOshie77?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@TJOshie77</a> has hit the 1,000 games played mark! <a href="https://t.co/O01UqqO6yU">pic.twitter.com/O01UqqO6yU</a></p>— NHL (@NHL) <a href="https://twitter.com/NHL/status/1769185357344493845?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2024</a>
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<p id="xECI91">Feel free to discuss these and any other hockey-related stories in the comments below.</p>
https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2024/3/18/24104412/devils-in-the-details-3-18-24-playing-out-the-string-editionNate Pilling2024-03-17T19:12:32-04:002024-03-17T19:12:32-04:00Devils Stifled in 3-1 Loss Against Golden Knights
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<img alt="NHL: New Jersey Devils at Vegas Golden Knights" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Z4bK45tB_yg2Pj2cKoEXDw95LZo=/0x0:3136x2091/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73214003/usa_today_22800775.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>After a potentially season-ending loss to Arizona, there was some—not much, but a byte-sized modicum of—hope that they might win the second half of the back to back and defeat the reigning Stanley Cup champions. Vegas’s team defense proved too much to overcome, however, and the Devils lost 3-1. </p> <h2 id="iZ4Riz"><strong>Key Takeaways</strong></h2>
<ul>
<li id="016iEW">After a fortunate and potentially season-ending loss to Arizona the day before, the Devils headed to Vegas to face the reigning Stanley Cup champions.</li>
<li id="kmjbEP">Though they scored the first goal of the game for once, a double review ended up taking it away: first it was ruled that Dawson Mercer did not kick the puck into the net; second, the refs decided that Bruce Cassidy’s goaltender interference challenge had merit. The Devils had their chances and surrendered some too, heading to the second period tied 0-0. </li>
<li id="PCmTC9">Nico Hischier got the Devils on the board early in the third, but the Golden Knights weren’t far behind. They scored twice after Hischier, then buried an empty net goal to seal the deal. The Devils struggled to create any additional offense. They lost 3-1. </li>
<li id="OTzvnt">The Devils next face the Penguins on Tuesday. While that’s a theoretical ‘four point game’ against a Division rival ahead of them in the playoff race, the damage is likely done. </li>
<li id="gGPSsj">
<strong>Essential Links: </strong>The <a href="https://www.nhl.com/gamecenter/njd-vs-vgk/2024/03/17/2023021074/summary"><strong>NHL.com Boxscore</strong></a> | The <a href="https://www.naturalstattrick.com/game.php?season=20232024&game=21074"><strong>Natural Stat Trick Game Stats</strong></a> | The <a href="https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2024/3/17/24101444/gamethread-new-jersey-devils-las-vegas-golden-knights-hughes-hischier-marchessault-eichel#comments"><strong>Game Thread</strong></a> | The <a href="https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2024/3/17/24103527/game-preview-68-new-jersey-devils-vegas-golden-knights-hertl-hanifin-mantha-hughes-hischier-meier"><strong>Game Preview,</strong></a> by Jackson |<strong> The </strong><a href="https://www.nhl.com/video/recap-devils-at-golden-knights-3-17-24-6349145192112"><strong>Game Highlights</strong> </a><strong>via NHL.com</strong>
</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="8t0QHz"><strong>The Summary</strong></h2>
<p id="2kxgcQ">1-0 Devils.</p>
<p id="oLVffF">Wait—1-0 <em>Devils? </em>Yes, the Devils scored first this afternoon, though it didn’t stand after a double challenge to check its validity: first for Dawson Mercer redirecting the puck into the net with his skate and second for goaltender interference, as Timo Meier clipped Logan Thompson at the top of the crease. The first challenge didn’t stand. Mercer turned his skate but did not kick the puck. The goaltender interference coach’s challenge got them in the end. The refs ruled that Meier made no effort to avoid Thompson and prevented him from making a save. I was 50/50 on that call. Despite the Vegas broadcasters’ assertions, Mercer clearly did not kick the puck into the net (you’re allowed to direct it with your skate), but the goalie interference was not so cut and dry. It never is. I thought Thompson initiated contact as much as Meier, but it occurred at the top of the crease—a grey area. The refs ruled in favor of the goalie, and the Golden Knights. Fine. But let the record show that the Devils scored the first goal twice today. That ought to be worth something.f</p>
<p id="SJo0yG">Momentum shifted after the double review: Vegas surged after the refs wiped the slate clean, and despite a New Jersey power play, the Golden Knights tilted the ice. Jake Allen weathered the brunt of their siege, including a great breakaway save with the left pad. The Knights steadily climbed in possession and shot attempts as the last minutes of the third trailed away. Though shots ended 13-9, they did a good job in getting occasional chances and defending the middle against a team like Vegas. </p>
<p id="woOKvn">0-0 after one period.</p>
<p id="yj2FQo">Allen began the second period with another breakaway save on William Karlsson, this one shorthanded. Under the Knights’ onslaught, the Devils struggled to find opportunities to transition onto the attack. Momentum had shifted against them since they called Mercer’s goal back for interference. They had a few counterattacks in the last minutes of the second, but they couldn’t get anything of note going on the power play. Meanwhile, the Knights pressured Allen and the Devils’ defense. Like his debut, Allen made some stellar saves to keep them in the game. Unlike his debut, he didn’t give up any horrific goals. If the Devils were fortunate to escape the first period tied, they were downright lucky to head into the third with the score 0-0. </p>
<p id="5npSdt">The offense really struggled. However, their defense played marginally better in front of Allen—and I mean <em>in front of Allen</em>; the main and perhaps only aspect they’ve improved upon is tying up forwards in front of the goalie and clogging the middle.</p>
<p id="MBEn1i">0-0 after two periods. </p>
<p id="jPYeyd">The third period began. Then New Jersey scored—for real this time. Bratt moved a turnover up ice to Hughes, who deferred to Bratt on the entry. His initial shot snuck through Thompson but was cleared. But Hischier got the rebound in the slot, and he beat the scrambling goalie to give the Devils a 1-0 lead for the second time on the afternoon.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Nico breaks the ice. <a href="https://t.co/vyzHVQ7ffD">pic.twitter.com/vyzHVQ7ffD</a></p>— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) <a href="https://twitter.com/NJDevils/status/1769481750999118127?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2024</a>
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<p id="WyMiJ5">Because hockey is finite but pain is eternal, the Knights wiped out that lead two minutes later. It wasn’t a huge surprise. The Devils were chasing the puck around the defensive zone, looking like they tried hard but in reality doing very little, and the Knights’ cycle picked them apart. Carrier got the puck down low on the left side, and his wrister deflected through traffic and past Allen.</p>
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Where there’s a Will… <a href="https://t.co/BcApU0AyFl">pic.twitter.com/BcApU0AyFl</a></p>— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) <a href="https://twitter.com/GoldenKnights/status/1769482797373423908?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2024</a>
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<p id="01Y9vf">Because pain reaches beyond the eternal until it transcends not just time but space and dimensions, so that every Devils fan in every possible universe hears us cry out and knows our pain, Vegas followed up their first goal with a second in short order. Cracks had sprouted in the Devils’ defense through period one and two, but by the middle of the third, the cracks became rubble. </p>
<p id="dqfHAU">Eichel skated through the middle and beat Allen cleanly with a wrist shot. It would’ve been great to get a save there, but considering the saves he had already made, it was a forgivable mistake. Still, the Devils had barely generated offense all afternoon. It felt unlikely they would find the equalizer. They pulled the goalie. They had one chance, a rebound in front of Thompson that left him on his back, that looked dangerous. Another couple—one was a wrister from Jack Hughes at a considerable distance that loss them possession—did not look dangerous. </p>
<p id="oNOJ9S">William Karlsson scored on the empty net, earning him a goal after Jake Allen stonewalled him twice on earlier breakaways. </p>
<p id="qb1DbP">The Devils lost 3-1. </p>
<h2 id="Qmgi30"><strong>The offense has cratered</strong></h2>
<p id="H8lJXZ">In the 19 games since February 10, the Devils have scored one <em>or fewer</em> goals 9 times. You generally have to score more than one goal to win most hockey games, even if you have all-world goalies. In 12 of those games, they scored two or fewer. Despite Timo Meier’s goal-scoring tear and a few games where they’ve put up five or more, the offense hasn’t helped them win any games. Travis Green, the league’s best power play tactician for all of two weeks, hasn’t helped that with his curious deployment, but that’s been addressed. I first wanted to make note of the fact that the offense struggled long before Green’s appointment and traces itself back to January, when Ruff made those briefly-lauded defensive adjustments.</p>
<p id="UhkozV">Ruff or Green, I’ve seen very little to distinguish the interim from the last guy, except that the defense has committed (and sometimes failed) to protecting the front of the net at the expense of transitioning from the defensive zone to the neutral zone. They did <em>fine</em> at boxing most Vegas forwards out of middle, but they were worse than Vegas. </p>
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<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/nx2BRDeEdiIU7J2mY61Qrygr7Ks=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25341410/20232024_21074_5v5.png">
<figcaption>New Jersey vs. Vegas 5v5 heat map via Natural Stat Trick</figcaption>
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<p id="pWQcQo">Whether or not you see any use in Kurtis MacDermid, playing any skater fewer than five minutes a night should raise eyebrows. The Devils do not have enough depth to ice an offensive black hole (5.79 GF%, <a href="https://www.naturalstattrick.com/game.php?season=20232024&game=21074">per Natural Stat Trick</a>) and a defensive liability (23.08 CF%, with 10 shots against in his 4:31 of ice time), not even for four minutes. MacDermid is already a disaster defensively. So why can’t you play Nolan Foote, who might at least bring more offense? Instead of double-shifting Jesper Bratt and Jack Hughes into exhaustion.</p>
<p id="FXpq1i">Part of the reason they’re struggling to attack is because they’re always in the defensive zone. A good defense is a good offense, as they say, and playing so constrained they’re never in position to take advantage of turnovers has come with a cost. Part of it comes from the defensemen they have available. Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec are defensemen that like to carry the puck out of the zone. They’re the only two who can from that back end, but it’s a problem that they don’t have anyone who can take those one or two steps and move the puck with a fast, accurate pass. That person for New Jersey <em>was</em> Dougie Hamilton. Nobody’s arguing that Hamilton is an elite defender, but his ability to control and move the puck around the ice has been a significant loss. </p>
<p id="aqUUD7">They had opportunities to press on the power play, but it continues to work as bad as it ever has under Travis Green’s tenure. If nothing else, we can feel grateful that he’s likely coached himself out of a job, no matter how much Fitzgerald wants a Ruff-impersonator on staff. </p>
<p id="KJdpwh">Jake Allen has been great. Now, the management and, more importantly, the players cannot hide behind the bad goaltending excuse. </p>
<h2 id="P8SAzb"><strong>Your Thoughts</strong></h2>
<p id="NNNc0K">One last thought: John Marino struggled mightily once more. He was terrible in his 24 minutes of ice time; I also don’t know who else Green can play, if he won’t give DeSimone more responsibility. What did you think of the game? Is there any hope left, or is it pretty much over? Let us know in the comments below, and thanks for reading. Onward.</p>
https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2024/3/17/24104179/devils-stifled-in-3-1-loss-against-golden-knightsCaleb_McLaughlin2024-03-17T14:30:00-04:002024-03-17T14:30:00-04:002023-24 Gamethread #68: New Jersey Devils at Las Vegas Golden Knights
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<img alt="New Jersey Devils v Vegas Golden Knights" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/t3S7L5omnAjsorbXU2IW6PmrAD4=/0x0:3218x2145/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73213467/1471181798.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Palat! Karlsson! Today! | Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Las Vegas is where the New Jersey Devils will end their four-game road trip. The Devils will seek to beat the Golden Knights another time this season. And on national television. Talk about it here; it is not staying in Vegas.</p> <p id="NUbpGb">Our Favorite Team ends their trip with another back-to-back set ending in the afternoon. It will be on national television, too. Do your best?</p>
<p id="Uy5lZu"><strong>The Time:</strong> 3:30 PM ET</p>
<p id="tlXgbz"><strong>The Broadcast: </strong>TV - TNT, Digital - MAX; Radio - Devils Hockey Network (on Audacy)</p>
<p id="ustZ1L"><strong>The Matchup:</strong> The <a href="https://www.allaboutthejersey.com">New Jersey Devils</a> at the Las Vegas Golden Knights</p>
<p id="DSook4"><strong>The Song of the Afternoon: </strong>Let us keep enjoying the post-rock from Akron’s If These Trees Could Talk. They did come out with a new single recently: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B8oHoLL0O20">“Trail of Whispering Giants.”</a> It is a slow burn but a good one.</p>
<p id="53fJ36"><strong>The Rules: </strong>The rules remain as they are as we want the Devils to try to win another game over Las Vegas this season. Please keep your language clean (this means no swearing, don’t mask it, it’s not enough), respect your fellow Devils fan with no personal attacks (play nice or you will not play here), <em>no illegal streams (this means no asking, no hints, no nothing about it)</em>, and please keep comments relevant to the game. Go Devils!</p>
<p id="26ykfL"></p>
https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2024/3/17/24101444/gamethread-new-jersey-devils-las-vegas-golden-knights-hughes-hischier-marchessault-eichelJohn Fischer2024-03-17T11:00:00-04:002024-03-17T11:00:00-04:00Weekly Metropolitan Division Snapshot: 3/17/2024 - 3/23/2024
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<img alt="New York Rangers v Tampa Bay Lightning" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/BSAs1qVzOphuiOBVQwDCGjYRp3M=/0x0:3500x2333/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73213171/2076716175.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>“We’re securing a wild card spot!” “But we’re in first, so...OK?” | Photo by Mike Carlson/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>In the twenty-third weekly Metropolitan Division snapshot of this season, only the New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes won their weeks. The Washington Capitals improved their playoff odds while the others faltered. All this and more in this week’s division snapshot. </p> <p id="T5on7m">It was a rough week for the Metropolitan Division. Only the division leading New York Rangers and the second-place securing <a href="https://www.canescountry.com">Carolina Hurricanes</a> won their week. The wild card race, thanks to an epic losing streak by Detroit only recently ended, and third place, owned by Philadelphia Flyers, appears to have opened up a bit. Only for everyone except for the Washington Capitals, Tampa Bay Lightning, and a resurgent Buffalo Sabres to lose their week within that playoff race. Toronto has all but secured third in the Atlantic. There is chaos but it seems there are only two real challengers for a playoff spot in the division that are not in it: The Capitals and the <a href="https://www.lighthousehockey.com">New York Islanders</a>. </p>
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<img alt="Metropolitan Division Standings as of the morning of March 17, 2024" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/dSccfK-wrMa65795lbIuJkk4pUU=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25340694/03_17_2024_Division_Snapshot.PNG">
<cite>Standings and lottery odds - <a class="ql-link" href="http://www.nhl.com/" target="_blank">NHL.com</a>; Playoff odds - <a class="ql-link" href="https://moneypuck.com/predictions.htm" target="_blank">Moneypuck</a></cite>
<figcaption>Metropolitan Division Standings as of the morning of March 17, 2024</figcaption>
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<p id="cULC7v">Of course, much can change in the week coming up. Who would have guessed that Buffalo would sneak into this picture? Who would have figured on the <a href="https://www.allaboutthejersey.com">New Jersey Devils</a> and <a href="https://www.pensburgh.com">Pittsburgh Penguins</a> continuing to step on rakes? Or that the Flyers would hit some struggles? This week coming up is full of games of value. Those within the division are highlighted and in <strong>bold</strong>; which could impact things quite a bit. Games in <em>italics</em> are against either of those four Atlantic Division teams.</p>
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<img alt="Metropolitan Division Schedule for March 17, 2024 through March 23, 2024" data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/qxB1I9EWZvdLPgR43QzQUn67Qbs=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25340698/03_17_2024_Schedule.PNG">
<cite>Schedules via NHL.com</cite>
<figcaption>Metropolitan Division Schedule for March 17, 2024 through March 23, 2024</figcaption>
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<p id="7SboR9">Now for the week that was and the week that will be for each team in the Metropolitan Division.</p>
<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="oONzNl">
<h3 id="bULb9G"><strong>New York Rangers</strong></h3>
<p id="qJullS"><strong>What Happened Last Week: </strong>The Rangers kept on rolling. They went 3-1-0, beat on their foes within the division to hurt their causes, and they may be getting an ‘X’ next to their name in the standings soon enough. You may hate to see it. I hate to write it. It is what it is.</p>
<p id="zDag47">March 11, vs. New Jersey, 3-1 Win: The Rangers came out and played quite well. They dared the new goalie for New Jersey, Kaapo Kahkonen with 12 shots in the first period. But he stopped them all. And the one he did not was wiped out due to an offside challenge won by the Devils. It was a 0-0 game for the first half; not that the Devils were challenging Jonathan Quick very much. Mika Zibanejad opened the scoring legitimately over 12 minutes into the second period. Erik Gustafsson added a seeing-eye shot through traffic in the final minute of the period for a commanding 2-0 lead. Commanding because the Devils just could not figure out the Rangers’ defense. This was challenged when Matt Rempe head-shotted Jonas Siegenthaler and got thrown out of the game. But the Rangers killed a five-minute major penalty as well as you could, much to the chagrin of the Devils fans. There would be a little drama late when Simon Nemec scored from the center point through traffic to make it a one-shot game with about 2:30 left. But pulling Kahkonen again did not work. The Devils did not threaten, they lost the puck, and Vincent Trocheck scored to seal the two points. The Rempe circus was the main story as he was suspended for four games with the hit. But the Rangers got what mattered: the win. </p>
<p id="dUytZK">March 12, at Carolina, 1-0 Win: Igor Shesterkin had a shutout in his last game. He got another one in this one. The Rangers got going with a better first period than Carolina. Their efforts were rewarded when Adam Fox fired a shot from behind the left circle. It went off Brady Skjei and past Pytor Kochetkov for the goal with 8 seconds left in the first period. The Canes played better and Kochetkov could not be beaten again. But Shesterkin was perfect and so the Rangers won a close game. A big one to help secure first in the division too.</p>
<p id="4vMTj7">March 14, at Tampa Bay, 6-3 Loss: The Rangers started off this game well as they did against the Canes. Only this time they scored twice. Artemi Panarin and Braden Schneider scored in the first period for a solid 2-0 lead. This even lasted halfway through the second period. Then the Lightning belew it up. Brayden Point put the Bolts on the board (with Nikita Kucherov’s <em>70th assist</em>). Anthony Duclair tied up the game late in the period with a helper from Point. 2-2 going into the third period, how would the Rangers respond? With the recently acquired Jack Roslovic making it 3-2 early. All good? Nope. Point tied it up almost two minutes after. Then the Lightning pulled away within the last ten minutes of the game. Steven Stamkos - with an assist from Point - punished a Will Cuylle slashing penalty for a 4-3 lead. Point scored his hat trick goal a little after that for 5-3. The Rangers pulled their goalie early hoping for a comeback. They got a Kuchekov ENG with a helper from Point. Yes, the six point night from Point carried the Lightning to hand the Rangers a notable loss. </p>
<p id="kUi1wR">March 16, at Pittsburgh, 7-4 Win: A whole lot of scoring and the Rangers pulled away to get up on top. An early goal allowed to John Ludvig was no issue. Kaapo Kakko and Adam Fox each scored less than a minute after that goal for a 2-1 lead. Bryan Rust tied it up later on in the first - only for Artemi Panarin to answer back. In the second period, power plays dominated the scoring. Lars Eller punished a Cuylle interference call for a 3-3 game. Noel Acciari tripped Jonny Brodzinski and Panarin punished that for his brace. Kris Letang was Not Happy about it and received an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for it. That led to Mika Zibanejad scoring to make it 5-3. Early in the third, the lead ballooned to three goals with a score from K’Andre Miller - featuring Panarin’s fifth point of the game. At this point, it was all consolation. Valtteri Puustinen made it 6-4, Jonathan Quick allowed nothing further, and Chris Kreider sank in an empty net goal for the final one. This game helped buried the Pens while staying ahead of Carolina. Solid all around for the Blueshirts.</p>
<p id="LZSJlv"><strong>What’s Coming Up This Week: </strong>The New York Rangers will have four more games coming up this week and all of them carry a challenge. First, they host their hated rivals in the Islanders today. Both teams played on Saturday so this could come down to who manages their fatigue better. Then on Tuesday, the Rangers will host a very good Winnipeg team. On Thursday, they will visit a very good Boston team. Their week ends when they face off with a very good Florida team. The Rangers are no slouches in 2023-24 but this is a mighty set of opponents. We shall see if they thrive - and secure a playoff spot? - or if they open the door a bit more for Carolina to take first.</p>
<h3 id="e6PCmP"><strong>Carolina Hurricanes</strong></h3>
<p id="2dNjdr"><strong>What Happened Last Week: </strong>The Hurricanes had a great week in going 3-1-0. Even if one of those wins was through a shootout, six out of eight points is always a good thing. The only downside was that the one loss may keep from them from taking first without a whole lot of help.</p>
<p id="y2lK7z">March 10, vs. Calgary, 7-2 Win: This was a classic beating by the Hurricanes. Shots were 40-19. The Canes never led by fewer than three goals once they got to three goals. One team was great and the other was Calgary. The first period: Jordan Martinook and Sebastian Aho did the damage. In the second period, Jalen Chatfield made it 3-0 just 17 seconds into it. Andrei Svechnikov scored shortly after that. Calgary interrupted the Carolina crushing when Dryden Hunt scored. The score held at 4-1 until Brent Burns made it 5-1 later on. Seth Jarvis made it 6-1 within the final minute of the second period. Yegor Sharangovich added a consolation goal in the third period. This was answered much later by Teuvo Teravainen for the 7-2 final score. Just a dominant show of hockey by the Carolina Hurricanes.</p>
<p id="DhaEg0">March 12, vs. New York Rangers, 1-0 Loss: The Canes put in the effort but they could not come from behind. Pytor Kochetkov was near-perfect. But a broken play led to Adam Fox firing a shot that seemingly hit off Brady Skjei to beat him with 8 seconds left in the first period. The Canes upped their game but Igor Shesterkin was too good. He was perfect. As such, they got shutout. While not a bad performance, the result really hurts Carolina’s cause for reaching for first place. This was a big four-point swing on the table against a Ranger team that played in the prior night. Alas.</p>
<p id="wlgdw7">March 14, vs. Florida, 4-0 Win: Carolina took out any concerns from that game on the Panthers. At least, they could have. Either way, this was Carolina’s game from start to finish. They held Florida to just 21 shots on net. Frederik Andersen got all of them for his first shutout of the season. The Canes put up 35 shots and got the goals. Seth Jarvis scored within the final minute of the first period for a lead. Martin Necas scored early in the second period to boost the lead. The recently acquired Evgeny Kuznetsov scored his first as a Hurricane to make it 3-0. Florida pulled their goalie very early in a third period that Carolina was just salting away. Their result: an empty net goal by Andrei Svechnikov. A decisive and dominant win over Florida. Feels great, man.</p>
<p id="fXIA8J">March 16, at Toronto, 5-4 Shootout (SO) Win: It took a period for the goals to come but they absolutely came. Toronto went up 3-0 within the first 12 minutes or so of the second period. John Tavares, William Nylander, and Nicolas Robertson put the Canes down three. Pytor Kochetkov remained in the net. The Canes seemed buried. Then they climbed back into this game. Jordan Martinook got the Canes on the board shortly after Robertson’s goal. A late period penalty on Jake McCabe led to Seth Jarvis converting it with three seconds left in the second period. It was a one goal game. Until David Kampf scored early in the third period. Surely, the Maple Leafs could hold onto a 4-2 lead, right? No. Kampf took a hooking call with less than three minutes left. Kochetkov was pulled for an extra skater and that helped Sebastian Aho convert the power play to make it 4-3. Within the final minute, the Canes did it again. With seven seconds left, Aho scored again to tie the game and force overtime. Toronto tried to end it there with six shots and a power play. But Kochetkov was perfect. As he was in the resulting shootout. Jake Guentzel shot last in the three rounds and he scored on Ilya Samsonov to give the Canes the extra point and the comeback victory. Yes, Guentzel and Evgeny Kuznetsov are getting productive for Carolina. Bad news for their future opponents.</p>
<p id="UHeVVr"><strong>What’s Coming Up This Week: </strong>The Hurricanes will play four games in the next six days because this is indeed the grind of the season. The Canes will visit Ottawa today, go to Long Island on Tuesday, host Philly on Thursday, and visit Washington on Thursday. Those are three games within the division where the Hurricanes can mess up some playoff situations while locking down their own cause. I dare suggest they will relish this week’s schedule even if they will be exhausted by the end of it. </p>
<h3 id="dm6n8C"><strong>Philadelphia Flyers</strong></h3>
<p id="GI0y3M"><strong>What Happened Last Week: </strong>The Philadelphia Flyers may be playing with house money this season. No one expected a playoff position, much less management. Yet, who likes losing money? Going 1-2-0 and opening the door for an Islander-Capital comeback to third place is not good. </p>
<p id="dRfBlU">March 12 vs. San Jose, 3-2 Win: The Flyers had to edge the Sharks in the third period. Yes, the 32nd place Sharks. The Flyers just could not shake the Sharks for two periods. Joel Farabee’s first period goal was answered with less than a minute left in the opening frame. That was when Filip Zadina punished a Tyson Foerster tripping penalty. Morgan Frost restored the lead when he punished a too many men on the ice call on San Jose in the second period. Only for Zadina to do it again thanks to a Garnet Hathaway elbowing penalty. 2-2 going into the third and the pressure was real. It was eased when Owen Tippett one-touched a pass by Travis Konecny during a delayed penalty call on the Sharks. That made it 3-2. And the Flyers kept up the attack. They did not get any insurance goals but they held on for the win.</p>
<p id="iuNNYk">March 14, vs. Toronto, 6-2 Loss: Toronto went up early and never looked back. Tyler Bertuzzi, Pontus Holmberg, and Timothy Liljegren got the Leafs up 3-0 on the Flyers in the first period. A big hole to climb out of for sure. Sam Ersson went out after intermission and Felix Sandstrom went in for the second period. An early second period penalty on Jake McCabe was punished by Owen Tippet to make it 3-1. A step up to begin a climb out of that hole. It seemed like they stopped the bleeding from Toronto. Then the third period happened and the bleeding resumed. Auston Matthews scored his 55th goal of the season and William Nylander scored his 35th on the shift after that in the third period to all but bury the Flyers in the game. Matthew Knies flung some more dirt on them with a goal at the nine minute mark. Tyson Foerster one-timing in a shorthanded goal was only for consolation. A big loss as their recent run has become a Concern. </p>
<p id="oK7vQw">March 16, at Boston, 6-5 Loss: Sure, losing by one in a goal-party to the B’s is not bad. But knowing it all fell apart in the third makes the loss a bit more painful. The first period was pretty low in terms of shots and goals. Ryan Poehling scored first, but Morgan Geekie tied it up later. The second period saw more shooting, more violence (e.g. Charlie McAvoy head-shotting Travis Konecny) and two more goals. Joel Farabee put the Flyers up one. A hooking penalty to Tyson Foerster led to a PPG for Charlie Coyle to make it 2-2. A competitive game by any measure. Then the game’s score blew up in the third period. Boston racked up three goals in five minutes to open the final regulation period. Coyle, John Beecher, and Jake DeBrusk each torched Felix Sandstrom to put the B’s up 5-2. There would be a late try for a comeback. Nic Delauriers scored his first of the season and Morgan Frost scored a minute later to make it a 5-4 game with less than five minutes left. All good, right? Well, no. Danton Heinen scored an insurance goal with just under three minutes left. But even, hope sprung again for the Winged P’s when Farabee wrapped around a score with just over two minutes left. Despite the scrambling and chaos, there would be no further scoring. The Flyers lost again. And sit just three points ahead of the Caps and Isles, whom each have two games in hand on them. Uh oh.</p>
<p id="CQcJH1"><strong>What’s Coming Up This Week: </strong>Philadelphia will seek to keep their playoff spot intact with three games coming up. They will host a tough Toronto team on Tuesday. Toronto has all but secured the playoffs but not their position, so they may have reason to go hard in this one. On Thursday, they visit Carolina in a game that could put a wrench in the Hurricanes’ hopes for first while helping their own cause. On Saturday, they host a really good Boston team. On paper, these are three tough opponents. On the ice, they will likely be tough. Can Philly hang onto third place? Do not let the opportunity fully slip, Flyers.</p>
<h3 id="acIbN6"><strong>Washington Capitals</strong></h3>
<p id="jfv5Od"><strong>What Happened Last Week: </strong>In the land of the blind, the man with one eye is king. Similarly, in a division where most of the teams lost their week, going 2-2-0 moved the Caps up to fourth and improved their playoff odds to be above “faint.” Salvaging their trip to the Northwest did that.</p>
<p id="ESmN6J">March 11, at Winnipeg, 3-0 Loss: The effort to rise up the standings took a hit when the Jets grounded the Capitals on Monday night. The Caps put up just 23 shots on Connor Hellebuyck. He stopped them all. Neal Pionk scored halfway through the first period in what would be the only goal the Jets needed. They would get one more in each of the next two periods. Alex Iafello in the second period and Kyle Connor in the third. Also not far from the halfway marks of their respective periods. A professional win for a hot Winnipeg team. A notable loss to start a road trip up north for Washington.</p>
<p id="9aQnns">March 13, at Edmonton, 7-2 Loss: Washington took another multi-goal loss in Canada when the Oilers just flattened them. The first period was competitive. After two PPGs, one from Leon Draisaitl and one from Connor McDavid, Ivan Miroschnichenko got the Caps on the board. Connor McMichael tied it up with a PPG of his own. Something that lasted for 29 seconds as Zach Hyman broke the tie with his first of the night. In the second period, it took time, but Hyman would strike again and again. He scored at even strength and got a deflection PPG in the final minute of the second period. A natural hat trick and a 5-2 lead. Edmonton was not quite done yet. Warren Foegele and Connor Brown’s first goal of the season were scored on back-to-back shifts in the third period to complete the rout. What an ugly loss for Washington.</p>
<p id="Aj1S6A">March 14, at Seattle, 2-1 Win: After a goalless first period, the Capitals turned it up in the second period. They out-shot the Kraken 11-4. They got two power plays. T.J. Oshie converted the second of the two power plays to put the Caps up 1-0. Unfortunately, the Kraken responded in the third both in terms of shots and an early goal. Alexander Alexeyev tripped Jordan Eberle and Oliver Bjorkstrand punished the Caps for it with an equalizer. While the Caps had just four shots in the third period, they made one of them count. Connor McMichael broke away and he finished his play to make it 2-1 with over eight minutes remaining. The Capitals held on for a victory to end a short slide. </p>
<p id="SDVTHP">March 16, at Vancouver, 2-1 Win: Charles Lindgren has been a hero for the Caps this season. This game was another example as to why. Brock Boeser scored 1:11 into the game for Vancouver. That would be the only time Lindgren would be beaten in this game. Sure, it helped that the Caps held the Canucks to only 22 shots. But the Canucks also out-shot the Caps 11-4 in the third period and Lindgren provided the difference to preserve the win. The Caps would go up with a quick pair of goals from Tom Wilson and the Putinist about two minutes apart from each other in the second period. Lindgren and the defense locked up the victory to salvage the week and get the Caps up to fourth place. Albeit by tiebreakers with the Islanders. But with their playoff odds up to about 30%, maybe a postseason trip is not so far-fetched.</p>
<p id="yfLRV9"><strong>What’s Coming Up This Week: </strong>Washington will finish up their road trip through Canada and return home for two difficult home games. The trip ends in Calgary on Monday night. The Caps return home to host a good Toronto team on Wednesday. The old Southeast Division rivalry resumes on Friday when they take on Carolina. If the Caps can somehow pull out a winning week, then their final few weeks are going to be real interesting to watch. They are not dead yet.</p>
<h3 id="f260tR"><strong>New York Islanders</strong></h3>
<p id="ZCYc9q"><strong>What Happened Last Week: </strong>The New York Islanders saw their hot streak end right as the window was opening in the wild card. And by going 1-2-1, they fall to fifth place thanks to tie breakers. Yes, the lack of regulation wins is hurting them now.</p>
<p id="PXR37f">March 10, at Anaheim, 6-1 Win: 7 goals, 42 shots, and the Islanders won big. The Isles went up 3-0 in the first period alone. Casey Cizikas, Kyle Palmieri, and a PPG by Brock Nelson was all it took to secure a big lead on the Ducks. Alex Killorn provided a brief spark of hope for Anaheim with a goal 24 seconds into the middle frame. When Semyon Varlamov stopped the other 9 shots in that period, that hope was snuffed out. It was definitely out after Bo Horvat made it 4-1 just 34 seconds into the third period. Pierre Engvall and Cal Clutterbuck added further goals to ensure the blowout win. Well done, Isles. You did not get spoiled by the Ducks this season.</p>
<p id="cOin4L">March 11, at Los Angeles, 3-0 Loss: They would get shut out and shut down by the Kings on the next night. David Rittich stopped what the Isles eventually mustered. Ilya Sorokin did well as he could. But Adrian Kempe broke through in the second period for the only goal that the Kings would need. Phillip Danault scored in the third period to add to their cushion in case Rittich needed it - he would not. Trevor Moore iced the game away with an empty netter. A let down after a big win in Anaheim the night before may not be unreasonable. It was not what the Isles needed.</p>
<p id="WXMAI1">March 14, at Buffalo, 4-0 Loss: Getting shutout by Buffalo was absolutely worse than getting shutout by Los Angeles. The Kings are a playoff team. The Sabres are not. After a period of goal-less hockey where the Isles were out-shot 13-5, the Isles went on to be out-shot 16-6 by the Sabres and out-scored 3-0 in the second period. Victor Olofsson punished an Anders Lee penalty for the game’s first goal. Dylan Cozens made it 2-0 later on. Zach Benson scored about 90 seconds after that. The Isles challenged it, lost, and had to survive a penalty kill. Which they did but being down 3-0 was not what they needed. A third period of too-little-too-late hockey yielded just two things: A Zach Benson ENG for the 4-0 final score and a 21-save shutout for Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. What is this, Islanders? Especially with Philly’s recent losing. </p>
<p id="v4ctyY">March 16, vs. Ottawa, 4-3 Overtime (OT) Loss: The Islanders ended their goal drought early in this one thanks to a wraparound from Matt Martin of all players. Any port in a storm. This held up as the game’s only goal until the game crossed into the second half. Brady Tkachuk tied it up for Ottawa in the second period. No worries, though. Kyle Palmieri made it 2-1 late in the second period. All the Islanders had to do was handle a lead in the third period. Wait a minute. That’s been one of their core problems this season. And it happened again. Ridly Greig tipped home an equalizer. A delay of game call on Noah Dobson was punished by Tkachuk. Down 3-2, the Isles needed a big break. They got part of one when Mathieu Joseph was called for hooking Mike Reilly with 1:50 left. With the goalie pulled, Bo Horvat converted the 6-on-4 within the final minute for the equalizer. Overtime was needed in Long Island as the Isles salvaged a point. However, the Isles would fall there. Bo Horvat held up Tim Stützle with just under two minutes left in overtime. The Isles handled the 3-on-4 situation for close to 90 seconds. Then Tkachuk completed his hat trick to give the Sens the win. Yeah, they got a point but dropping one to Ottawa after two straight shut out losses still stings.</p>
<p id="cdToXr"><strong>What’s Coming Up This Week: </strong>The New York Islanders will continue to get busy and play more meaningful games locally for three out of their four games coming. First, they play their most hated rivals in the Rangers. Revenge for MetLife would be very sweet and helpful for the Isles’ cause. Second, they host Carolina in another game that the Isles may need a lot more than the Canes do. Then on Thursday, they have a huge game against Detroit. They are chasing Detroit. They need to beat Detroit in regulation. The Isles’ week ends with a difficult home game against Winnipeg. If they can get results in the other three games, then that may not matter as much. But they need to regain their form to keep their playoff dreams going. This means wins. Ideally in regulation since they are on the wrong end of tiebreakers.</p>
<h3 id="r5EStd"><strong>New Jersey Devils</strong></h3>
<p id="U0N891"><strong>What Happened Last Week: </strong>The New Jersey Devils went 1-2-0 in three games where their first period performances left something to be desired, their goalies did their best that they could but the guys in front of them failed, and the team’s playoff hopes fell below 10%. It was another bad week.</p>
<p id="QfW4Qt">March 11, at New York Rangers, 3-1 Loss: The Devils needed wins. They came out listless against their hated rivals. Their recently acquired goalie Kaapo Kahkonen was their only 60-minute player. They held on to 0-0 for the first half of the game, thanks to an offside challenge wiping out a Rangers goal in the first period. But Mika Zibanejad broke down the Devils for the game’s opening goal. A seeing eye shot through traffic by Erik Gustaffson made it 2-0 going into the third period. Matt Rempe threw a head-shot on Jonas Siegenthaler early in the third period. The Devils got another Rempe-driven five-minute major power play against New York. They did <em><strong>nothing</strong></em> with it. And much with the game. There was a late hope when Simon Nemec fired a center-point shot through bodies for a goal. But there was no push with the extra skater after, a turnover from the Hughes Bros (one with the puck and one with the body) led to Vincent Trocheck icing the game with an ENG. A disappointing effort outside of Kahkonen for the Devils.</p>
<p id="pxvkYa">March 14, at Dallas, 6-2 Win: The Devils got Jake Allen to debut after his visa issues were sorted out and dressed Nick DeSimone, a defenseman they picked up on waivers in January and did not dress for a game for reasons. Allen was, well, awful in the first period. He gave up a goal to Wyatt Johnston just 15 seconds into the game. Two shots later, Craig Smith made it 2-1 at 12:04. An Erik Haula roofer of a goal was in between those two stars goals. The Devils got a big break when a Chris Tierney tried to feed the front of the net and the puck went off Miro Heiskanen to beat Jake Oettinger. 2-2 going into the second period and it would be the Devils to pull ahead. Dawson Mercer scored a dandy early on to break the tie; Timo Meier (who has been so hot) sent Oettinger to the bench with a goal just after that; and Tomas Nosek got his first goal as a Devil shortly after Scott Wedgewood took to the crease. From then on, the Stars piled shots on Jake Allen. And Allen was brilliant. He redeemed his terrible start with loads of tough saves. DeSimone was workman-like in his defensive zone play. The Devils were cruising as the Stars were trying to claw their way into the game, but Allen said no. The Devils got some relief when Alexander Holtz scored on a broken play in the third period for a 6-2 score. A big win, fortunate finishes (6 goals on 20 shots!) combined with help was good for the already-low playoff odds of the Devils. </p>
<p id="hypNSG">March 16, at Arizona, 4-1 Loss: The Devils followed up their big win in Dallas by coming out real bad in Tempe. Erik Haula and Tomas Nosek took lazy tripping penalties and the latter was punished by Dylan Guenther. That PPGA was in the middle of a two goal sandwich by the Coyotes. The first came from J.J. Moser from the weakside around halfway through the first period. The third came from a horrendous turnover by Nick DeSimone to Lawson Crouse, who tossed a pass to Logan Cooley for an easy score. The Devils were down 3-0 and earned every bit of that embarrassment. They picked up their offense - except on man advantages - for the rest of the game. The problem was that Karel Vejmelka was excellent today and would not get beaten like he was Jake Oettinger. Only DeSimone beat the goalie to finish a 3-on-2 rush in the second period. There would be nothing else but posts, failed plays, and big stops crushing the Devils’ spirit. The goalie was pulled late and all it ended with was an ENG for Clayton Keller. A rough loss that kneecaps an already fading playoff hope.</p>
<p id="J4GSjd"><strong>What’s Coming Up This Week:</strong> The Devils will continue the busy schedule where their playoff hopes remain on life support. First, they close out their weekend back-to-back in Nevada today. They visit Las Vegas in what will be a challenging game. On Tuesday, the Devils return home for a potentially big game against Pittsburgh. On Thursday, the Devils host Winnipeg. They can say “Hi” to Tyler Toffoli and Colin Miller as they try to show up against the Central Division powerhouse. The week ends on Saturday when they host Ottawa. The Devils need to get hot like they have not this whole season. Another bad week may be the actual end and not just feeling like one.</p>
<h3 id="DHh7MQ"><strong>Pittsburgh Penguins</strong></h3>
<p id="6QpYqQ"><strong>What Happened Last Week: </strong>Once again, the Pittsburgh Penguins needed to have a winning week. They went 1-2-1. Their week was bookended by multi-goal losses to quality teams. They dropped a point to Ottawa. The Penguins remain in seventh and their odds sit at just above 5%. It may be over real soon, Penguins fans.</p>
<p id="Zga2KF">March 10, vs. Edmonton, 4-0 Loss: After going 1-3-0 in the previous week, the Penguins open up this one with a really bad 4-0 loss. They pounded Calvin Pickard with 41 shots on net. Pickard got all of them. Pittsburgh allowed 42 in response. They conceded four goals. Connor McDavid opened the scoring within the first 90 seconds and Mattias Ekholm doubled the lead minutes later. After a second period highlighted by a Warren Foegele - John Ludvig incident gone bad, the Oilers scored two more in the third period. Darnell Nurse got both goals to boost the score. A very nice win for Edmonton and another crushing loss for Pittsburgh. </p>
<p id="ae7iiS">March 12, at Ottawa, 2-1 OT Loss: The Penguins and Senators tried, tried, and tried a lot to score within the first 40 minutes of the game. Joonas Korpisalo and Tristan Jarry both said no to that. But a goal would come in the third period and the Pens were shocked when it was Jake Sanderson with just under nine minutes left in regulation. The Pens needed to scramble to get an equalizer with Korpisalo and time against them. They would get it with 23 seconds left. The recently acquired Michael Bunting found a loose puck in front and stashed it in for the 1-1 game. A regulation loss would have been brutal. Alas, an overtime loss would not be ideal for the Pens. A 3-on-2 rush led to Drake Batherson firing a sharp angled shot towards the right side of the net. Jarry was not fully covering the post and the shot went off him and into the net. The Penguins went 0-1-2 to Ottawa this season. Those lost points really sting now.</p>
<p id="McIOsc">March 14, vs. San Jose, 6-3 Win: OK, this is more of what the Penguins needed. An actual win. Although that seemed in doubt at times. Noel Acciari opened up the scoring halfway through the first period. Only for San Jose to respond. Fabian Zetterlund tied it up minutes later and Marc-Edouard Vlasic made it 2-1 for the Sharks late in the first period. Pittsburgh would re-take the lead with goals by Jeff Carter and Evgeni Malkin in the second period. Except the Sharks spoiled that when Klim Kostin made it 3-3 late in the second period. The heroes would end up being John Ludvig scoring early in the third and Rickard Rakell scoring after him for a two-goal cushion. One that held up for the rest of the game. Bryan Rust tacked on an empty netter to give the Penguins a needed win over San Jose. Losing to them would be all but a death sentence for their playoff hopes.</p>
<p id="ENU96l">March 16, vs. New York Rangers, 7-4 Loss: Pittsburgh fell short in a scoring race, suffered for their penalties, and all but buried their season. John Ludwig did score early on. But the Pens could not keep the Rangers from responding and so they conceded two quick goals to Kaapo Kakko and Adam Fox. While Bryan Rust tied it up later on in the first, they could not keep Artemi Panarin (who would have five points in this game) from putting the Rangers up again. That was the first period. In the second period, there were four penalties called, two on each team. The Penguins converted one; Lars Eller to tie up the game around halfway through the second period. The Rangers’ Panarin quickly punished a Noel Acciari tripping penalty. Kris Letang lost his cool for it and took an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. That led to Mika Zibanejad scoring to make it 5-3. K’Andre Miller’s third period goal just pulled New York away (and sent Tristan Jarry out for Alex Nedeljkovic). The Penguins ramped up the shooting, but only Valtteri Puustinen beat Jonathan Quick in the third period. Even so, a three-goal deficit was too big to overcome within the period. And it was. Chris Kreider ended it with an empty net goal. It’s real late, Pittsburgh.</p>
<p id="e0qJcA"><strong>What’s Coming Up This Week:</strong> Pittsburgh has three games coming up and two of them have some real value. First, they host Detroit on this day. This directly impacts the wildcard race. Second, they visit New Jersey on Tuesday. That may not mean a whole lot by the time March 19 rolls around but it could be a death sentence for one of them. Pittsburgh’s week ends on Friday when they visit a really good Dallas team. It could all be over this week for the Penguins. It is that dire.</p>
<h3 id="rV0RKJ"><strong>Columbus Blue Jackets</strong></h3>
<p id="fnsLvZ"><strong>What Happened Last Week: </strong>The Columbus Blue Jackets split the week yet again. They remain in 29th place in the league, so they still have relatively good odds in the lottery. I suppose this is fine in this snapshot for them?</p>
<p id="jxEQxf">March 12, at Montreal, 3-0 Loss: Any hope of a Columbus rise up the standings to challenge Montreal crashed with this shutout loss. Cayden Primeau got that work with 41 shots by the Blue Jackets. He did all of his work and at a high level. He got the shutout. Montreal had a 3-0 lead to sit on for about 44 minutes. That was all it took for their offense. Brendan Gallagher scored 21 seconds into the game. Juraj Slafkovsky punished a Mathieu Olivier hooking penalty for 2-0. Joshua Roy made it 3-0 just before the six minute mark of regulation. Columbus tried but it would not lead to anything. And so they got swept by Montreal this season. </p>
<p id="mGVjDQ">March 14, vs. Ottawa, 3-2 SO Loss: The Blue Jackets got a point but not two against an Ottawa team they are jockeying for position with for lottery balls. The Blue Jackets got up on the board early with Boone Jenner scoring 15 seconds in on Anton Forsberg. The Blue Jackets kept up the shooting. They would be rewarded in the third period when Alexander Nylander converted a power play for a 2-0 lead. However, Ottawa kept running up the shot count too. While held to six shots in the third period, they would get two goals to tie up the game past Elvis Merzlikins. Claude Giroux scored about two minutes after Nylander’s goal to give them a foothold. Tim Stützle would tie it up past the halfway mark. Despite 19 shots on Forsberg in the third period, the Blue Jackets had to go to overtime. Where they survived as the Sens out-shot Columbus 5-0 in the fourth period. Merzlikins dragged them to a shootout. Alas, it was lost there. Stützle and Alexandre Texier scored in the first and second frames. But Giroux scored on the final shot of the third frame to give the Senators the second point. Alas.</p>
<p id="RWN1cV">March 16, vs. San Jose, 4-2 Win: The Blue Jackets may have conceded a shocking 41 shots to the Sharks. They still prevailed. Boone Jenner opened the scoring late in the first period. Alex Nylander, who has been a productive acquisition for Columbus, scored 49 seconds into the second period for a 2-0 lead. Fabian Zetterlund cut the lead to one later on in the second period, only for Johnny Gaudreau to make it 3-1 at the 15-minute mark of the middle frame. For whatever reason, the Sharks decided that they needed to throw everything at Daniil Tarasov in the third period. 19 shots in the third period and the plan nearly worked as Henry Thrun scored with over eight minutes left in regulation (and within a minute after Kirill Marchenko’s penalty ended). The Blue Jackets had to hold on against a rolling Sharks attack. But Tarasov was up for it. Columbus did not take another call. They could relax when Nylander put in the ENG to secure the win. It was not like the Blue Jackets were going to catch the Sharks so enjoy the win in a season full of them. </p>
<p id="NzYvzP"><strong>What’s Coming Up This Week: </strong>Columbus will continue their end of the season run to Game 82 with 4 more games coming up. First, they host Winnipeg today. A big turnaround from the quality of San Jose. Good luck, Blue Jackets. Second, Columbus can have a small hand in the wild card picture as they visit Detroit on Tuesday. A win there helps that picture for others. Third, Columbus has a real nasty back-to-back set at the end of the week. They visit Colorado and Las Vegas on Friday and Saturday. That is a real tough set for any team, much less a team with nothing to play for at this point.</p>
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<p id="2oU12W">That was the twenty-third Weekly Metropolitan Division Snapshot of the 2023-24 season. Will more than two teams win their week coming up? Can the Washington Capitals get ahead of the New York Islanders? Will the Philadelphia Flyers hold onto third? Will this week coming up be the actual end for the Pittsburgh Penguins or New Jersey Devils? Please leave your answers and other thoughts about the week that was and the week that will be for the Metropolitan Division in the comments. Thank you for reading.</p>
https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2024/3/17/24096777/weekly-metropolitan-division-snapshot-new-york-rangers-first-new-jersey-devils-sixth-playoff-fadeJohn Fischer2024-03-17T08:00:00-04:002024-03-17T08:00:00-04:00Game Preview #68: New Jersey Devils @ Vegas Golden Knights
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<img alt="NHL: Vegas Golden Knights at New Jersey Devils" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/wXJEzuG1oaZ4nUin-hZl2_20z4Q=/0x0:4458x2972/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73212963/usa_today_22351585.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Following a pathetic loss to the lowly Coyotes in Arizona, the Devils travel to Vegas for the second half of a back-to-back against the Golden Knights</p> <p id="r855b9"><strong>The Matchup:</strong> New Jersey Devils (32-31-4) @ Vegas Golden Knights (35-24-7)</p>
<p id="pgcSPq"><strong>The Time:</strong> 3:30pm ET</p>
<p id="jHzjYI"><strong>The Broadcast:</strong> TNT, Max</p>
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<s><strong>Last Devils Game</strong></s><strong> </strong><a href="https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2024/3/16/24103479/disgrace-desert-new-jersey-devils-soundly-beaten-arizona-coyotes-green-cannot-be-the-coach-surely"><strong>Thanks John</strong></a>
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<p id="6mrcl2">On March 16, 2024, the New Jersey Devils came out slowly against the Arizona Coyotes and were punished for it. They conceded the game’s first goal for the 49th time this season. They conceded 3 goals in the first period before they could get their acts together in the hockey game. By that point, the Devils were just in too deep. Whether it was Karel Vejmelka playing well, the New Jersey power play and defense playing rather badly, there was not going to be a comeback effort. Travis Green and his staff clearly failed to have the players ready to play. And guys like Erik Haula, Tomas Nosek, Nico Hischier, Nick DeSimone, and Ondrej Palat among others were failing enough on the ice to make the loss a near guarantee. To the surprise of few of the People Who Matter, it was another bad loss. In a word: BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.</p>
<h2 id="t92jw9"><strong>Last Golden Knights Game</strong></h2>
<p id="VUYmd1">Vegas last played on Thursday in Calgary. The Golden Knights limped away with a 4-1 loss against the Flames, with trade deadline acquisition Anthony Mantha scoring the lone goal for the Knights.</p>
<h2 id="qWSUhc"><strong>Last Devils-Knights Game</strong></h2>
<p id="Fv3YU1">It was actually a pretty dramatic one that saw New Jersey <a href="https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2024/1/22/24047464/tyler-toffoli-hat-trick-saves-devils-season-in-6-5-overtime-win-over-golden-knights-lazar-vitek-ruff">score a riveting 6-5 comeback victory on January 22nd at The Rock</a>. The since traded Tyler Toffoli registered a hat trick in that contest, including the game-winner in overtime.</p>
<h2 id="a6dKto"><strong>Power Outage</strong></h2>
<p id="9jcoX5">The power play failed to score (in two tries) yesterday. In other news, grass is green and the sky is blue. We’ve all known for a while now that the PP unit has been an abomination, but we usually set the line of demarcation for when it became this way in January. Well thanks to NJ.com’s Ryan Novozinsky, we can see we have to go back further (and to a very specific event) to see when the Devils power play truly collapsed:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">The <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NJDevils?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NJDevils</a> now own the worst power play percentage since Nov. 28 –– Dougie Hamilton's last game.<br><br>They're converting at a 14.5% clip.</p>— Ryan Novozinsky (@ryannovo62) <a href="https://twitter.com/ryannovo62/status/1769146725615149460?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2024</a>
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<p id="TywJrS">Well how about that.</p>
<p id="prUGa8">It’s true that Hamilton was not playing on the top unit at the time. But even for a coaching staff that seems allergic to adjustments other than a couple new line combinations, I have to imagine they would have swapped Hamilton onto PP1 at some point if they had him available. Even in his limited time (and reduced role) this season, Hamilton proved he was still the same power play juggernaut he’s been his entire career:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Powerplay value per hour this season. <a href="https://t.co/zUfbisGdxK">https://t.co/zUfbisGdxK</a> <a href="https://t.co/PC2Law0br8">pic.twitter.com/PC2Law0br8</a></p>— CJ Turtoro (@CJTDevil) <a href="https://twitter.com/CJTDevil/status/1769157261694267500?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2024</a>
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<p id="1a4bWR">So in short, New Jersey enjoyed approximately a month and a half of wonderful power play production, then Hamilton got injured, and the unit started actively costing the Devils games. And this is the state it’s been in for closing in on four months now.</p>
<p id="Yveo9K">By the way, Travis Green was in charge of the power play when he was brought on as an assistant in the offseason, and now he’s the interim head coach. Is anyone surprised that the power play continues to have as much structure as a Jackson Pollack painting?</p>
<h2 id="8NcaNP"><strong>Enough With The Excuses</strong></h2>
<p id="BB9G2f">Maybe I’m making too much of this, but this quote really rubbed me the wrong way:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Nick DeSimone: “I thought we outplayed them 50 out of 60 minutes. Those 10 minutes cost us the game.”<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NJDevils?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NJDevils</a></p>— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) <a href="https://twitter.com/amandacstein/status/1769147107737264194?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2024</a>
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<p id="hb5uq1">I really don’t mean to pick on DeSimone, I know he’s still pretty new to the club. But I’m so sick and tired of hearing excuses like this. “We played great except for a few minutes”, yes well “a few bad minutes” has been costing this team games all season long. Whether it’s not starting games on time, terrible goaltending play, injuries, relying on lots of young and inexperienced players, or just plain bad luck, this has been a season full of excuses. And I’m tired of it.</p>
<p id="2oYxne">Before I go any further, I do want to say for the record that I think some of these excuses are genuinely valid reasons for why this team will fail to make the playoffs. New Jersey really did endure some pretty catastrophic injury luck this season. It’s hard to blame the many young players in the lineup who are still learning the NHL game, both mentally and physically. And yes, I’m willing to concede that the Devils have suffered from lots of bad puck luck over the course of the campaign as well. I am sympathetic to those arguments. I’m not so sympathetic to the “it was only a few minutes” excuse though, that one is squarely on the coaching staff and the players. They’re all professionals, they really need to stop talking about how a few bad minutes cost them and, you know, actually make it so they don’t have a few bad minutes each game anymore.</p>
<p id="TOgiBI">Speaking of which, this quote from Travis Green rubbed me the wrong way as well:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">IHC Travis Green asked about the inconsistency in how the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NJDevils?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NJDevils</a> have started games all season: <br><br>“A bit of it is immaturity. It’s a tough league to win in, you have to be ready to go every night. If you don’t start on time it’s a hard league to win consistently in.”</p>— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) <a href="https://twitter.com/amandacstein/status/1769149883942846615?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 16, 2024</a>
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<p id="xlxkST">On the one hand, I actually found it kind of refreshing to see a coach call out the players like this. I blamed former head coach Lindy Ruff a lot for New Jersey failing to start games on time, but the players deserve a lot of blame as well. Credit to Green for calling them out like that.</p>
<p id="j2G4E0">...But on the other hand, Green deserves plenty of blame for this too. It’s not ALL on the players, and Green needs to hold himself accountable as well. In the end, I don’t care who’s fault it is, just fix it. Or rather, make sure it’s fixed for next season since this one is already shot.</p>
<h2 id="VKN1ai"><strong>A Random Depressing Thought</strong></h2>
<p id="TVTyq7">The New Jersey Devils are not making the postseason this year. They are not mathematically eliminated yet, and probably won’t be for a couple of weeks, but we all know the season is over. So with that being the case, the Devils’ current streak of postseasons reached will end at one. Do you know the last time the Devils made the playoffs for multiple seasons in a row?</p>
<p id="tZJeL0">2009-10.</p>
<p id="4ksdoK">The 2009-10 season was the final campaign of the Devils’ run of 13 consecutive years of reaching the playoffs. For reference, the top five scorers on the 2009-10 team were Zach Parise, Travis Zajac, Jamie Langenbrunner, Patrik Elias, and Brian Rolston. Martin Brodeur finished third in the Vezina trophy voting (and played 77 games!!!), and was backed up by Yann Danis. That was also the season New Jersey traded for Ilya Kovalchuk.</p>
<p id="wgJumj">Since then they’ve...</p>
<ul>
<li id="OF3WMv">Missed in 2010-11</li>
<li id="9wBJR8">Made it to the Stanley Cup Final in 2011-12</li>
<li id="upztnZ">Missed from 2012-13 to 2016-17</li>
<li id="smKDsE">Got dragged kicking and screaming by Taylor Hall to a first round drubbing by the Lightning</li>
<li id="ktjbau">Missed from 2018-19 to 2021-22</li>
<li id="N64YDV">Made it to the second round last year</li>
</ul>
<p id="ypgs7k">And now it’s going to be another season that ends after game 82 in the Garden State. It’s a truly depressing thought that we haven’t seen this franchise make the postseason with any sort of consistency since Doc and Chico were calling Devils games. I’m tired of all the losing.</p>
<h2 id="sBHG9D"><strong>Wheeling And Dealing</strong></h2>
<p id="supa8v">It must be so fun being a fan of the Vegas Golden Knights. This is a franchise that goes all-in every year. Yes I know that’s a bit of an on-the-nose metaphor for a team that plays in Las Vegas, but it’s true.</p>
<p id="FPRXvX">The Golden Knights took yet another big swing at the trade deadline this season, acquiring defenseman Noah Hanifin from the Flames, winger Anthony Mantha from the Capitals, and in the most stunning of moves at the deadline, they traded for center Tomas Hertl from the rival Sharks. Hertl is injured and has yet to get into game action, but he should be back by the playoffs...if Vegas makes it there (more on that below).</p>
<p id="DzRtc0">Needless to say, this is a massive overhaul of the roster. Hertl in particular gives the Knights some terrifying center depth between him, Jack Eichel, Chandler Stephenson, and William Karlsson. Hanifin gives Vegas a stellar 1-2-3 punch of defensemen with Alex Pietrangelo and Shea Theodore. This is a deep Vegas team that got even deeper thanks to these moves. Plus we know this is a team capable of going all the way, seeing as how they’re the defending champions and all. With these moves, the Knights seem to be well positioned to defend their crown.</p>
<h2 id="pmXnjH"><strong>...Or Are They?</strong></h2>
<p id="ruAfYL">It’s hard to believe considering all the talent on their roster (not to mention their 11-0-1 start to the season), but Vegas is not exactly sitting in comfortable playoff position right now. At 77 points through 66 games played, the Golden Knights enter today as the 8th seed in the Western Conference. Their grip on the second and final wild card spot is a tenuous one over the Wild, though Vegas does have a couple games in hand over Minnesota.</p>
<p id="kDIHgp">Will the Golden Knights make the playoffs? Well that would sure be hilarious if they didn’t considering they’re the defending champs, and they went out and acquired every player that wasn’t nailed to the floor at the deadline. Right now they’re in the driver’s seat, and it’s more likely than not that they make the dance. But they need to start solidifying their spot, so expect a very motivated Golden Knights team this afternoon.</p>
<h2 id="nJ5GOh"><strong>Your Take</strong></h2>
<p id="bQZ2Z6">What do you expect out of today’s game? Who on the Devils do you want to see step up? Who on the Golden Knights will you be watching? Which of Vegas’ new additions do you think will make the biggest impact for them? As always, thanks for reading!</p>
https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2024/3/17/24103527/game-preview-68-new-jersey-devils-vegas-golden-knights-hertl-hanifin-mantha-hughes-hischier-meierJackson.Baird2024-03-16T20:50:57-04:002024-03-16T20:50:57-04:00Disgrace in the Desert: New Jersey Devils Soundly Beaten 1-4 by Arizona Coyotes
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<figcaption>Yep. | Photo by Norm Hall/NHLI via Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Thanks to a terrible first period and Karel Vejmelka playing great in the net, the New Jersey Devils were soundly beat 1-4 by the Arizona Coyotes today. This is a recap of Another Bad Start for Another Bad Loss in a Devils season full of them.</p> <p id="bxB7vp">At this point, I could make a template for me, Chris, Jackson, and Caleb for future recaps of the 2023-24 <a href="https://www.allaboutthejersey.com">New Jersey Devils</a>. So here is a first attempt at it:</p>
<blockquote><p id="5AbRCl">On (Enter Date), the New Jersey Devils came out slowly against the (Enter Opponent) and were punished for it. They conceded the game’s first goal for the (Enter Number, Note: it was 49 against Arizona)th time this season. They conceded (Enter Number of Goals) goals before they could get their acts together in the hockey game. By that point, the Devils were just in too deep. Whether it was (Enter Opposition Goaltender) playing well, the New Jersey (Choice: power play, power play, 5-on-5 play, defense, or power play) playing rather badly, there was not going to be a comeback effort. (Enter Coach’s Name) and his staff clearly failed to have the players ready to play. And guys like (Enter Devils’ players names of choice) were failing enough on the ice to make the loss a near guarantee. To the surprise of few of the People Who Matter, it was another bad loss. In a word (Enter word here, Suggestion: just writing “BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO” is OK.)</p></blockquote>
<p id="bf0Vrg">Of course, what good is a draft without an example? The New Jersey Devils helpfully provided one in the form of this afternoon’s 1-4 loss to the Arizona Coyotes. A team worse off than the Devils in the overall standings, such that the Devils cannot realistically “catch them.” Yet, the Coyotes have beaten the Devils twice this season. Here goes:</p>
<p id="CcH0pY">On March 16, 2024, the New Jersey Devils came out slowly against the Arizona Coyotes and were punished for it. They conceded the game’s first goal for the 49th time this season. They conceded 3 goals in the first period before they could get their acts together in the hockey game. By that point, the Devils were just in too deep. Whether it was Karel Vejmelka playing well, the New Jersey power play and defense playing rather badly, there was not going to be a comeback effort. Travis Green and his staff clearly failed to have the players ready to play. And guys like Erik Haula, Tomas Nosek, Nico Hischier, Nick DeSimone, and Ondrej Palat among others were failing enough on the ice to make the loss a near guarantee. To the surprise of few of the People Who Matter, it was another bad loss. In a word: BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO.</p>
<p id="QrNgV1">I think it works. It could save us time. It could save us energy. It is not like the Devils are doing a whole lot to deserve the kind of effort you and me are putting into watching and likely agonizing about this team. Much less writing and commenting about them.</p>
<p id="Pr14g4">Of course, life isn’t about deserves and so I will have more thoughts beyond the standard links. But the short version is accurate. The Devils stunk coming out in the game, went down 3 goals, and failed to make the comeback due to Vejmelka and the team’s own failings. I hated watching this and I’m sure you didn’t either if you did and I’m sure you would not have liked it if you didn’t watch it presuming you wanted the Devils to, I don’t know, follow up a big win with a second one.</p>
<p id="q175Yu"><strong>The Game Stats: </strong>The <a href="https://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20232024/GS021062.HTM">NHL.com Game Summary</a> | The <a href="https://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20232024/ES021062.HTM">NHL.com Event Summary</a> | The <a href="https://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20232024/PL021062.HTM">NHL.com Play by Play Log</a> | The <a href="https://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20232024/SS021062.HTM">NHL.com Short Summary</a> | The <a href="https://www.naturalstattrick.com/game.php?season=20232024&game=21062">Natural Stat Trick Game Stats</a></p>
<p id="p2O9L8"><strong>The Game Highlights: </strong>From Sportsnet’s Youtube page, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5JmdzmJe-VM">here they are should you want to view them for some reason.</a></p>
<p id="KggkTi"><strong>The Brutal First Period: </strong>The Devils collectively were bad in the first period. Shout out to the training staff to taking care of Curtis Lazar, who went out after a shot block and later returned. They did their job well. Good job, trainers. The Devils players and staff? Nope.<strong> </strong></p>
<p id="bECo5V">Out-shot? Yep, 13-15. </p>
<p id="cCGc6P">Expected goals? Arizona led there in all situations, 1.11 to 1.15. Vejmelka was really in form. Kahkonen, less so, as he was beaten for three goals.</p>
<p id="Kqli2i">Power plays? Arizona had two, putting up four shots, and one great shot by Dylan Guenther that beat Kaapo Kahkonen high shortside and made Brendan Smith’s block attempt look silly based on the reverse camera. The Devils had one, got no shots on net save for Timo Meier hitting a post, and a shorthanded shot allowed to Nick Bjugstad. Arizona’s PP looked like they knew how to play with a man advantage. New Jersey’s - remember that interim head coach Travis Green used to be in charge of it - PP did the same thing they did in 2024 and got the same results for the majority of 2024. </p>
<p id="1oreCM">What about the penalties? The Big Deal, Jack Hughes, was tripped up behind the net by Michael Kesselring, surprising those People Who Matter who claim Hughes never goes there. Again, the Devils did not punish it. The Devils’ two penalties were lazy and done by veterans who should know better. Erik Haula tripped Travis Dermott; an easy call for the refs. Tomas Nosek followed up a bad Devils power play with a really lazy stick on Clayton Keller during a forecheck. The Nosek tripping penalty was the one punished by Guenther.</p>
<p id="yoPfhm">What about those other two actual goals? The Guenther PPGA was in between even strength goals by the Coyotes. J.J. Moser created the situation for the first Arizona goal. He pinched in to keep a Coyote attack alive. As the play shifted to the left side, Moser backed off and returned to his right side. Nick Schmaltz got the puck, tossed it back to Sean Durzi, who no-looked it to the space to his left. Where Moser was and no Devil was. Moser gripped and ripped the shot to beat Kahkonen. That was 0-1. Guenther’s PPG was 0-2. The 0-3 goal needed a secondary assist given to Nick DeSimone. The defenseman, who was great in his first game as a Devil, coughed up the puck like he was Damon Severson. Right to Logan Crouse in the slot less than 10 feet in front of him. Crouse turned to pass it to a driving Logan Cooley. Cooley buried the chance for 0-3. </p>
<p id="a4WmdL">Did the Devils even come close to scoring? Only technically as Meier hit the post; but live, I thought Vejmelka got it. Nico Hischier had a tap-in created by The Big Deal, but the puck ended up by his skates and not by the stick for what could have been a goal to get the Devils back into it. It is not that the Devils created nothing; 1.11 xG in a period is quite a bit. But Karel Vejmelka was simply in form. Something the Devils could have better handled if they were only down one goal. Down three? Forget it.</p>
<p id="3DHCM1"><strong>So The Rest of the Game...: </strong>The Devils certainly played to the score. Arizona basically turtled and tried to hit back on counter-attacks amid the occasional possession shift from the Coyotes. As such, they had 17 shots over the rest of the game after 15 in the first 20 minutes. They had a few breakaways denied by Nico Daws to at least keep a potential comeback possible. I would go as far as to say that Daws was the best Devil today.</p>
<p id="43RSts">Daws? Yes, Kahkonen was replaced after the first intermission for Daws. Daws, <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-jersey-devils/players/new-jersey-devils-goaltending-nico-daws-jake-allen-kaapo-kahkonen">who may not be fully aware of what the plan is for him now that Kahkonen and Jake Allen are with New Jersey</a>, played like he had a point to prove. That he was indeed capable at this level as a goalie. He certainly did better than Kahkonen, who could have stopped one - maybe two? - of those Coyotes goals in the first period. Will Daws play tomorrow? Hopefully not as it would mean Las Vegas broke Jake Allen down badly. </p>
<p id="uVGY2B">As far as the offense goes, there were two common results. One: An exercise of frustration watching the Devils. Whether it was a pass gone astray - especially during the Devils power play in the third period - or a Coyote blocking a shot or a decision to move the puck to a covered Devil (shout out to Palat for a heap of those) or anything about the power play, just watching this made you want to lament it. I tried yelling at the TV, muttering to myself, or keeping my complaints quiet, and none of it worked. Like all eight of Jesper Bratt’s shots on net today. Yes, Bratt had 8. Seeing Nico Hischier hit a post did not help either. Or Kurtis MacDermid throwing down in the middle of an offensive possession. I’m sure you have other examples. You get the point.</p>
<p id="wWgD80">Two: A shrug at the Devils getting goalied. Which is what an outsider would point about this game. The Devils had 38 shots on net and hit the post 3 times. They generated 3.18 xG and got one. The one was a lovely 3-on-2 rush started by Nick DeSimone, set up by The Big Deal to Curtis Lazar, and finished by DeSimone shoveling Lazar’s feed past Vejmelka. The Devils rushed defensemen for attacks - even Brendan Smith crashed the net hard to force a big pad save. They crashed the net at 5-on-5 Green mixed up lines and they rolled through the neutral zone and even Arizona’s zone for shots. For all of their failings, they still put up 77 shooting attempts, 38 shots, 35 scoring chances and 10 high-danger chances. One led to a goal. Vejmelka was that good today. Begrudgingly, that is the truth. One obscured by the terrible first period and 3-goal deficit that Vejmelka was not going to allow to go away. </p>
<p id="cMEEnr">If the Devils’ playoff hopes were not in such dire straits - due in significant part to losing games to teams like Arizona - then you would just chalk up the loss to #2 and be done with it. But because of how 2023-24 has went, #1 is the bigger tale to follow Another Bad Start that led to Another Bad Loss. </p>
<p id="Fnkr0i"><strong>Assorted Questions: </strong>The Devils play Las Vegas tomorrow. Was it a good idea for Green to give 4:42 to Kurtis MacDermid forcing quite a few double-shifts? Especially with a fresh and presumably ready Nolan Foote available to play? I do not think so. Likewise, while the pairing of Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec did quite well today, did they need to play over 22 minutes each with the real possibility of having to do so tomorrow? As inconsistent and underwhelming John Marino has been this season, he was missed today given the game tomorrow. Maybe he can be back for tomorrow to spell DeSimone or Santeri Hatakka, who had a heinous turnover in the third period that Daws and Kevin Bahl defused?</p>
<p id="gOhKcG">What happened to Meier to cool him off? Sure, like every Devil today, the Devils out-attempted the Coyotes when he took a shift. But generating 0.48 xGF with a hot scorer on the ice is concerning. Only MacDermid, Nosek, and Tierney saw lower xGF counts in all situations today for the Devils. I get mixing up lines after a real bad first period, but the combos for Meier were just not effective. Mercer, Lazar, and Meier did not generate much. Neither did Bratt, Haula, and Meier. Or Palat, Haula, and Meier and Palat, Nosek, and Meier in short shifts. I know hot streaks have to come to an end but this one was a dud.</p>
<p id="IHnake">I know the larger question will be what about The Big Deal. Well, I would have liked him to get more than one shot on net out of the seven attempts he had. Then again, he also had a big hand in creating the Devils’ only goal today. Some of the People Who Matter seem to think he does not pass the puck. Yet, his pass to Lazar was perfect in a game filled with passes gone wrong. Had Nico Hischier had better luck today, he could have had three helpers to go with three Devils goals. Alas, the reality is that Hischier did not. I get it: he’s The Big Deal. Why can’t he just put the team on his back to win it? When Hughes does try to do that, not only does not go so well, a lot of the same People Who Matter complain that he tries too much. Alas. </p>
<p id="CXbSjt">A better question would be what in the world is up with all of these Veteran Players that apparently Have the Experience and Can Give the Devils Good Depth and Provide Examples having bad games? Nosek is showing to be a massive downgrade from Jesper Boqvist. His penalty should have stapled him to the bench; <a href="https://www.nhl.com/scores/htmlreports/20232024/TV021062.HTM">but that did not appear to be the case.</a> Erik Haula also took a bad penalty and was just bad with the puck. Somehow in a game where the Devils ultimately out-shot the Coyotes quite a lot in 5-on-5 (38 to 24), the Devils were out-shot 7-10 when Haula took a shift. Ondrej Palat just struggled to make the right read; trying to feed a totally covered Alex Holtz - who was skating well today - was a particular low light. Brendan Smith was not a calamity; his attempted block on the Guenther goal was more silly than poor. But did Smith help the cause much? No, as per usual. Lazar at least put in good work today. But a team struggling to win games in a row cannot afford too many passengers and seeing three of them being 30+ guys who have been in the NHL for a while is sore spot for sight eyes.</p>
<p id="GIvSCn"><strong>A Broadcast Thought: </strong>The broadcast has been insipid all season. I get it. MSG does not want there to be a lot of criticism of the Devils. As such, there have been some real efforts by Bill Spaulding, Erika Watcher, Bryce Salvador, and especially Ken Daneyko to put a lot of lipstick on this pig of a season. Daneyko today was especially awful. No, Dano, there is not a lot of hockey left in this season. No, Dano, it is not good for a guy to take a penalty just because it is what you would have done in the 1990s. No, Dano, it is not good for MacDermid to throw down in the offensive zone while the Devils are down two to end a long offensive possession. (Aside: The fight changed <em>nothing</em> about the game. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uz1Jwyxd4tE">MacDermid is still a needless acquisition.</a>). No, Dano, the power play is not just going to “make something happen,” since the people in charge of it are not changing it. This game needed a Shep Messing “ABSOLUTELY SHAMBOLIC” bomb dropped on it. Especially for the DeSimone turnover that became Cooley’s goal. At least the commentary would reflect what the People Who Matter and those who attended the game largely felt. But MSG’s producers allowed criticism of the Red Bulls that they do not for their other teams. </p>
<p id="RBk277"><strong>One Last Thought: </strong>the first period and much of this season could be summed up with Six Ps. I cleaned it up from 7: Poor planning & preparation prevents poor performances. </p>
<p id="ahEqMs">The Devils were P-less today. The Coyotes were pushing P and got a W for their efforts. </p>
<p id="yTsYu3"><strong>Your Take:</strong> This game stunk and there is another game tomorrow. Grand. Capital. Lovely. What’s your take on this game? What do you even do differently for tomorrow in Las Vegas outside of starting Allen? Please leave your answers and other reactions to the game in the comments.</p>
<p id="lVAm3H">Thanks to Jackson for the game preview. Thanks to those in the Gamethread and who followed on X with <a href="http://www.x.com/aatjerseyblog">@AAtJerseyBlog.</a> Thank you for reading.</p>
https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2024/3/16/24103479/disgrace-desert-new-jersey-devils-soundly-beaten-arizona-coyotes-green-cannot-be-the-coach-surelyJohn Fischer2024-03-16T16:00:00-04:002024-03-16T16:00:00-04:002023-24 Gamethread #67: New Jersey Devils at Arizona Coyotes
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<img alt="New Jersey Devils v Arizona Coyotes" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/yo2j-L3nDhTW8XjA32eEcPQhnzI=/0x0:3000x2000/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73212148/1472391737.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Meier at the Mullett tonight | Photo by Zac BonDurant/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Arizona State University is where the New Jersey Devils will take on the Arizona Coyotes. A team who prevailed in a shootout way back in October against the Devils. Will the Devils prevail this evening? Talk about it here.</p> <p id="NUbpGb">Our Favorite Team visits the Mullett today for a shot at some revenge against today’s opponent. Who beat them back in October. In a shootout of all things.</p>
<p id="Uy5lZu"><strong>The Time:</strong> 5:00 PM ET</p>
<p id="tlXgbz"><strong>The Broadcast: </strong>TV - MSGSN, Scripps; Radio - Devils Hockey Network (on Audacy)</p>
<p id="ustZ1L"><strong>The Matchup:</strong> The <a href="https://www.allaboutthejersey.com">New Jersey Devils</a> at the Arizona Coyotes</p>
<p id="DSook4"><strong>The Song of the Early Evening: </strong>Feel the post-rock vibes of If These Trees Could Talk. If you like And So I Watch You From Afar (and I do), then you’ll like this. This is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZNAkWqZ2iVQ">“Earth Crawler”</a> from their 2016 album <em>The Bones of a Dying World</em>.</p>
<p id="53fJ36"><strong>The Rules: </strong>The rules remain as they are as we want the Devils to try to win a game on a college campus. Please keep your language clean (this means no swearing, don’t mask it, it’s not enough), respect your fellow Devils fan with no personal attacks (play nice or you will not play here), <em>no illegal streams (this means no asking, no hints, no nothing about it)</em>, and please keep comments relevant to the game. Go Devils!</p>
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https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/2024/3/16/24101428/2023-24-gamethread-new-jersey-devils-arizona-coyotes-mullett-arizona-stateJohn Fischer