It was an ugly night at Enterprise Center in St. Louis as the New Jersey Devils fell to the St. Louis Blues by a final score of 4-2. Poor play in the defensive zone, turnovers and costly penalties were the themes of the night as the Devils never found their rhythm and were unable to find a way against a team that is now 3-0 since trading Vladimir Tarasenko to the New York Rangers.
Here are three takeaways from the Devils’ fourth regulation loss on the road.
Alexey Toropchenko‘s Goal Summed Up The Entire Night
The Devils entered the middle frame tied at one apiece. It only took four minutes for that to change as Alexey Toropchenko began and eventually ended a sequence that resulted in his fourth goal of the season.
New Jersey’s “BMW” line that consists of Nathan Bastian, Michael McLeod, and Miles Wood was on the ice along with the team’s third defensive pair of Damon Severson and Kevin Bahl. They spent time in the offensive zone before being forced to defend their own. Toropchenko beat a fatigued Wood in a wall battle in the corner and when the puck squirted loose it landed on the stick of Severson who flipped it to McLeod who had an opposing player nearby. A few seconds later, it was in the net behind goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood.
Related: 4 Takeaways From Devils’ Thrilling 3-2 Win vs. Blue Jackets
It was a sequence filled with mistakes, as fatigue clearly affected the five-man unit that was on the ice for New Jersey and tired players are ineffective ones. Getting hemmed in their own zone and costly individual mistakes were a theme, especially in the second and third periods. The Devils were outworked and sloppy in their defensive zone.
“I thought we had a terrible night in our own end,” head coach Lindy Ruff said. “I thought we got beat to pucks. Some of our puck play led to goals against, turned over pucks. I think when you turn over pucks, especially against their top line a couple times, you put yourself in a lot of trouble.”
Devils’ Forward Lines in Need of a Shakeup
The Devils began the game with the below combinations versus the Blues.
Ondrej Palat – Nico Hischier – Jesper Bratt
Yegor Sharangovich – Erik Haula- Fabian Zetterlund
Tomas Tatar – Jesper Boqvist – Dawson Mercer
Wood – McLeod – Bastian
New Jersey’s third line got things started as Mercer scored his 12th goal of the season with Boqvist earning his second point in three games. The second line also contributed as Haula scored his fifth goal of the season with his wingers each earning an assist. It was a positive sign to see other forwards step up in Jack Hughes’ absence, but overall there was a lack of consistent effort from all four trios.
“It wasn’t a night where we got consistent hockey out of all four lines,” Ruff said. “It was probably one of our poorest nights when it came to a four-line performance and being on the same page.”
Within the game, Ruff swapped Palat and Tatar. It was his only change, but fans could expect more when the club faces the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday evening. Putting Tatar back with Hischier could get the young captain out of his cold spell as he has been held without a goal since Jan. 19.
Devils’ Recent Play Finally Caught Up To Them
The Devils have found ways to win, but everyone knew the way they were playing was not sustainable. It finally caught up to them last night. Before the team left New Jersey for their current road trip, Severson told me that they are doing all of the little things right a lot of the time, and even though they are not playing their best hockey they are still finding a way to win. There has been a noticeable dip in their play, especially in the defensive zone and the Blues had no problem exposing some of the current holes within New Jersey’s system.
The Devils landed in Pittsburgh around 3:00 A.M. and are scheduled for a 1:00 P.M. practice at PPG Paints Arena today. They will look to turn things around before heading back to Prudential Center for a four-game homestand. The good news is the return of Hughes is imminent as he has been practicing with the team and could return against their division rival.
