The New Jersey Devils headed home on Saturday in an attempt to gain revenge against the Philadelphia Flyers, following a rough showing in Philly. Unfortunately for them, they once again struggled to come up with any points, suffering their first home regulation loss of the season in a 5-3 defeat.
Related: Tippett’s 3-Point Night Helps Flyers Defeat Devils 5-3
Nemec & Hughes Pairing Struggles
In the previous four games, the defensive pairing of Simon Nemec and Luke Hughes brought a refreshing offensive spark to the Devils, outscoring teams 5-2. But there were still some underlying concerns: in those games, the opposition had seven more high danger chances (14-21).
Tonight, those concerns rose to reality. The Flyers scored all four even strength goals with that pairing on the ice.
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Despite the rough result, head coach Sheldon Keefe still maintained his faith in the pairing:
“It’s kind of what you get [with them], right? I mean, they’re great on offense, which I thought they were good again here today…it was the same when we were in Philly. Those guys were outstanding with the puck on offense, but they gave up three breakaways. Today, was similar in nature. So, that’s kind of what you get…We’ve liked enough of what we’ve seen from them on the [offensive] side of it that we want to stay with it…and it’s a time for them to grow at the same time and kind of recognize that a big part of the game is to not be pushing so much on offense that you give the freebie up. It’s really hard to make up for those types of chances [against] and those goals [against]…but that’s part of the growth when you got young defensemen. You’ve got to work your way through it.”
– Sheldon Keefe
Markstrom Struggles…But No Defensive Help.
Jacob Markstrom had seemingly been coming into his own after a tough start to the season, winning his previous two games with a combined .915 save percentage (SV%). But tonight, he struggled again, stopping just 27 of 31 (.871%) — minus-0.63 above expected, per Moneypuck.
However, the defense didn’t do much to help him. Only one of the four goals against were considered “low danger” opportunities. “I thought we’d give up 10 if not for [Markstrom],” said Keefe.
Nonetheless, Markstrom failed to bail his team out, as goaltenders sometimes need to.
In 11 starts, Markstrom has had just four above an .850 SV% — including tonight. The good news is that he’s a notoriously slow starter who has faced similarly rough stretches through his career and has always bounced back. The bad news is that it’s getting late fast, as the Devils certainly don’t want to sacrifice valuable standings points — or overwork Jake Allen. Markstrom’s season save percentage is now .874%.
Silver Lining: Never Out of It
While there shouldn’t be any moral victories, it shows a lot about this Devils team that they don’t ever quit. This season, they’ve at least made a respectable effort in coming back every time they’ve faced a deficit.
No team is going to overcome a majority of their deficits; they’re called deficits for a reason. But after going down 4-1, Timo Meier and Dawson Mercer scored to push it to 4-3. They also should’ve been awarded a power play after Luke got high sticked in the third…but while the linesperson saw it, the refs did not. In that case, they’re unable to review it unless blood is drawn.
“Apparently, Luke’s fat lip was not enough. You’ve got to have blood. Hockey is weird sometimes,” said Keefe.
Moving Forward
The Devils — now 16-8-1 — will look to bounce back on Monday night as they remain home to face the Columbus Blue Jackets (7:00 PM EST).
