3 Takeaways from the Devils’ Streak-Snapping Loss in Colorado

The New Jersey Devils headed west to face the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night, attempting to complete a home-and-home sweep and extend their win streak to an incredible nine games. But instead, for the first time in 19 days, they found themselves in the loss column as they fell 8-4.

Related: Olofsson’s Hat Trick Leads Avalanche to 8-4 Victory Over Devils

Jacob Markstrom’s Very Rough Return

After missing six games to a lower body injury, Jacob Markstrom returned to the Devils’ crease. As the true competitor he is, he surely was not satisfied with his start prior to getting hurt: a 3.89 goals against average (GAA) and .845 save percentage (SV%) in three games.

Unfortunately, instead of taking a step forward, Markstrom took an even bigger step backwards. Just 18 seconds in, he fired the puck over the glass for a delay of game penalty. The Avs scored quickly on the ensuing power play.

“From the start, we shoot the puck over the glass, so that shows we’re not ready to go,” said head coach Sheldon Keefe to NJD.TV postgame.

Just over two minutes later, Zakhar Bardakov — who the Devils traded to Colorado for Kurtis MacDermid in 2024 — scored his first NHL goal. At the end of the first, the Devils were leading 11-6 in scoring chances yet found themselves in a 2-0 hole.

Just 2:31 into the second, a Victor Olofsson wrister from 34 feet out found its way past Markstrom. The shot had just a 4.3% chance of scoring, per MoneyPuck. From there, the air got completely sucked out of the balloon; the Devils fell flat and started leaking chances left and right, ending up behind 5-0.

But dramatically, the Devils stormed back with four goals in 4:04 to make it a one-goal game. They found themselves on the kill in dire need of a save, but instead, Nathan Mackinnon one-timed a puck in from 40.8 feet out — that one had just a 6% chance of being a goal, restoring a multi-goal lead for the Avs.

Markstrom then allowed two more in the third as the defense faltered. In total, he allowed eight goals: minus-3.87 goals above expected. While it’s only been four games and the defense could certainly play better in front of him, his season save percentage is now down to .828% (82/99). The Devils really need him to bounce back sooner rather than later.

The Struggle to Stay Out of the Box

Coming into the night, the Devils were in the bottom-half of the league for times shorthanded per game (3.44). They have found themselves in penalty trouble way too often, but it’s been masked by their exceptional penalty kill. That wasn’t the case tonight.

They were shorthanded six times…and surrendered double the goals (4) than they allowed in the nine games prior (2). With Brett Pesce — one of their best penalty killers — sidelined, they’re going to especially need to stay out of the box.

Even prior to Pesce’s absence, their kill was already hurting with Cody Glass and Johnathan Kovacevic out. They can’t bank on their kill being near-perfect like it’s been. That’s unrealistic.

“Today, we showed exactly the recipe of how not to play hockey,” said captain Nico Hischier.

The Devils matched the Avalanche’s goal total at even strength (4-4); Markstrom struggles aside, if the Devils were able to avoid unnecessary penalties, they still could have escaped with a point or two.

Silver Linings

While the Devils will want to forget about this one, there were a few positives that give reason to believe that they’ll quickly bounce back. First, as briefly mentioned, they hung with the Avs — one of the league’s best home teams — at even strength.

Dougie Hamilton, who has been heating up lately, appears to be all the way back. With him on the ice, the Devils outscored Colorado 3-0. (via Natural Stat Trick) If Hamilton consistently helps the team drive play like he did tonight, it will be easier to overcome Pesce’s absence.

With Juho Lammikko back from injury, the Devils were able to move Dawson Mercer back up and revert to the full top six they used in games 2-6, where they went 5-0-0. In total, those two top lines outscored Colorado 3-0. As long as the Devils don’t suffer any further injuries, their current construction is plenty good enough to outscore any challenges they face. They end the night with a league-best 3.90 goals per game.

And the most important silver lining of all: the team is still 8-2-0. “Nobody’s harder on this team than I am,” said head coach Sheldon Keefe. “I think our team has earned the right to push past this one.”

Moving Forward

The Devils will look to get back into the win column on Thursday night as they face the San Jose Sharks at SAP Center (10:00 PM EDT).