Blowout losses have been a rarity for the New Jersey Devils this season. In fact, they haven’t had any. After a 6-3 win against the Chicago Blackhawks 24 hours earlier, they were humbled by the Winnipeg Jets in a 6-1 loss, their largest margin of defeat of the season. Here are three takeaways as they look to regroup against a Pittsburgh Penguins team fighting for their playoff lives.
Jets Were Much Sharper Than the Devils
The Devils dominated the Blackhawks in their 6-3 win the night prior. That shouldn’t be a surprise, given the two teams’ place in the standings. But it was a completely different scenario in Winnipeg, as the Jets are clinging to the second and final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
From the get-go, it didn’t seem the Devils had their A-game. Nino Niederreiter had a breakaway a minute into the contest after Dougie Hamilton misplayed a puck that was in the air. Vitek Vanecek made the save, but that was a sign of things to come. The Devils trailed 2-0 after the first period, and deservedly so; the Jets controlled over 60 percent of the expected goals at five-on-five.
On Nikolaj Ehlers’ goal that opened up the scoring, the Devils lost a puck battle behind the net. That became a common theme throughout the game, as the Jets were the faster team to loose pucks. When the Devils tried to attack, they had a difficult time connecting on clean passes to get the rush going. New Jersey did get some of the play back in their favor at five-on-five, but that’s because the Jets didn’t even bother to apply offensive pressure after going up 4-0.
The good news for the Devils is that it took them 77 games to have their worst outing of the season. It also came in the second half of a back-to-back and was their third game in four nights. The key is not to allow this loss to snowball against the Penguins. The Devils have had their number this season, but the Penguins will come out firing since they need two points to keep pace with the New York Islanders and Florida Panthers for a wild-card spot. Given the Devils’ play in recent games before yesterday’s blowout loss, they should come out prepared against Pittsburgh.
Devils Need to Optimize Lineup Better From the Start
One problem for the Devils this season has been starting on time. It was an issue against the Jets, though they were sharp against the Blackhawks and in their 2-1 win over the New York Rangers on Thursday (March 31). One reason for that may be because head coach Lindy Ruff isn’t doing the best of optimizing his lineup from the opening faceoff.
Against the Rangers, the Devils started with a forward group of:
- Timo Meier – Nico Hischier – Dawson Mercer
- Ondrej Palát – Jack Hughes – Jesper Bratt
- Tomáš Tatar – Erik Haula – Jesper Boqvist
- Miles Wood – Michael McLeod – Yegor Sharangovich
The Devils played one of their best games of the season against the Rangers, and Ruff kept those units together from start to finish. They began the game against the Blackhawks, though Ruff would flip Tatar and Meier by the third period. Those would be the combos that started against the Jets as well.
Related: Devils’ Tatar Talks Trade Deadline & Playoffs Push
In fairness, I’m not sure any line combos would’ve made a difference in Winnipeg. But it may make a difference against the Penguins from the opening faceoff. Ideally, Meier should be in the top six alongside Hischier and Mercer, while Tatar is with Hughes and Bratt. Palát has struggled to score this season, but his best minutes have come with Haula and Boqvist. Since Tatar should be in the top six, that feels like the best top nine Ruff could put together right now. And perhaps that helps them get off to better starts to close the regular season.
Kevin Bahl Continues to Thrive
It’s hard to pick out anyone who played well for the Devils against the Jets, but Kevin Bahl stood out. He’s not playing difficult minutes since he’s on the third pair, but he’s killing it in his role alongside Damon Severson. The Devils finished with a 24-6 shot attempt advantage (80 Corsi for percentage) and 80.34 expected goals percentage (xG%) with him on the ice.
What was most impressive about Bahl’s night is he was not on the ice for a single goal against at five-on-five and only one of the six at all strengths. He was one of the few (maybe only) Devils that wasn’t getting beat to loose pucks consistently. He was a lone bright spot for the team, as indicated by his game score — an all-encompassing stat that uses traditional and advanced stats to measure a player’s total value for a single game — of 1.79, which led all Devils skaters. He’s earned his place as a regular on the team’s third pair to close the regular season.
Devils Quick Hits
- Though the blame doesn’t go to them for the loss, it was a rough night for the Jonas Siegenthaler and Dougie Hamilton pairing. They had the worst five-on-five numbers among Devils skaters, which has been a common occurrence when New Jersey loses a game. They’ll need to rebound for the team to have a chance at the season sweep of the Penguins tomorrow night.
- Another Devil who had a decent outing was Yegor Sharangovich. The team had a 19-2 shot attempt advantage (90.48 CF%) and 99.12 xG% with him on the ice at five-on-five. Ruff even gave him a look alongside Hughes and Mercer, though I don’t see that being a fit for the rest of the regular season. Still, he’s played well since returning to the lineup on March 16 after being a healthy scratch for two weeks. He has a place as a bottom-six winger and penalty-killer moving forward.
Next up for the Devils is the tilt against the Penguins, followed by a matchup with the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday and a nationally-televised showdown on ABC with the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Boston Bruins on Saturday, April 8.
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Advanced stats from Natural Stat Trick, Hockey Stat Cards
