The New Jersey Devils continued their road trip, taking on the Winnipeg Jets on Friday, March 28. The Devils could not keep up their winning momentum against the Chicago Blackhawks last Wednesday. The Devils fell to the Jets 4-0.
Devils’ Defense Felt the Absence of Hughes
While Luke Hughes took part in warmups yesterday, he did not come back out on the ice for the game. The Devils took to social media to say that he would be out due to a precautionary lower-body injury. Dennis Cholowski played in his absence. Cholowski was recently picked up by the Devils at the trade deadline from the New York Islanders. This was only Cholowski’s fifth game with New Jersey.
Right from the start of the game, Hughes’s absence was palpable. The Devils let the Jets score two goals within two minutes of the game starting. Both goals in this two-minute time frame were due to a lack of defense.
Just 58 seconds into the game, the Jets made a break to the net. While four Devils players were in front of the net trying to defend, they left Alex Iafallo wide open. Off a pass from Kyle Connor, Iafallo scored on an open opportunity.
Less than a minute later, the Jets capitalized on the lack of defense once again. Brandon Tanev took a shot on the net, which Jake Allen blocked. However, David Gustafsson skated up to the net quickly and took a rebound shot. While the four Devils players on the ice were grouped up in front of the net, Gustafsson found an opening to take the shot and increase the Jets’ lead.
Since the absence of his brother, Hughes has stepped up his performance. In the Devils’ last game against Chicago, he recorded an assist on three of the five goals scored. Since March 4, he has recorded 12 points with one goal and 11 assists. While his plus/minus since March 4 is a minus-5, his consistent pressure on the opposing team makes his presence on the ice known. The Devils’ defense is already struggling with the absence of Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler, so they cannot afford to lose Hughes.
Devils Couldn’t Capitalize on Their Chances
Despite three power-play opportunities, the Devils couldn’t score on them. On the Devils’ second power-play opportunity of the night, they were close to scoring. Nico Hischier’s shot rang off the iron. Unfortunately, the puck did not hit the back of the net.
Related: Iafallo’s Pair of Goals Power Jets to 4-0 Shutout Over Devils
In the first period, Erik Haula scored a goal, but it was waved off for goaltender interference. The Devils did not challenge the call on the ice. If they had, perhaps this game would not have been a shutout.
Allen Had One of His Worst Games This Season
With a save percentage (SV%) of .789, Allen recorded his second-to-worst SV% this season. Of the 19 shots the Jets took on the net, four slipped through the goal. His worst performance was on Oct. 22 against the Tampa Bay Lightning; he earned an SV% of .784 after allowing eight goals into the net off of 37 shots.
While Allen is now back up for Jacob Markstrom, this is his fifth game in March. His first three games resulted in victories. Due to his loss in this game, Allen is now on a two-game losing streak.
Unfortunately, Markstrom is not performing much better. Markstrom has had two three-game losing streaks this month. His only two wins were recorded on March 11 and their previous game against the Blackhawks on March 26.
There is no denying that the Devils are struggling with goaltending. However, this loss was not just because of Allen’s performance; as mentioned above, much of it was attributed to the lack of defense.
Devils Have a Second Half of a Back-to-Back
The Devils will take on the Minnesota Wild on Saturday, March 29.
