The New Jersey Devils traveled to Detroit to take on the Red Wings on Thanksgiving Eve. The Red Wings returned home after playing two games in Sweden in the 2023 NHL Global Series. It was their first game back in North America and they have not played since their Friday (Nov. 17) loss against the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Devils went into the game after a tough 5-3 defeat at home against the New York Rangers on Saturday night (Nov. 18). Both teams looked to rebound after losses and have a more enjoyable Thanksgiving day with a win. Unfortunately, the Devils had their worst game of the season and lost 4-0 to the Red Wings to now go on a two-game losing streak.
Vitek Vanecek made his 12th start of the season and went up against Alex Lyon, who started his second game of the season. Both teams opted to use 11 forwards and seven defensemen for the game. The Devils were without Timo Meier, Nico Hischier, and Tomas Nosek as all are dealing with injuries. The Red Wings made Kilm Kostin a healthy scratch.
Lastly, the Red Wings were in the holiday spirit as they gave the first 7,500 fans to show up at Little Caesars Arena a gravy boat Zamboni!
Devils Suffer Another Slow Start
The Devils’ first period was full of sloppy play and very little puck possession. The Red Wings were able to score three goals in a 1:11 span. Horrible defensive play and poor goaltending debilitated New Jersey and forced them to try and come back from a 3-0 deficit for the remainder of the game. Slow starts have been a recurring theme for the 2023-24 Devils as they have the first goal in only three games so far.
Keeping in tune with recurring themes, Vanecek had a rough first period and ended it with a minus-2.18 goals saved above expected. Furthermore, the Devils handed Detroit the first power play of the night after being called for too many men. You can add this issue to the list of recurring problems for New Jersey, as they have had this penalty called in back-to-back games and multiple times this season. Then, after Vanecek was surprisingly kept in net to start the second, the Red Wings capitalized on a Kevin Bahl delay-of-game penalty to make it 4-0.
Devils Showing Zero Heart
Though New Jersey has had a poor stretch of games, moments in each game have shown flashes of creativity and familiarity of last season’s team. However, the entirety of the game against the Red Wings was flat and low energy. The Devils went into the third period down by four goals and they only had 14 shots against Lyon. After a poor first period, there is always hope for a better effort in the following period. Unfortunately, the Devils looked as poor in the second period as they did in the first. This makes the viewers question what is being said in the locker room and why no adjustments are made from period to period.
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After a 5-3 loss to their biggest rivals at home, New Jersey should have come out hot and looking for any way to turn the poor momentum around. Instead, the team looked as dejected in this game as they have in any game.
Furthermore, the Devils suffered their first shutout against in 577 days. The last time that New Jersey was shut out was on April 24, 2022, in a 3-0 loss to the Red Wings. With the way the season has been going, it seemed like that streak was bound to end at any moment.
A November to Forget
The Devils have only been able to win three games in the month of November as of this point. With four games remaining in the month, the best possible record that the team can post is 7-6-0. Though it is not an amazing record, it would end the month with a more positive outlook in December. The overall play from the team was lackluster and lacked energy. There are cohesion, chemistry, consistency, and system issues that were apparent throughout the month. The game against the Red Wings was by far the poorest performance of the season. No player stood out and had a better game than the rest of the team.
Furthermore, it is difficult to imagine the poor play ending any time soon. The same issues have been apparent in every game this season as the Devils ended the game against the Red Wings with a season-low 16 shots.
Quick Takeaways
- The Devils wore black helmets with their away jerseys after the NHL approved contrasting helmets with white jerseys.
- New Jersey was able to make it to 101 games of scoring at least one goal in every contest.
- The power play went 0 for 2 and the penalty kill went 1 for 4 against the Red Wings.
- New Jersey and Detroit tied in faceoff wins with 22 and hits with 12 apiece.
- The Devils have four games remaining in November. Three are at home and one is in Philadelphia, meaning the team will not have to go on a plane again until their Dec. 5 game against the Vancouver Canucks.
