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The Devils led for 55 minutes in this game, but they didn't hold the lead when all was said and done as they fell to the Flames in crushing fashion.
Up by two goals with less than three minutes to play the Devils seemed like locks to win the game. All they had to do was, well, not allow two goals in three minutes and/or put one puck into an empty net on the several opportunities they had to do so.
They couldn't accomplish such a task, and the Flames tied things up with five ticks to play as a result before eventually winning in a shootout.
10 takeaways:
1. After the loss a lot of people unsurprisingly put it on Pete DeBoer. Whether he ends up here for the long haul or not remains to be seen, but I think it's unfair to blame DeBoer for what happened in Calgary. When the Devils have blown leads in the past, everyone has criticized Bryce Salvador and suggested DeBoer glues him to the bench for other alternatives like Adam Larsson. I'm by no means pinning last night on Larsson, but he was out in the dying seconds and the Devils blew the lead, anyways. Somehow it's still DeBoer's fault, though. Another thing I noticed is him being criticized for having the Devils sit back in the 3rd. They tied the Flames in shots (9-9) in the final frame and scored a goal of their own despite spending four minutes on the penalty kill, so I'm not sure that's a legitimate excuse. More than anything else I think Scott Clemmensen's inability to make a save late (and Jaromir Jagr's bad offensive zone turnover) were the causes for the blown lead. You can't blame a guy for starting his backup once every 21 games, though.
2. Sticking with Clemmensen, he looked shaky throughout but made some big saves in the first 40. He seemed to collapse late, and I'm not sure the team (or himself) has much faith in his ability to get the job done. It seemed all the Flames had to do was take a shot to beat him in the shootout. You want the guy to do well, but I'm afraid he may only get one or two more starts with the team to prove himself, and if he doesn't his NHL career is probably over.
3. As usual after a loss there were a lot of dramatics on social media, but in reality the loss isn't the worst thing in the world. A blown lead late is always tough, obviously, but Clemmensen had a sub .900SV% and the Devils still picked up a point on the road against a current playoff team. Speaking of the playoffs, New Jersey is tied for 3rd in the Metro with Washington so it's not as if their season is slipping away.
4. I thought the top line of Mike Cammalleri - Travis Zajac - Jaromir Jagr is as good as it has been in a while. They combined for two goals and an assist, and were a threat almost every time they touched the ice. I saw lots of creativity from that line, which I liked, and thought the line as a whole played very well.
5. Adam Henrique looks real comfortable playing on a line with Patrik Elias and Martin Havlat. No. 14 had a goal, an assist, four shots on goal and was a key contributor on a penalty killing unit that killed off five of six opportunities. I'm guessing he'll stay on a line with Elias and Havlat for a while.
6. Speaking of the penalty kill, five of six is a pretty good number. New Jersey has now killed 25-of-26 since Bryce Salvador went down with an injury. Adam Larsson, who has been the biggest beneficiary of that, played over six minutes on the PK and looked good doing so.
7. They don't get much credit, but I felt the Dainius Zubrus - Stephen Gionta - Steve Bernier line was good throughout and they did a nice job of sustaining offensive zone pressure while the Devils were defending their lead.
8. Andy Greene (14), Damon Severson (14) and Patrik Elias (12) took the most shifts in the 3rd period defending the lead, while Eric Gelinas (2) and Michael Ryder (4) skated the fewest shifts.
9. Didn't really agree with the call, but after going penalty-less for a good chunk of the season Marek Zidlicky now has eight penalty minutes in his last four games. Hopefully that's a trend that doesn't continue.
10. New Jersey usually has a weird habit of playing down to soft competition, and holding their own against top teams. The latter part of that will need to continue as their next four games are against playoff teams in the Canucks, Red Wings, Islanders and Penguins.
Prospect Updates
- Ryan Kujawinski scored his 11th of the season in a 7-4 Kingston loss to Ottawa. He started real slow but now has points in five consecutive games with six goals and eight points in that span.
- Connor Chatham was held pointless and had four PIMs in a 2-1 Plymouth win over Niagara. He has 13 points in 20 games on the year.
- John Quenneville had an assist and two penalty minutes in a 5-4 Brandon win over Edmonton. Quenneville has eight goals and 21 points in 17 games this season.
- Fellow Devils prospect Brandon Baddock had a pair of assists going up against Quenneville and his Brandon Wheat Kings. Braddock is up to 12 points in 24 games.
- In action today: Kujawinski (OHL) and Ryan Rehill (WHL).
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