It was a Nickelodeon themed weekend at the Prudential Center. But the joke was on the New Jersey Devils fans as they watched their team self-destruct and revert back to their old ways in the most slimiest ways.
The past three games was a tough bitter pill to swallow for Devils fans. Three straight losses, including a four goal lead blown against the Florida Panthers, makes you wonder when will the Devils finally turn the corner. In fact, the Devils gave up 19 goals in the past four days.
Three different Devils goaltenders were used. Each loss was different. One blow out. One by blowing it. And one eventual game winning goal given up to Kyle Palmieri yesterday, which should have been a routine save by Nico Daws. However, the Devils problems goes beyond goaltending.
There is no commitment to defense and making smart plays. Yes, the Devils need to be aggressive but be smarter with the puck. Too many high risk high reward plays that have resulted in turnovers and quick opposition transition opportunities. One can appreciate an aggressive offensive attack but it should not be at the expense of giving up timely goals to the opponent. Moreover, the Devils do not have the goaltending nor do they have the defense that plays consistently sixty minutes.
Jack Hughes and Nathan Bastian injuries
I am sure that Devils fans are going to be anxiously waiting today to find out the injury status of Jack Hughes and Nathan Bastian. Hopefully both injuries are nothing serious.
I have to give props to P.K. Subban for sticking up for Hughes. Was it clean hit? I’ll give the benefit of the doubt to Oliver Wahlstrom that it was a clean hit. When you watch it in real time, it looked like a clean hit and Hughes fell awkwardly as he was jumping to avoid the check. But on the slow motion replay, looked like Wahlstrom zoned in and hit Hughes with a knee on knee. It was not conclusive but sometimes these video replays are optical illusions verses in real time.
But regardless whether the hit was clean or not, Subban had to protect his star teammate and the response was appropriate. But the Devils had to play with five defensemen and a short bench to finish the game.
How The Devils Weekend Went
“When you manage it well and you move the puck well like we did in the third, you don’t see a lot of those plays.…
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) April 3, 2022
Hear from Lindy Ruff following tonight’s loss to the Islanders. #NJDevils | @Genucel pic.twitter.com/PmIpkUnIUI
The great @KenDaneykoMSG kicks off @nickelodeon weekend in style. Bring on the slime!
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) April 2, 2022
🎟: https://t.co/VUTgc4Dbaw pic.twitter.com/hE9wpt3XX5
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Sam Woo is co-host and executive producer of the Let's Go Devils Podcast which can be heard live every Sunday at 9pm ET and Wednesday at 8:30pm ET.
You can follow Sam on Twitter: @PrimetimeSamWoo