Tanking? Nothing to play for?
The New Jersey Devils have a lot to prove before their 2021-22 NHL season is finished on April 29th. These current Devils players are playing for their future and need to make consistent progress on defense and goaltending as Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald is making his evaluations on how to improve during the upcoming offseason.
After making the trade for Andrew Hammond, Fitzgerald said, “All we want is to give us a chance, give us a chance to play our game, feel good about ourselves and feel like we’re in every game. That’s all you want from goaltending. Just give us a chance to be in a game.…
It has been nothing but a nightmare for the goaltender known as “The Hamburglar… as he has a record of 0-1-1 and posted a hefty 7.56 GAA since being traded to the Devils. Hardly a goaltender that makes you feel good about your team especially after blowing a four goal lead to the Florida Panthers going into the third period.
But young Nico Daws continues to impress as the Devils pulled off a 3-1 victory over the Dallas Stars. The good thing about this victory is it snapped a five game losing streak. Because of good goaltending and determination from their captain Nico Hischier, the Devils may have a decent chance of finishing this five game road trip over .500 if they can take of business against their fellow bottom feeders Arizona Coyotes and Seattle Kraken.
The remaining Devils roster must continue to plow forward and keep finding ways to win despite being eliminated from playoff contention. For sure, the Devils have proven they can score. But defensively, they have not been good enough the help their goaltending and vice versa.
Beating Dallas is a start but more needs to be done on committing to defense.
Happy National Pet Day!
Happy #NationalPetDay to Barren. pic.twitter.com/4rY441jy2Y
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) April 11, 2022
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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