1) The New Jersey Devils concluded their four-game road trip on Monday night with their worst effort yet. The San Jose Sharks came out firing from the word go and the Devils had no answer. They were completely overwhelmed by a much stronger side and were probably lucky to only lose 4-0.
The four-game trip was quite disappointing as the Devils progressively played worse in each game prior to hitting rock bottom last night.
They picked up a nice win in Dallas without a few key players. They played pretty well in Anaheim but a couple bad shifts made an otherwise strong effort moot. In Los Angeles they were out played for the majority of the game but showed some fight. Last night was just...awful.
I know they were missing some key players but there were some inexplicably bad plays from regulars in the lineup.
Example no. 1:
What in the world is Jon Merrill doing on this play? pic.twitter.com/a86QgiZUGQ
— Todd Cordell (@ToddCordell) November 22, 2016
Example no. 2:
Devils v Sharks in one video pic.twitter.com/q94EF4fDgE
— Todd Cordell (@ToddCordell) November 22, 2016
Need I go on?
2) I don't have the exact numbers in front of me but I'm pretty confident in saying the Devils' neutral zone play has been atrocious of late; particularly over the last couple games. It feels like they can't gain the line with possession, even on the power play, while opposing teams just walk right into their zone with control. The Devils are missing some key personnel - including their best play driving forward and defenseman - but even so, they shouldn't be playing as poorly as they are. Luckily the Devils started the season well enough to survive a rough stretch like this.
3) Another game, another quiet showing from Adam Henrique. I certainly didn't expect him to repeat last season's 30 goal output but right now he's not getting it done at either end of the ice.
Henrique at 5v5 in 2015-16: 49.25 shot attempts against per 60, 17.07 scoring chances against per 60.
Henrique at 5v5 in 2016-17: 57.61 shot attempts against per 60, 22.44 scoring chances against per 60.
The Devils do play with a little more tempo this year - there is an increase in events at both ends of the rink - but if you think Henrique has been worse defensively the numbers certainly back that up.
On top of that, his offense has completely dried up. I'm sure he'll get going eventually but he's on pace for 13 goals and 36 points. That's not even close to good enough, especially when he isn't bringing good defense to the table.
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