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Five observations from New Jersey vs Tampa Bay:
1. The Devils no-showed...again
Death, taxes, and embarrassing performances against the Lightning. For the third time in as many tries, the Devils were completely out-classed by the Bolts losing by 3+ goals yet again. Having dropped five in a row heading into the game, I expected the Devils to respond by putting their best foot forward on home ice. They did anything but. The Devils were not able to generate opportunities with any sort of consistency. It never, ever, felt like they were in control of the game. Even while sitting on a multi-goal lead, the Lightning seemed like the side more likely to score the next one. It was perhaps the worst of a pretty long list of bad performances in recent weeks.
Through 26 games, the Devils sit in sole possession of last in the conference with 23 points. If we assume it'll take 94 points to have a decent shot at a playoff spot, the Devils would need to accumulate 71 over the final 56 games. That's a 104 point pace. Considering they picked up just 97 a year who when a lot broke right, it's tough to imagine them going on that kind of run. It's not fun writing teams off in early December but we're quickly approaching that point – if we haven't arrived already.
2. Life was easy for Louis Domingue
Domingue has really struggled this season. Entering play, he owned a sub .900 save percentage, ranked 34th among 38 eligible goaltenders in 5v5 SV%, and stopped nearly 5 goals *below* average in that game state. He is not good and if he's tested, he'll cave. Unfortunately, the Devils made his life as easy as possible. They set new season lows with 43 shot attempts and four high-danger chances. Four! The big offensive outburst came in the 2nd period when the Devils mustered up two(!) in 20 minutes. The Lightning are a fantastic team but that's a pathetically low total, especially against a team sitting on a lead for the vast majority of the game.
No goaltender will have many problems with this.
3. Taylor Hall struggled mightily
I honestly think that was Taylor Hall's worst game as a member of the Devils. With him on the ice at 5v5, the Devils controlled an abysmal 13.33% of the shot attempts and 11.11% of the shots on goal. They were also outscored by a pair. He couldn't get anything going offensively and he lost an edge a few times, which resulted in squandered opportunities or turnovers. It was just one of those nights. Quite honestly, I don't think it was a big deal he sat out a few shifts. He was bad. I have no doubt he'll bounce back.
4. Egor Yakovlev was finally rewarded
We're still dealing with small sample sizes – eight games and ~130 minutes – but I like what I've seen from Yakovlev this year. He plays a pretty simple but effective game. At 5v5, he is 2nd among Devils defenders in Corsi For%, Scoring Chance For%, and points per 60 minutes.
Though his big moment was somewhat stained by the loss, it was really nice to see him score.
5. Travis Zajac played well
Baejac quietly put together a solid game. He led the team by a mile with a 66.67 Corsi For% and the Devils out-chanced the Lightning 8-4 with him on the ice. He also finished tied for 2nd on the team in 5v5 scoring chances. There weren't many bright spots but he was among them, as has often been the case this season.
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