Many of the 14,508 ticket-buyers for Tuesday's showdown at the Prudential Center between two last-place teams came for one main reason; to shower Ilya Kovalchuk, who bolted from the Devils in the summer 2013 in the middle of a record 15-year, $100 million contract for Russia, only to return five seasons later in Los Angeles, with vitriol.
By the third period, however, the fans re-directed their boos toward their own. Tied 1-1 at the second intermission, the Devils surrendered three goals in the first 1:20 of the next period, for a total of four unanswered third period tallies to allow the Kings to take a 5-1 victory.
For L.A.'s final marker, it was Kovalchuk who stuck in the knife after he was the beneficiary of a defensive-zone turnover by Devils defenseman Will Butcher. Kings center Anze Kopitar intercepted Butcher's pass to the front of the Devils' net and fed Kovalchuk, who rifled the puck past beleaguered goalie Keith Kinkaid with 2:24 remaining.
"That's (the fans') emotions," Kovalchuk said of the boos every time he stepped onto the ice. "That's ok, I was doing my thing. I was happy I scored, that's the best answer. I think it's only two guys (center Travis Zajac and defenseman Andy Greene) left who I played with (in New Jersey). The time flies, the younger guys came in. They got (Nico) Hischier, all those guys, really skilled group of guys there. This year, it's not their year, but I'm pretty sure they have a bright future here."
Unfortunately, the Devils' present, and near-term future, is bleak, not bright. Thirty games remain, and that's quite a long string to play out.
This is a team that just sent its best goaltender down to the minors because winning more games this season is no longer the top priority.
Asked how he can reconcile demoting MacKenzie Blackwood, who was coming off a stellar 3-2 overtime win in Montreal on Saturday to improve his record to 6-4, with every win absent the services of reigning Hart Trophy recipient Taylor Hall (lower body injury), Devils coach John Hynes said, "We have a lot of moving parts on the goaltending. Cory (Schneider) is coming back. He's done his conditioning stint (in AHL Binghamton). He's done everything we've asked him to do. The organization has put a lot into trying to get him back to his game. We needed to get him into an NHL game and we needed to see where he's at."
Schneider, who has three more seasons at a $6 million AAV on his contract, had hip surgery last summer and then suffered an abdominal strain in mid-December. In the meantime, he has lost his last 18 NHL regular season decisions (0-15-3) dating back to December 2017. He went 1-3-1 in his latest AHL rehab assignment.
Since Schneider maxed out his conditioning time in Binghamton, the Devils were forced into a decision. To keep Blackwood on the roster, they could trade Kinkaid, which they may do at some point prior to the February 25 deadline. They could waive Schneider, surmising that no team would pick up that contract, which would allow him to continue playing in the minors. They could also keep three goalies, which has usually been deemed as too difficult to manage.
Again, the Devils acknowledged that, at this point, the decision was to not play the guy who gives them the best chance to win. That's a very rare admission in pro sports.
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"Mackenzie's certainly played well," Hynes said. "We all recognize that he should have an opportunity to be in here. This is the decision we made. We think it's the best for the three goalies. It's an opportunity for MacKenzie to go down and play and continue to play well. As I've stated, it doesn't mean he's not going to be back here, but at this point in time, in the short future we have right here, these are the decisions we made and we need guys to play better."
Kinkaid, whom Hynes did not fault on any of the Kings' goals, has not been able to carry forward his hot performances from the end of the 2017-18 season, which ended with a playoff berth. His record fell to 14-16-6 this season, with subpar goals against/save percentage figures of 3.18/.896.
The Devils as a team have also done a 180, reverting to their tankathon ways from two seasons ago. At least that season, it was kind of expected. This season?
"It's frustrating," Kinkaid said.
As The Athletic's Corey Masisak tweeted, Kovalchuk actually did New Jersey a favor by "retiring" prematurely or else the team would be on the hook for $6.667 million salary cap hits until 2024-25, at least Devils fans finally figured out in the third period on Thursday which party they really needed to take their own frustrations out on.
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