The Devils look like they need some new blood infusions.
New Jersey opened its seven-game road trip with two straight defeats, including Thursday's listless 4-3 affair in Detroit. It was the Devils' fifth loss (including one in overtime) in their last six games after a 4-0 start.
With the Devils coming off an embarrassing 8-3 drubbing at Tampa Bay on Tuesday, I expected them to breathe fire against an injury-riddled opponent who most expect to place in the lottery.
Instead, the Devils played as if their batteries were nearly drained. They were outskated and outbattled.
Once again, the Devils' tank hit empty in the third period, failing to hold a lead for the third time in their last six games, a stretch in which they have been outscored in the aggregate by a whopping 15-4 in the final 20 minutes.
Sophomore defenseman Will Butcher might wear goat horns after his failure to tie up Michael Rasmussen in front on a Detroit power play allowed the Red Wings to tie the contest. Then, nearly eight minutes later, Butcher gave away the puck at his own blue line while the Devils were up a man, leading to Justin Abdelkader's go-ahead rebound goal off the ensuing two-on-one.
However, Butcher at least looked involved, which is more than I can say about numerous passengers on the Devils' sinking ship.
Where to start? How about where the game starts, right smack in the faceoff circle. The Devils have been battered on draws recently. Heading into Thursday's contest, New Jersey's 40.4 percent win percentage since October 20 was not only the league's worst in that time frame, it was almost four percent worse than 30th place Colorado.
The Red Wings controlled 41 of 70 draws (58.6 percent) on Thursday, none more important than the one with 49 seconds remaining. The Devils were trailing, 3-2, but were on a power play. With the faceoff in Detroit's zone, Devils goaltender Cory Schneider, who deserved better in his first start of the season following offseason hip surgery, was pulled for a sixth attacker.
Devils center Brian Boyle not only lost the faceoff to Detroit's Dylan Larkin, he lost it cleanly, leaving no opportunity for any of Boyle's teammates to utilize their six-on-four manpower advantage. Red Wings defenseman Trevor Dailey had plenty of time to wrap the puck around the boards, where it took a unique carom past Butcher at the right point and slid almost the full 200 feet into the Devils' vacated net. Devils wing Marcus Johansson's goal with four seconds remaining was merely window dressing on an outhouse of a performance.
Devils coach John Hynes expects his team to play every night with speed and grit, traits that have been missing for large portions of this downturn. The Devils have often reverted to their noncompetitive 2016-17 nature, where they get hemmed in their own zone for lengthy stretches. They have difficulties sustaining any offensive thrusts in enemy ice, losing the puck battles necessary to press for scoring chances. As a result, most of their five-on-five goals have been scored off the rush. Blake Coleman's second period tally created by a good forecheck by linemates Johansson and Travis Zajac was a rare treat.
Unlike Detroit, which was missing its entire second line, the only absent Devils regulars were Jesper Bratt and Stefan Noesen, two depth players. That can't be an excuse.
Devils general manager Ray Shero gambled in the offseason that he didn't need to shake up his roster with major acquisitions following his club's first playoff appearance in six seasons. It's not too late to hedge that bet.
Certain young players Shero and Hynes were banking on to grow their games, such as Pavel Zacha, Miles Wood, and John Quenneville, haven't delivered. Those three have one goal between them, with Quenneville now toiling in the minors. More was also expected from Johansson, who was an above-average point producer in Washington before missing all but 29 games last season due to concussions. Now healthy, he's been nowhere near the offensive driving force the Devils need on their second line.
Shero has fiddled around the edges, claiming Jean-Sebastien Dea off waivers right before the season and recently calling up Kevin Rooney and Joey Anderson from Binghamton. However, with those guys on the ice, you just hope for stalemates. Though Dea somehow put together a three-game goal streak earlier in the season, none of them are known to be scoring threats. Dea has since seen his ice time slide to less than ten minutes in the last two games.
No, if Shero has any intention of injecting life into this team, he will have to be bolder. He has the assets and cap space to do it. It's too early to panic, but remember that last season's trade for top-pair defenseman Sami Vatanen occurred on November 30. I'm hoping Shero is laying the landscape for a similar game-changer.
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