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Good morning Devils fans. Some familiar and new experiences graced Devils fans last night in the 6-3 loss to the Winnipeg Jets. Refreshingly, the Devils did not get scored on first in the 1st period. Unfortunately, the Jets scored first in a pair during the 2nd. Additionally, as we’ve come to expect, without stars like Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier coupled with the struggles of the defense and goaltending, the team saw a massive breakdown in the 3rd with 3 unanswered goals. This loss marked the 3rd in a row for the Black and Red as they need to do some soul searching and adjustments if they want to get out of the rut.
The 1st period was in my opinion one of the better ones of the season. All lines and combos did well to skate back and help on defense, shutting down chances, entries, clearing rebounds, and finding the open man for puck distribution. While no goals were scored, they had a few quality chances and some fantastic saves by Akira Schmid, notably a left-to-right sliding toe stop.
Unluckily, the 2nd would prove the beginning of the Devils struggles with the first two goals notched by the Jets’s Kyle Connor and Cole Perfetti. A Connor circular rush around the defense and shot would lead to a rebound that was grabbed by the forward himself, going blockerside on a crashing Schmid. A powerplay created by a Tyler Toffoli cross check would lead to Winnipeg’s next goal, whose shot was tipped in past Schmid. The Devils would answer back with their own firepower, with Timo Meier grabbing his 5th of the year off the powerplay from an unlucky Winnipeg stick to beat Connor Hellebuyck and John Marino notching his first after shots from Curtis Lazar and Luke Hughes would be stopped. This even score would not last however, with Nikolaj Ehlers finishing a chance left open to him on Schmid’s doorstep, courtesy of an out of place Dougie Hamilton, wrapping the period up 3-2.
The 3rd would again prove to be the nail in the coffin as the Devils would be outplayed and outscored with a trio of goals, including an empty netter. Kyle Connor grabbed his second of the evening, left wide open during a power play by an out of position, puck watching Jonas Sieganthaler. A similar situation followed Morgan Barron’s goal, who had the opportunity with Sieganthaler supporting Schmid and Dawson Mercer arriving too late to reinforce. Ehlers’s empty netter would put the icing on a rotten cake for the Devils defense and possession abilities in the 3rd.
I will not fully blame Akira Schmid on last night. Many goals came from upfront chances of wide open players thanks to poor defensive decisions by the Devils. Additionally, he made some strong stops, particularly in the 1st. That being said, I think he might be better in a support role still over a 1b situation. The defense needs to be totally revamped, whether through outside roster moves or inside promotions/relegations. It may be time to move on from Sieganthaler and consider bringing up a young defenseman like Simon Nemec or Daniil Misyul. Maybe trading for Zadorov is a good move as well.
2. Palat Had A Decent Showing
For a player that I’ve been critical of recently, Ondrej Palat did alright. He notched an assist and two shots, played nearly 16 minutes, and was active in the rush and possession game. He is still far too costly for his role with the team as of now and I do believe the organization would be better off finding a trade partner to make room for desperate acquisition needs, like a solid d-man or a goalie.
3. Good News on the Way?
Emily Kaplan reported recently that Jack Hughes could make a return this week, either Thursday night vs. the Penguins or Saturday night’s home match vs. the Rangers. His offense is needed but also his general team presence. It’s obvious that there is an unmistakable benefit to having Jack in the locker room with this 3 game skid continuing. Nico Hischier unfortunately has been placed on the IR. Colin Miller will be returning soon. Not sure if that is the answer the team is looking for.
The Devils (7-6-1) will return to the states for a matchup against the Pittsburgh Penguins (8-6-0) Thursday night. Puck drops 7 PM.
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