The Devils Showed some promise, but also proved how far they lag behind teams currently in the playoffs.
I know that we are not even two months into the season, but the Devils are outside of the playoff picture and now the Devils are 0-1 against that poverty franchise from Manhattan. This game showed us just about everything that it is wrong with Jersey’s Team. Last night, the Devils showed what they can be and what they actually are at this point in the season. The Devils used speed to create some chances, scored some goals, were run over physically, had no physical aggression in their own game, had some sloppy defense, and lackluster goaltending. The Devils did not play like the playoff team we saw last year and expected to see this season.
That was a clean hit from a usually dirty player. Nosek has no one to blame but himself, he has to keep his head up to avoid that. I would love to be able to share a video of the Devils laying a crushing hit on the Rangers from last night, but I can’t do that because no such video exists. The Devils fear physical contact. They are afraid to play the body and it really shows. Jack Hughes even acknowledged this post game. Hughes said, “They played physical and we didn’t match that… we just gotta be physical in our own way.” I don’t know what he means by “in our own way” when it is obvious to anyone watching they just need to be physical in the same way good teams are. Look at the Jimmy Vesey goal…
That is what it looks like when all five payers in red are afraid of contact. Backing up, just waving their sticks hoping to knock the puck away, and giving away all the time and space the Rangers could ever want or need. There were several opportunities to step up and separate the man from the puck on that play, but the Devils never did that. Instead, they just chose to keep backing up. The Devils are scared of playing the body and they need to get over that quickly. I know the game has changed and the Devils are built on speed and skill, but they need to get some old school toughness. Either the guys on the roster now need to get over their fear of contact, or Tom Fitzgerald needs to bring in some guys who are willing to play the body in exchange for some of the softies on the roster currently.
The Devils also need better goaltending. Neither Schmid nor Vitek Vanecek have looked even average so far this season, let alone good. Nether goalie has a save percentage above 88% and both are allowing over 3 goals per game. I know their teammates haven’t played all that great in front of them, but the goalies need to do their part too. Goaltending was a weakness last year and clearly it still is this year. With Connor Hellebuyck having been resigned by Winnipeg, the goalie market isn’t great right now. John Gibson could be available later, but right now Anaheim is in a playoff position so I doubt they are looking to trade their starting goalie any time soon. Vanecek and Schmid just need to be better, its that simple.If Vanecek could just return to what he was last year, that would make a huge difference.
Things look bleak for the 2023-2024 Devils right now. They have allowed the first goal in 13 of 16 games so far, consistently putting themselves in position to chase the opposition. Playing from behind every night is not a recipe for success. They have a goal differential of -3 and are on pace for only 87 points. We are almost a quarter of the way into the season and the Devils sit two points out of the playoffs. The Devils need to get hot soon to keep themselves from falling too far out of contention for the playoffs.
The Morning Skate 