The New Jersey Devils, in what felt like a must-win game, laid a goose egg on offense in an embarrassing 3-0 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets Tuesday night. The Devils fall to 28-26-2 on the season, and any hope of making the playoffs seems to be lost.
Recap
First Period
It was another slow start to the game for New Jersey, who looked to have given up another early goal. However, the referees ruled that former Devil Miles Wood interfered with Jacob Markström, and thus there was no goal.
The rest of the period was very slow, with neither team collecting a ton of shots. The two teams went into intermission still scoreless, with just 10 combined shots.
Second Period
The second period was more of the same, with neither team collecting many opportunities. The Devils had a big penalty kill to end the period and headed to the third still searching for the first goal of the game.
Third Period
The third period was a complete disaster for New Jersey, in which everything seemed to go against them. The Blue Jackets started to put pressure on the Devils’ defense and before long found themselves ahead. Dante Fabbro found the puck in a shooting lane and ripped one by Markström to break the ice five minutes into the third period.
The Devils, in desperate need of a response, still failed to get any high-danger chances, and eventually their defense fell apart. Blue Jackets forward Mathieu Olivier slipped by the Devils’ defense and beat Markström with a slick backhand move.
The Devils seemed to lose all spirit from there, and one empty-net goal later found themselves getting shut out in a humiliating 3-0 defeat on their home ice
Key Takeaways
No Offense At All
The fast, young, and exciting offensive core of 2022-23 does not look anything like it once was offensively.
On paper, this should be one of the league’s best offenses. Even without Jack Hughes, you still have the likes of Timo Meier, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Arseny Gritsyuk, and Dougie Hamilton, who all can’t seem to score.
The offense has produced just one goal in the two games that Jack Hughes has sat out with his lower-body injury and has scored just 2.1 goals per game in the 20 games that Hughes has missed this year. Hughes coming back won’t solve all their problems, though. Even with Hughes in the lineup, the Devils still rank last in the Eastern Conference in goals for.
The offense has seemed to have lost the identity that made them so fun to watch throughout the last couple of seasons, and it seems like they are going to need a serious change to get it back.
What Needs to Change?
Though this season seems completely lost, something still needs to change to help the Devils in future seasons. That change might just start in the locker room. Head coach Sheldon Keefe’s system that he carried over from Toronto has not worked at all with the Devils. The talent is there on the roster; things just aren’t coming together like they should. With general manager Tom Fitzgerald’s job on the hot seat, he might feel the need to make a change and do it soon.
It might also be time to say goodbye to some Devils on the ice. Dougie Hamilton’s name was a hot one in trade conversations last month, and while it might have settled down, his hot play as of late may have spiked his value. Fitzgerald may be tempted to move on from Hamilton and his $9 million cap hit.
What’s Next
The Devils will host their division rivals, the New York Islanders, Thursday night.