Recap

The New Jersey Devils came into San Jose looking to close out the California trip on a positive note. This did not even remotely happen. The Sharks capitalized on every mistake the Devils made and there were plenty of them and came away with a convincing 5-2 victory. The clock could potentially be ticking on this season for the Devils.

Three Takeaways

Keith Kinkaid was poor last night. He has now seen at least four goals get past him in six straight starts. It is starting to look like the Kinkaid. His rebound control was poor on goals two and five on two shots that should not have seen rebounds. Another goal where it was a wrist shot from the point through minimal traffic, no deflection, and Keith is seen drifting the wrong way in the crease it goes right by. I will not fault him for Timo Meier’s two goals because both of those were ridiculous shots and he was not given defensive help at all on either of them.

Drew Stafford scored a goal! Yes, he scored the opening goal of the game after drawing into the lineup for a struggling Stefan Noesen. If it were up to me, I would have John Quenneville called up and keep both of Stafford and Noesen on the scratch list, but I digress. Stafford came into the line up on a rare occasion and this time he capitalized on his limited ice time. This possibly could keep him in the line up again for Friday’s game against the Vegas Golden Knights.

John Hynes is really starting to rub a lot of fans the wrong way. A record of 1-1-1 is not what they needed on this road trip, but essentially what was expected of them given how this season went. From questionable lineup choices to start games, to the shuffles he does mid-game, and the improper use of two struggling goaltenders, it is unknown whether Hynes will finish 2018 as the Devils coach, let alone the whole season.

Looking Ahead

Overall, this was a horrible game as a whole for the Devils. They did not need to go home to New Jersey on a loss, let alone a huge blowout like this one. If I was the coach, I am playing Cory Schneider on Friday against Vegas. He has yet to start a game at home, and he will not gain his confidence back unless he starts getting a bigger workload, especially in front of the hometown fans. This will also help tell the organization whether or not they need to cut ties with the former number one goaltender. Play Schneider Friday, see how he does and potentially think about giving him Saturday against the Nashville Predators if he wins.

Final Score and Stats

Score- Devils 2 Sharks 5

Shots- Devils 24 Sharks 34

Hits- Devils 14 Sharks 13

Power Play- Devils 0/2 Sharks 1/2

Faceoff Percentage- Devils 37% Sharks 63%