The New Jersey Devils played one of their worst games of the season on Tuesday. Head coach Sheldon Keefe wasn’t shy in his postgame response.
Not only did the Devils lose on Tuesday, but they also let Dawson Mercer and Nico Daws spearhead the Winnipeg Jets‘ win. It was clearly two players trying to even the score against their old team. But the Devils did themselves no favors.
Keefe made that clear after the game. Via Darrin Bauming of NHL.com, Keefe said:
“I didn’t like our game overall. I didn’t think we really had it today. … The Jets found another level in the third and we didn’t seem to have much energy to respond. So that was disappointing. And then we take an unacceptable bench minor penalty that cost us. That’s kind of the way the game went.”
New Jersey picked a horrible game to skate into with a lack of energy. They were already facing scrutiny for general manager Sunny Mehta’s decision to start Jake Allen over Connor Hellebuyck.
The Devils could have erased a few questions surrounding why a general manager is making lineup decisions over the coach by simply playing the same game they had been playing during their winning streak. Skating in and playing lethargic hockey against a motivated Jets team wasn’t the best approach.
Devils Can Quickly Turn The Tide Back Into Their Favor
Games like what New Jersey experienced on Tuesday night make for good wake-up calls. They skated into Winnipeg as one of the NHL’s hottest teams, and they are still fifth in the league with 67 goals scored.
Across an 84-game slate, their slip-up on Tuesday night won’t be the last blemish this season by a long shot. Still, they need to fix the issue that Keefe mentioned postgame, and it seems like a simple fix.
It also isn’t the first time the Devils have played poorly across short stretches recently. Last week, they had three straight games end in either overtime or a shootout. The Devils either blew multi-goal leads or fell into a multi-goal deficit. They bailed themselves out in those three games, but that’s a tough act to keep up all season.
New Jersey Cannot Repeat What Happened On Tuesday Against Washington
The Devils have a very good Washington Capitals team coming up, and one that has won two straight. Washington has recently beaten two playoff-caliber teams — the Florida Panthers and Ottawa Senators. They recently put up five goals in a losing effort to the Dallas Stars.
A lack of energy and taking unnecessary penalties against a team that is heating up won’t cut it for the Devils. The upcoming home-and-home against Washington will also give New Jersey a chance to show that they can learn from their most recent mistake.
If the latter is the case, then the Devils could potentially string together two more wins — especially if they play Washington the same way they played Toronto, whom they beat 4-0. But they can’t afford to play lazy hockey against a team raring to break into the Metropolitan Division’s top three.
Devils’ Sheldon Keefe Blasts Team After Meltdown Against Jets