The New Jersey Devils have lost three games in a row, and head coach Sheldon Keefe know’s exactly what the problem is.
On Saturday, against the Philadelphia Flyers, the Devils allowed four straight goals against after opening the scoring on the power play.
Keefe’s said it all along. Even amid an eight-game win streak earlier this season, the head coach wasn’t bought in on the idea that the Devils were mature enough to sustain their level of success.
He saw the inconsistencies, and hasn’t wavered from those beliefs. It’s not the first time this season the Devils have broken down and opened the door for the opposition to pounce. Keefe brought the evidence to the table.
“I mean, it’s reminiscent to [the game in] Colorado,” Keefe said. “At different times, that’s been us and until it’s not us, that’s who we are. So, I mean, you say it’s uncharacteristic, is it uncharacteristic? I would say that it is exactly who we are at this point in time, is inconsistent. There are stretches over this last 10 games where we’ve been right there amongst the best defensive teams in the league. When you look at it statistically and what we’ve given up in terms of chances, and there are games we’re the worst. So that’s very consistent like that. When you’re fighting an uphill battle every night, then you’re not quite sure what you got.”
The Devils will head back home and play two games on home-ice before Thanksgiving. In their own house, the Devils are looking to find goals, especially at even strength. Before Jack Hughes went down with an injury, there were red flags on offense. It’s getting worse.
Devils captain Nico Hischier seemingly had no explanation when asked about New Jersey’s struggles on offense.
“Yeah, we’re struggling to score goals, and we’re obviously working on that. And… yeah,” Hischier said at a loss.
Through the struggle, Keefe’s tinkered with the lines. On Saturday, he flipped Timo Meier and Arseny Gritsyuk in the top-six. Then, mid-game, Keefe moved Ondrej Palat up to the second line, and Connor Brown down to the third.
It didn’t do the Devils much good, and Keefe was unafraid to express his displeasure.
“I’m looking for players. I’m looking for guys that can play,” Keefe snapped. “We can only play guys so much. You know, we need to use the bench. We need other guys. So you’re kind of chasing it a little bit and trying to find some things that works. You’re trying to take away ice time from different guys to try to send a message and get other people more involved. And then it kind of flips the other way, and you got to reverse course a little bit. But, yeah, we’re chasing a little bit. That’s on the guys. They got to do a good job with the minutes that they get early in the game.”
The Devils are 13-7-1 after Saturday’s loss to the Flyers, and play their next six of eight games on home ice.
James is the New Jersey Devils beat reporter for New Jersey Hockey Now on Sportsnaut and the PHWAs New … More about James Nichols