The New Jersey Devils dropped their first game of the season. It was a 6-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes.To be fair, the score doesn’t reflect how close the game was (empty netters tend to do that). The game was a back-and-forth battle between two of the Metropolitan Division’s top teams.
The way the Devils lost is concerning. The same issues that were their undoing in the past seasons stood out in the loss. To make matters worse, there doesn’t seem to be any answers for the Devils in the long run either, unless they go out and make a trade.
The Stars Disappear
Jack Hughes was a non-factor in the game, with only one assist and minimal impact against the Hurricanes’ defense. Nico Hischier also didn’t make an impact along with the rest of his line. Instead, the Devils relied on their depth skaters to carry the offense.
The bright spot is that Jesper Bratt, one of the core players for the Devils, had a goal and an assist. Also, Dougie Hamilton had a goal while Luke Hughes, who spent minimal time with the team in training camp, had two assists. All three skaters are key contributors for the Devils, and they stepped up.
The problem is that the Hurricanes took away their top two skaters and forced the Devils to win elsewhere. The reality is that they couldn’t. The Devils will only go as far as their stars will take them. In the big games, Hughes and Hischier will only do so much. It’s easy to say this is an overreaction to one game, and it might be but this is a trend from the past years, and it’s continuing this season.
Devils Defense Woes Continue
The Hurricanes had plenty of good looks and fired multiple shots in the dangerous ice. It’s an issue that reflected poorly on the entire defense as they allowed them to get to the open areas and make the most of them.
These losses fall on players like Simon Nemec and the depth defensemen. Without Johnathan Kovacevic in the lineup, the Devils lack a shot-blocking presence, and the other skaters must defend the shooting lanes. They didn’t deliver on the opening night game.
The game also wasn’t a great one for the goaltender, Jacob Markstrom. He must be a shutdown goaltender for the Devils throughout the season and, more importantly, the playoffs. He wasn’t one on opening night. For a team with high aspirations, the Devils must be prepared to beat the Hurricanes, and right now, they aren’t.
The Coaching Matchup is a Mismatch
The opening night game was a reminder that Sheldon Keefe is a good but not great coach. He’s a coach who wins in the regular season and comes up short in the playoffs. Once seen as a young coach on the rise following a Calder Cup victory with the Toronto Marlies, he’s not a coach with a similar script, and it’s a bad one. The recent game was the opener, yet it was a big game, a measuring stick game for the Devils.
The Hurricanes embody Rod Brind’Amour’s style. They have an identity under him, and it’s why they are the class of the Metropolitan Division. The Devils are entering year two of the Keefe era and aside from positioning, it’s hard to tell what they do right.
Keefe acknowledged after the game that the team wasn’t good enough and deserved the result it got. The Maple Leafs fans know this script well, where he is blunt in the postgames and calls out the team. It’s another example of him throwing the players under the bus. The question is how many times he can shift the blame before the pressure shifts to him.
The Bright Spot From The Devils
The depth stepped up in the defeat. There were key goals from the depth skaters, and they added the spark to the offense. In the long run, the Devils will need that spark from their bottom six, and they can get it from this group, especially if Cody Glass continues to make plays on the rush.
The other big plus was the defensemen stepping up offensively. Sure, the defensive play can and should be criticized. Hamilton and Hughes added a goal and two assists to open things up, and the duo’s performances will go a long way.
It’s a long season, and there’s plenty of time for the Devils to find their footing. This was a measuring stick game and worth reading into, albeit slightly. It’s why this is a result that the Devils should keep in mind throughout the season. Inevitably, they will face the Hurricanes in the playoffs and they just be prepared to beat them. So far, they aren’t
