3 Takeaways from Devils’ Rough Loss to the Sharks

Then Jake Allen, who has been great all season, had one he’d certainly want back as an Alex Wennberg shot found its’ way through. According to MoneyPuck, the shot — from 51.1 feet out at a 49.8° angle — had just a 1.9% chance of becoming a goal. After that, aside from parts of the second period, the team looked flat and uninspired.

Prior to Tuesday in Colorado, it seemed like every bounce this season went their way…and Allen made every necessary save. While every team goes through rough stretches, unfortunately for the Devils, theirs came sooner than they would’ve liked.

Increase in High Danger Chances Against (+ No Goaltending Help)

There’s no question that Brett Pesce is an immensely important asset to the Devils. But the disparity in their results with versus without him is eye-popping.

According to Natural Stat Trick, in the games where Pesce was healthy, the Devils gave up 11.5 high danger chances per 60 minutes (HDCA/60). Since then, they’ve given up 14.5 HDCA/60 — a ~26% increase.

Odd man rushes against and inopportune decision-making have become way more commonplace over these past couple games. But there’s also no denying how important of a role goaltending plays. During their eight-game winning streak, Devils netminders had stopped +4.29 goals above expected. Since? Minus-6.53 above expected — a complete 180.

That means with just average goaltending, the Devils would have given up roughly seven goals instead of 13 during this two-game skid. That’s still not great but certainly makes it seem not nearly as dreadful.

Not Helping Themselves

While there’s no questioning that not everything would go the Devils’ way forever, they’ve consistently hurt themselves in these last two games. In Colorado, Jacob Markstrom shot the puck over the glass in the opening seconds, and the Avs quickly scored on the ensuing power play.

Tonight, the Devils had six men on the ice for an extended period of time. They almost got away with it but eventually got caught. These types of things are entirely avoidable and show that a team is simply unprepared.

After the Colorado game, head coach Sheldon Keefe said he was willing to give them a pass for a single rough night against a very good team. Understandably so. However, that benefit of the doubt is no longer relevant after tonight.

“You cannot win in the National Hockey League with that as the baseline,” said Keefe to NJD.TV postgame. “That’s unacceptable and once again, you get what you deserve.”

Moving Forward

The Devils will look to get back into the win column on Saturday as they continue their road trip against the Los Angeles Kings (9:00 PM EDT).