The Matchup: New Jersey Devils (22-19-2) @ Pittsburgh Penguins (20-12-9)
The Time: 7:00pm ET
The Broadcast: MSGSN, Devils Radio Network
Last Devils Game
You already know what the last Devils game was.
Last Penguins Game
Pittsburgh last played on Sunday, and they beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 5-4 in overtime. Pittsburgh went down 4-1, then scored three unanswered including with 14 seconds left to go to force overtime. In the extra frame, Sidney Crosby scored to give the Penguins the additional point.
Last Devils-Penguins Game
Back on November 8, the Devils edged the Penguins 2-1 in a shootout. Aresny Gritsyuk scored the lone goal during actual hockey, and Jake Allen was terrific to help steal the win.
Status Quo
I wrote the recap for Tuesday night’s 9-0 embarrassment against the Islanders, which I believe qualifies me for a Purple Heart. As the game went on and I slipped further and further into the warm embrace of madness, I thought to myself that changes must be made. I pride myself on not being too reactionary when it comes to sports takes, but I’d seen enough, that game broke me. I was not confident changes actually would be made, but I became convinced that changes needed to happen if this team wanted to pull themselves out of the abyss.
And then yesterday, my fears were confirmed:
No changes. None at all. I mean, maybe to the lineup or something, but no changes of actual significance. Tom Fitzgerald remains the general manager, and Sheldon Keefe remains the head coach.
As if that weren’t enough, it doesn’t appear as though major lineup changes are happening either:
It does appear that Simon Nemec is close to returning, and we’ll get to that soon. But for now, Paul Cotter drawing back in and Ondrej Palat slotting onto the fourth line are not anywhere close to enough. I understand that there are no guarantees the potential replacements would be better, but when is enough enough? The Devils have won six of their last 19 games, so how much worse could it possibly get?
The team is broken, and the leaders of the organization appear complacent. Things are not good.
Nemec On The Horizon?
As mentioned, Simon Nemec might be close to a return. He last played on December 11 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, so it’s been about a month on the shelf for Nemec. According to Amanda Stein, he lined up with Brenden Dillon, which implies to me that he might return this evening if he’s not skating as an extra.
Nemec was in the midst of a season in which his point production was excellent, but his play-driving numbers under the surface left a lot to be desired, especially defensively. That being said, Nemec was one of the few Devils that actually seemed capable of generating a little offense this season, so his return might hurt the defense, but would boost a dismal offense, which is probably more important.
Again, nothing is confirmed yet, but keep an eye out for Nemec returning to the ice tonight.
Metr-Woe-Politan
We already know things are bad enough for the Devils, but to make matters even worse, Tuesday was also yet another loss to a Metropolitan Division opponent. New Jersey is now a pitiful 4-7-2 against the Metro this season. Only two of their four wins, both against the Columbus Blue Jackets, have come in regulation. New Jersey has won one of their last eight division games. That means that unless you’re the bottom-feeding Blue Jackets, if you’re a Metro team and you see the Devils on your schedule, you know it’s free points.
Any loss is damaging, but a loss to a division opponent is doubly damaging. Two regulation wins in 15 tries is about as embarrassing as it gets. Tonight provides yet another opportunity to secure a division win. Will New Jersey take advantage? Probably not, but hey, anything is possible.
1-0 Them
Remember when the Devils conceding the first goal of games was a huge problem? It was an issue even during their magical 2022-23 campaign. It reached new heights during the dismal 2023-24 season, then it calmed down a little bit last year before rearing its ugly head again this season. Entering tonight, the Devils have allowed the first goal in 25 of their 43 games this season. That’s 58% of their outings. It is very hard to win consistently when you give up the first goal close to 60% of the time.
As if that weren’t enough, ESPN flashed a graphic during the first intermission on Tuesday that showed the Devils led the league in goals allowed in the first five minutes of games this season with 16. The next closest teams were the Bruins and Blackhawks with 13. Allowing the first goal is bad enough, but allowing goals THAT quickly is an even deeper twist of the knife. For whatever reason, New Jersey just cannot find a way to start games on time. Is it a coaching thing? Is it on the players? Is it pure dumb luck? I have no idea. All I know is it needs to stop. Then again, a lot of trends need to stop with this team, but they probably won’t stop, because this team is freefalling.
Red Hot Pens
Don’t look now, but the Penguins are one of the hottest teams in the NHL. They’ve won five straight games, having not lost since before Christmas. Granted, only the Hurricanes would be considered a true top team among their recent victims, but the fact that the Penguins have only one fewer win since December 23 than the Devils do since November 29 shows that Pittsburgh is leaps and bounds ahead of New Jersey at the moment.
The driving force behind their win streak has been their offense, as they’ve scored 7, 5, 4, 4, and 5 goals over their last five wins. That’s 25 goals over five games. To put that in perspective, the Devils have scored 26 goals since December 11, a stretch of 13 games. The Penguins and Devils could not be in more different spots right now. I hate to be such a downer, but honestly what is there to be positive about these days? Tonight feels like another blowout loss given how each of these teams are currently performing.
Your Take
What do you make of tonight’s game? Will New Jersey continue their freefall? Are you as disappointed as I am that no organizational changes were made after Tuesday’s disgrace? As always, thanks for reading.