Here are my quick hits following the Devils' 3-1 L vs. VGK, heading into tonight's game in MTL:
Worst Game of the Season
Well, Devils fans, there’s simply no way to sugarcoat this one. This was an ugly, ugly loss and was by far the worst game of the season in my books. To be quite frank, I can’t remember the last time I’ve watched the Devils play this badly at even strength. I’m not going to lie; I was pretty speechless by how this game went, considering this was the last home game before the 4 Nations break, and it really felt like it would be a good one leading up to puck drop.
The Process
I give lots of credit to Vegas for the job they did with their gaps to take away time and space in the NZ, which forced the Devils to dump pucks in this entire game. What really hurt was that the Devils’ process in retrieving those pucks was terrible, making most of these plays throughout the night just a one-and-done. This, along with the overall lack of pace and compete up and down the lineup, prevented the Devils from generating any sort of momentum-building shifts in this game. Vegas, on the flip side, was outstanding in the way they controlled most of this game in the offensive zone. Their passing was tape to tape, and their puck retrievals were excellent. The Devils couldn’t get the timely stoppages to slow this momentum and lost nearly every 50/50 puck along the yellow kickplate. In the 2nd period, we mentioned on the air that it might take a big hit or fight to get some emotion injected into this game, and unfortunately, that just never happened. Look, I could go on and on about the things I didn’t like about this game, but I think the even-strength numbers I broke down in the video above told the rest of the story: If not for Jake Allen — and the PK’s outstanding work (5/5) for the fourth straight game — the Devils would have lost by 4, 5, even 6+ goals.
“Growth Phase” Ends Today!
What better way to get all the negativity and bad feelings out of everyone’s system than with an early afternoon start time today in Montreal?! Sheldon has been talking a lot recently about how this team is going through a “growth phase,” and to me, that’s been since the Christmas break, as the Devils have played below-.500 hockey in this span and are scoring a full goal less per game than they were in the first 37 games. 
I know, injuries to your No. 1 two-way center, No. 1 defensive defenseman, and No. 1 goaltender have only fed into the adversity that much more over this stretch. But today, you’re looking at a chance to pounce on a struggling MTL team — that is 1-5-1 in their last 7 games and should be jet-lagged coming off their west-coast trip — and put that growth phase behind you by taking a W into the 4 Nations Break. There’s nothing to save it for; you need to come out with urgency and desperation to empty the tanks tonight!!!
Be sure to join Rachel and me on this afternoon's pregame show as we continue to break down the ugly loss on Thursday night, recap the last meeting in MTL, and preview tonight's game against the Habs. It all starts at 12:30 p.m. on MSGSN!
Let's Go Devils!
-Sal
Here are some graphics from Thursday night's broadcast!
