Here are my quick hits following the Devils’ 3-1 L vs. PHI, heading into today’s game vs. OTT:
Tough Loss
Nobody wanted to close out the first half of this back-to-back at home by talking about a third straight game in which the Devils failed to get a W, but that’s the situation we’re in after a pretty tough loss yesterday at the Rock. And yes, unfortunately, this game was yet another example of the Devils lacking the same connectivity shift to shift, execution on passes, and their dangerous transition game that they consistently had before the holiday break. Look, I give Philly a lot of credit; they clogged up the middle, were hard on pucks, and blocked 33 shots in this game. But for the Devils to have fewer shots (13) in this game than they’ve had in over a decade — and set an NHL record for the lowest % of Shot Attempts hitting the net (20.3%) — it was certainly concerning.
Dougie on the Board
If there was one real positive to come out of yesterday’s loss, it was Dougie scoring on the first shot of the game to snap his 19-game goalless spell since the beginning of December. This came off a great play from the 4th line, getting the puck in behind the goal line, getting first touch, and then going straight to the NF to create traffic.
A little more than halfway into the season now, it’s very uncharacteristic that we’re still seeing Dougie shoot at such a low percentage. Entering yesterday's game, Dougie’s 3.7% Shooting % was the third-lowest of any skater with 100 or more shots this season and 2.6 percentage points below his typical career average of 6.3%. All I can say, and I think you fans are with me on this, is that I hope the floodgates finally open up for NJD#7 after scoring this goal – because the Devils desperately need those vintage Dougie bombs to be going in right now!
Need Goal Support!
Going into today’s game against OTT, it’s once again no secret that the Devils have struggled immensely to score goals over this recent stretch of hockey. Since the holiday break, the Devils are scoring at the third-lowest rate (2.09 Goals/GP), down over 37% from where they were at before the break, when they were scoring at the seventh-highest rate (3.35 Goals/GP). On top of that, they have now gone 10 consecutive games scoring three or fewer goals, which is the longest streak of any Devils team since 2016-17. It hasn’t been pretty.
Whether there are guys in that room fighting an illness right now or not, the reality is that you’ve got a hungry Sens team coming into your building today that’s less than 24 hours removed from a gutsy 6-5 shootout win against BOS yesterday. Chances are, you’re going to need a minimum of three goals in order to get the W this afternoon. No better day than today for the Devils to pop offensively again!
Be sure to join Rachel and me on today’s pregame show as we continue to break down the Devils’ struggles since the holiday break, the fourth line's impact vs. PHI, and give an update on the Eastern Conference Standings. I’m also hoping to chat with Nate Bastian in the pregame skate, who enters today with an assist in back-to-back home games and seems to enjoy playing against OTT in his career. We'll get to all of that and more starting at 12:30 p.m. on MSGSN!
Let’s Go Devils!
-Sal
Here are some graphics from yesterday’s broadcast!
