Pucks and Pitchforks
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New Jersey Devils: Where Have the Devils Looked Lost This Year?

By Luke Garrison

NEWARK, NJ - JANUARY 19: Arizona Coyotes left wing Lawson Crouse #67 in front of New Jersey Devils goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood #29 during the National Hockey League game between the New Jersey Devils and the Phoenix Coyotes on January 19, 2022 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey (Photo by Rich Graessle/Getty Images)
NEWARK, NJ - JANUARY 19: Arizona Coyotes left wing Lawson Crouse #67 in front of New Jersey Devils goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood #29 during the National Hockey League game between the New Jersey Devils and the Phoenix Coyotes on January 19, 2022 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey (Photo by Rich Graessle/Getty Images) /
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Blake Coleman #20 of the Calgary Flames (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

This year the Devils have played so poorly, that they look lost in a lot of games. But how many times did they exactly look lost

Throughout almost 40 years of New Jersey Devils hockey, we have seen a lot of competitive, competent, and overall fun hockey. Unfortunately, each season comes with one game where the Devils lack effort and look completely lost. The current season for the Devils has a lot more than just one game like that. While the Devils may be in a rebuild this year, there shouldn’t be an excuse to look lost out there and play with as little effort as possible. How many games have the Devils played like this, you ask? There is undoubtedly a lot, but some games showcase how big of a problem it can be.

Being engulfed in a loss to the Flames

Coming into this game, the Devils were riding high with a 3-1 record in the previous four games, and things were looking good. Despite not having Mackenzie Blackwood at the start of the season, Jonathan Bernier and rookie Nico Daws ensured the Devils had goalies for them to use. Unfortunately for Daws, his second game was a complete disaster for him and the rest of the team.

When the game began, the Flames just basically went and completely wrecked the entire team in the first period. It may have taken 7 minutes for Milan Lucic to score the game’s first goal, but it got worse as time went on. Just 3 minutes later, Andrew Mangiapane doubled the lead because both Jesper Bratt and Jonas Siegenthaler made crucial mistakes trying to control the puck. Keep in mind that Mangiapane was one of the hottest goal scorers down the stretch.

Not two minutes later, thanks to a tripping penalty on P.K. Subban, Elias Lindholm scored on the powerplay to make it 3-0 Flames. What made it worse is that the Devils had only two shots up until that point. After that goal, Ruff decided to take Daws out of the game and put in Scott Wedgewood, who the Devils called up earlier before the game.

However, 46 seconds after Wedgwood got put in, Andrew Mangiapane scored again on a breakaway due to another turnover from Bratt. So, during that first period, that was four goals on eight shots for the Flames, while the Devils had two shots and 0 goals. While the Devils went on to score three goals, with Zacha scoring twice and Dawson Mercer getting his second goal of the year, it didn’t end up mattering as the Flames went on to win the game 5-3. With such an embarrassingly first period of play, including turnovers and lack of chances, it may be a contender for this team’s worst game of the year.

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