Canadiens 3, Devils 2: Another disappointing result

The Devils' 5v5 struggles continued in a very winnable game against the Canadiens.

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A few observations from another wasted opportunity on home soil:

5v5 struggles continue

The Canadiens sit only two points behind the Devils, and are within four of a playoff spot, but don’t let that fool you. They are not a good team.

As much as anything, they’ve been carried by consistently strong play from Sam Montembeault. He has posted a .900 save percentage or better in the second highest percentage of starts in the league, giving the Canadiens a legitimate chance every single night.

Jake Allen and Cayden Primeau playing behind him makes the Canadiens three deep in arguably the sport’s most influential (yet least predictable) position – and it’s making a difference.

That’s not to say the Canadiens are otherwise a Sharks-esque disaster. But their defense is nothing to write home about, the penalty kill is poor, and, as currently constructed, the line of Juraj Slafkovsky, Nick Suzuki, and Cole Caufield is the only one that looks remotely threatening on paper.

Put another way, they are a team a desperate Devils side – now equipped with Timo Meier – should be able to control the run of play against. We didn’t see that on Wednesday night.

The Devils lost the shot on goal battle, the high-danger chance battle, and were outscored 3-0 by the Canadiens at 5v5. That’s pretty damning.

Unfortunately, 5v5 struggles are nothing new for the Devils right now. Over the last five games, the Devils have routinely put forth lifeless offensive efforts, poor defensive showings, or a combination of the two.

They rank 23rd in expected goal generation in that span while allowing xG at a higher clip than all but the St. Louis Blues. Yeah, things have been that bad.

If not for mostly strong play from Nico Daws, things could look a whole lot worse.

Sure, the Devils are dealing with injuries. Sure, the schedule has been difficult of late. But neither of those things will change anytime soon.

The Devils are still missing a handful of key players and will be for some time. The schedule is also about to get very difficult after a game against the Jackets.

Who is on deck, you might ask? Let’s take a look:

at Columbus
vs. Dallas
vs. Vegas
at Carolina
at Tampa Bay
vs. Colorado
vs. Calgary
at Carolina
vs. Seattle

That is a very difficult schedule. After a date with the Blue Jackets, the Devils face a team holding down a playoff spot in six of eight. The two exceptions come against a Flames side on a 7-3 run and a Kraken team that is 8-2 over the last 10. Not ideal!

This is a long-winded way of saying that if the Devils can’t find a way to flip the script at 5v5, and fast, things are going to get ugly.

Hughes had the juice