Coyotes 4, Devils 3: A deserved loss

The Devils once again failed to bring anywhere close to their best game to the table. This time, they paid for it.

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A few thoughts following New Jersey’s disappointing shootout loss to the Arizona Coyotes:

The Devils got what they deserved

I will give the Devils a pass for coming out sloppy in their season opener. Be it overconfidence following last year’s success, overexcitement for their first game of the season at home, or a revamped Red Wings team simply banging the door down with everything they had, you can understand and live with a tough start. Not a big deal; especially considering how the Devils responded and performed in the latter half of the game.

Friday night was a completely different story. Sure, the Coyotes had extra juice playing their first game of the season. Sure, they made some solid off-season additions to make the team more competitive. All of that is well and good.

But the Devils simply can’t start that flat on home ice – again – in a year they’re supposed to be all business and contend for a Stanley Cup.

There is way too much talent, and experience, in the room for them to start games so lifeless. Making matters worse on Friday is the Devils never really found their footing.

Although they had their moments on the power play, in 4-on-4 situations, etc., they were never close to good enough at full-strength.

The Timo Meier - Nico Hischier - Dawson Mercer line put forth as bad of a performance as you could ever imagine from such a talented trio. No member of the 3rd line attempted more than one shot at 5v5, and the 4th line…you’re not going to get much offense from them.

It would be one thing if those units failed to generate much but they shut things down at the other end and it was a grind-it-out game where not much was happening. That wasn’t the case.

Arizona was able to put together a ton of quality shifts where they whipped the puck around in the offensive zone for extended periods and generated high quality chances. They looked crisp, concise, and determined. The Devils simply had no answer.

The Coyotes recorded seven more high-danger chances than the Devils at 5v5 and won the xG battle 2.87-1.91. If you include all situations, the Coyotes registered more than 4 expected goals. Yikes.

The good news is the Devils had numerous opportunities to win the game even though – by their standards – they were largely awful and had very few positive performers. That’s the sign of a good team.

They weren’t able to close, though, and that might well be a good thing. The Devils still left the game with a point, which gives them three of four to begin the year (solid!), but also a needed wakeup call that the level of hockey we’re seeing from them is not close to good enough.

Jack Hughes was a monster