Golden Knights 3, Devils 1: Offensive woes continue

The Devils put forth arguably their worst offensive performance of the season against Vegas.

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The New Jersey Devils suffered an ugly loss at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday night. Let’s dive into some observations from the game.

The offense was lifeless

To say New Jersey’s attack had no juice would be an understatement. They put forth by far their worst offensive performance of the season and, considering the talent on the team, one of the worst I can remember in years.

The Devils trailed for much of the game. Generally speaking, teams generate noticeably more shot/chance volume when trailing and forcing the issue to try and get back in the game. We did not see that in the slightest.

Let’s start with the numbers. The Devils had three high-danger chances, their lowest total of the season. They also generated just 1.44 expected goals – again, their lowest of the season. And, honestly, that xG output felt generous. They could not do a thing.

The Devils had no pace through the neutral zone, there was no rush offense, and they rarely even carried the puck into the offensive zone.

They put pucks in deep time after time and struggled to regain possession, let alone make something happen if they did. Everything was kept to the outside.

Although last night’s game was especially bad, the offense struggling is nothing new. So, what is the issue? A few things.

The Devils are top-heavy up front to begin with so not having Nico Hischier is a big problem. The team’s scoring depth – or lack thereof – is a problem. There is very little speed, playmaking, and shot creation in the bottom-6. That is a problem. And the brand of hockey they’re playing doesn’t help, either.

The Devils generate little off the rush and are never in a hurry to get to the offensive zone. They are perhaps a little too happy to dump pucks in as well.

That means every time they get the puck into the offensive zone they’re trying to create offense in the half-court against set, structured defenses.

If they face a team that holds its structure and clogs the middle, they simply can’t generate offense because they lack players who can break defenses down.

It’s a whole culmination of things and the result is a lack of juice at 5v5 far too frequently.

A tough night for the kid pairing