The New Jersey Devils have real problems
All of the hits were played in the team's embarrassing loss to the New York Islanders.
Follow along on Twitter @ToddCordell | @InfernalAccess
Things have gone from bad to worse for the New Jersey Devils.
Days after losing (again) to a rival who has had their number for years on end – with the highest paid player on the team essentially scoring two goals, including the winner, on his own net – the Devils put forth a much more embarrassing performance; especially considering the circumstances.
The Devils could’ve closed the gap on the New York Islanders to just two points with a regulation win. It was a high-stakes divisional game against a team missing its leading goal scorer and most efficient point producer, Bo Horvat.
The Islanders had struggled mightily without him in the lineup, too, generating an average of 23 shots and 2.4 goals prior to last night.
You certainly wouldn’t have known it as the Islanders led 2-0 inside four minutes and rained down goals in a 9-0 rout.
It tied the most lop-sided shutout in their franchise history, which is saying something for a team that had one of the best runs the league has ever seen in the 80s.
The Devils played all of the hits, with everything that has plagued the team this year coming to light throughout.
Jacob Markstrom was at the forefront of that. He put forth the worst goaltending performance of the analytics era, allowing nearly 7.5 goals above expectation.
It was a new low for a netminder who, outside of couple solid weeks recently, has struggled consistently this season.
His save percentage now sits at .878 and he has allowed 11.6 goals above expectation, the 4th worst mark in the league.
He doesn’t appear to have much left in the tank, which is alarming given Tom Fitzgerald questionably raced to give him a juicy two-year, $12 million extension.
As bad as Markstrom performed, he was far from alone in deserving blame.
The Devils gave him zero run support despite generating 44 shots on goal, 17 high-danger chances, and 4.34 expected goals.
They peppered Ilya Sorokin with quality shots – much more than the Islanders did Markstrom – and had nothing to show for it.
Generally speaking, I’d say a team is unlucky when that sort of thing happens. It’d be ignorant to say that about the Devils. It’s just the norm.
They have scored a league-low 76 goals on 110 expected since October 28th. That is 34 goals below expectation, which is almost unfathomable. Almost.
At the end of the day, it can’t be too surprising for a team that has opted to play a winger with two goals in 43 games in the top-6 for extended stretches.
The roster is very much flawed and littered with bad money that makes it difficult to fix.
Indirectly or otherwise, Sheldon Keefe put that on full display with his management of the team last night.
