The New Jersey Devils' offense has gone bone dry

The Devils rank dead last in goals over the last 11 games and have won fewer times than anybody as a result.

Follow along on Twitter @ToddCordell | @InfernalAccess

Be sure to join the Discord channel to talk hockey with our writers and subscribers.

---

The New Jersey Devils are in by far their biggest rut of the season. They have won just two of their past 11 games and looked lifeless in the process.

While they have mostly continued to defend well and played a stable, structured game in front of their goaltenders, the Devils have provided next to no run support at the other end.

After scoring just one goal on Anton Forsberg – who entered play having conceded at least three in eight straight games – the Devils moved into last place in goals scored during this 11-game dry spell. Yes, last place.

The Devils have scored a league-low 20 goals over the past 11 games, which helps explain how they’ve accumulated fewer wins than anybody during that span. They simply can’t put the puck in the net.

And, at 5v5, they haven’t deserved to.

The name of the game in the modern NHL is high-danger chances. Teams don’t care for shot volume like they used to; they want quality shots. The Devils aren’t generating them.

They have accumulated 78 Grade A opportunities at 5v5 during this porous run of play, putting them ahead of only the Anaheim Ducks, Seattle Kraken, and Vancouver Canucks.

That’s a team firmly entrenched in a rebuild, a recent expansion team that still hasn’t gotten their hands on much – any? – elite talent, and a Canucks team that is going through insane locker room turmoil (and played most of those games without some combination of Quinn Hughes, Elias Pettersson, J.T. Miller, and Filip Hronek). We’re comparing apples to oranges here.

The picture looks brighter for the Devils when factoring in all situations, such as the power play. The Devils have gone cold there but they’ve still generated opportunities, ranking 2nd in expected goals per minute over the last 11 games.

We know the Devils can score in waves on the power play. Given the chances they’re generating on the man advantage, it’s only a matter of time before they do so again. That will help.

Even so, it’s clear something needs to be done to change things up at 5v5.