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New Jersey Devils: Aren't Losing Because of Bad Boarding Calls
The New Jersey Devils lost 3-1 to the Montreal Canadians in a game, which could have easily been five-six nothing. The Devils were lucky to be tied 1-1 heading into the third period on a first-period marker by Steven Santini, but Karl Stollery was called for a five-minute major on a questionable side-hit into the boards, which allowed Montreal to overwhelm the Devils, but it wasn’t the reason they lost the game.
It wasn’t the hit though that was the deciding moment of the game, however. The game was over from the drop of the puck even though the Devils jumped out to a 1-0 lead. The issue of consistent zone time has been a problem all season long, and it was very prevalent last night in particular.
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It wasn’t even that Montreal was the better team on paper because they really aren’t too much. They were playing their backup goalie, their offensive corps is mediocre in the eyes of many, and their defense is pretty banged up. Maybe it’s just Montreal though because the last time these two teams played in Montreal they blew the Devils out on the shot clock in that game also.
Need More Shots
This still doesn’t excuse that even in wins this year, the Devils have been outshot and outplayed in many of their games. Even in the game before against the Minnesota Wild, the Wild totally outplayed the Devils and held a two-to-one margin in shots throughout most of the game. The fact that the Devils won condescends what actually happened in the game, but it’s an issue that needs to get solved fast.
The Devils are simply giving the puck away too much in the offensive zone. Especially guys like Kyle Palmieri and Mike Cammalleri are trying to shoot from everywhere and they just end up giving the puck back to the other team. Sometimes trying to give that extra effort to score a goal is a great thing, but in the Devils case, they need to become more efficient when they have the puck in the offensive zone.
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Improving Other Parts of the Game
Their breakouts could also use work as well. More specifically in the neutral zone where teams have clogged them up with consistent pressure. Teams believe that if they pressure the Devils then their lesser skilled players will be prone to make mistakes and they’ve been right on the money. It’s the same issue on the power play where teams pressure the Devils because they know the Devils can’t make crisp plays in tight spaces.
The point is that everything the Devils should be focusing on is their efficiency with and without the puck. Too many times passes aren’t crisp enough, they’re not tape-to-tape, and when I see other teams being able to execute their plays, I know the Devils can do the same as well even with lesser talent.
The Devils will be in Philadelphia to take on the Flyers tonight, which will then start a great stretch of the next 12 of 14 games at the Prudential Center after so much of the first half-plus of the season being spent on the road.
