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It’s no secret that the New Jersey Devils have been nothing but a disappointment this season.
This simply looks like a completely different team than the one we watched last year.
During the 2022-23 season, the Devils arguably played with more swagger than any other team in the NHL. It felt like they were going to win every night, no matter the opponent
After their galvanizing win at the NHL’s Stadium Series at MetLife Stadium, it felt like things were about to change for the better in New Jersey. Instead, it’s been a downward spiral, going 4-8-0 ever since.
Playoffs? More like a pipedream.
It’s been a wild two weeks for this organization after they fired head coach Lindy Ruff and traded away one of its top players in Tyler Toffoli at the deadline. They did bring in Kurtis MacDermid, Jake Allen and Kaapo Kahkonen for a late-season playoff push, but they sit six points out and are in the midst of their worst stretch of the season.
“This time of year is a little different for us than it was last year,” forward Jesper Bratt said. “We’re in a different situation—it’s been tough and frustrating for us as a group this year.”
Defenseman Kurtis MacDermid comes from a winning culture in Colorado and wants to make a difference in New Jersey. On Monday night, he tried to stick up for his teammates by attempting to fight Matt Rempe of the New York Rangers, but Rempe wouldn’t budge.
#NJDevils Kurtis MacDermid did not hold back about #NYR Matt Rempe:
— Jonny Lazarus (@JLazzy23) March 12, 2024
“There’s a right way to go about things and a wrong way — I kind of lost a lot of respect for him.”
“There’s a great young group here, and I’m very excited to be a part of it. Anything I can do to help the team win each night, I want to be that presence each night and make them feel comfortable out there,” MacDermid said.
One area in which the Devils have struggled the most this season is goaltending. It’s been clear that they’ve needed help in the blue paint, but the group isn’t looking to add any pressure on their new teammates, Kahkonen and Allen. Kahkonen had a really strong showing on Monday night, making 23 saves while skating to a .920 save percentage.
“I don’t really feel pressure. I try to go out there and enjoy the game and play to the best of my abilities. I trust that will be good enough,” Kahkonen said.
The Devils aren’t fully out of the playoff picture just yet, but it’s been tough for them to stay level-headed. New Jersey is losing valuable points, but this group knows it needs one positive action to turn things around.
“When you look at the standings, you know every point matters,” interim coach Travis Green said.
“It’s different when you’re battling through some tough losses as a group, but deep in ourselves, we still know what this group is capable of,” Bratt added.
You can’t mathematically count the Devils out just yet. They have some very strong pieces in their locker room, but they are running out of time to put it all together.
But do they have one last push in them to save their season? Time will tell.
More must-reads:
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