New Jersey suffered another loss in tonight’s away game against the Pittsburgh Penguins. They fell to Pittsburgh by a final score of 4-1.
The Devils struggled in all aspects of this game. Both defensively and offensively, New Jersey could not simply pull it together.
New Jersey is on a five-game losing streak for the second time this season. In their last eight games, they have had no regulation wins which has made matters even worse for this New Jersey team. They will need to take time before Saturday night’s game and evaluate what they need to do.
The game was wild, and fans were trying to rally to keep the Devils’ heads held high. However, New Jersey were constantly losing the puck every time they had the chance to score with it. The Devils took 29 shots and nearly none of them were successful in landing in the goal past the Penguins’ goalie. The only time they were successful was during the second period when Paul Cotter scored and was assisted by Dougie Hamilton and Jack Hughes to make it onto the scoreboard.
During the rest of the night, the team was hopeless in trying to score anything else. They could not score anything on five power plays. They took 29 shots but it wasn’t enough to get the puck into the goal. The team has seen better days and this game was not one of them.
The only upside to the night for New Jersey was that they won 33 face-offs. It allowed them to try and be successful but they found they struggled most of the night. They could not play well defensively and pull themselves together. Jacob Markstrom, the team’s goalie, let at least several goals go by, allowing the Penguins to take the lead before the end of the game.
It won’t be an easy two days for the Devils to work on their plays before Saturday night’s game. They have also scored one goal or less in 21 games this season and have been shut out six times this season by their opponents. If the Devils keep this up, they may not be seeing the playoffs at the end of this season.
New Jersey will return on Saturday night at 5 p.m. to take on the St. Louis Blues at the Enterprise Center in Saint Louis, Missouri.
