3 Things Devils' Green Can Do to Spark Team

With Lindy Ruff no longer head coach, here are 3 things Travis Green can do as interim coach to help turn the team around

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Early yesterday evening, the New Jersey Devils announced they had relieved coach Lindy Ruff of his duties. Travis Green, who the organization hired in the summer to replace Andrew Brunette, will serve as the interim coach for the remainder of the 2023-24 season. 

Green is taking over the job in a difficult spot. The Devils are eight points back of the Philadelphia Flyers for third place in the Metropolitan Division. And he only has 21 games to implement some changes. Still, there are a few things he can do to help spark the team, even if it might be too late to save their playoff hopes. 

Tightening Up the Devils' Defense

I mentioned it in my post yesterday on why the Devils needed to move on from Ruff, but improving the team's defense will help. On the surface, the Devils' defensive numbers for the season don't look awful. They're giving up 2.56 expected goals per 60 minutes at five-on-five, ranked 16th in the NHL. 

However, things have been trending in the wrong direction for quite some time. The Devils have allowed 2.65 expected goals per 60 since Dougie Hamilton's injury on Nov. 28 and 2.82 xGs per 60 since Jonas Siegenthaler got hurt in early January. 

Of course, Siegenthaler has since returned to the lineup, and the numbers have actually improved; they're allowing 2.53 xGs per 60. But the Devils are still stumbling defensively. Just take the Anaheim Ducks game as an example. Nico Daws struggled, but his defense did not help him out. Frank Vatrano's goal, which made it 4-2, was due to some poor rush defense from Kevin Bahl and John Marino. 

The Devils' rush defense has been a problem all season long, which shows in their microstats. They're getting cooked on the rush, ranking 29th in rush shots against. They're also allowing passes into high-danger areas way too often.