Devils Displayed Fight in Heartbreaking Loss to Stars

The New Jersey Devils showed they can still be a playoff team without Jack Hughes. They just need help ahead of the trade deadline

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Infuriating. Heartbreaking. There are many ways to describe the New Jersey Devils' 4-3 loss to the Dallas Stars. But after Jack Hughes' injury over the weekend, everyone could use some positive vibes, so let's try to put some positive vibes out there ahead of the trade deadline.

Yes, that was another regulation loss for the Devils, but they showed a lot of fight. And if we're being honest, they outplayed the Stars, especially as the game progressed. I wouldn't call it a moral victory. It's too late for that, but their effort showed they can still be a playoff team without Hughes.

Devils Showed Character

Yesterday's game got off to a sloppy start, but that wasn't too surprising. I'm sure there were plenty of emotions in that locker room after Hughes' injury, so a disjointed start was understandable.

Fortunately, Jacob Markström kept his team in the game in the first period when the Devils were playing too loose defensively and giving up one too many odd-man rushes. The Devils went into the first intermission down 1-0, thanks to Markström, and it gave them a chance later in the game.

The Devils will need their power play to come through without Hughes, and they did their part last night. Timo Meier scored on a one-timer (shocker), and Nico Hischier redirected a Luke Hughes point shot in the third to start the comeback.

Those power-play goals helped the Devils get some confidence at five-on-five, as they slowly started to carry play at that game state, especially after Hischier's goal.

The Devils allowed just 0.2 expected goals at five-on-five over the final two periods while generating 1.27. They outplayed the Stars, and they did get rewarded for it on the scoreboard before a brutal play from Johnathan Kovacevic led to an icing that probably shouldn't have been an icing ahead of Thomas Harley’s goal.

It would have been easy for the Devils to pack it in after going down 3-1, especially after Dougie Hamilton left with an injury after the first period and did not return. But they showed plenty of fight and character against a team that's a Stanley Cup contender in the Western Conference.

I've stated my stance on what the Devils should do at the trade deadline without Hughes in the lineup. I would not be targeting rentals unless they're inexpensive (think Ryan Donato), and they should still be looking for long-term solutions.

Last night's game showed they can still make the playoffs with a couple of quality additions, and making the postseason is important for this group. Now, general manager Tom Fitzgerald has to get the help they need.

Nemec's Best Game of 2024-25

Let's stick with some positive vibes before getting into less positive vibes. Šimon Nemec played what was easily his best game in a Devils sweater this season.

Nemec finished with an expected goals share (xG%) of 70.74 percent, the best single-game xG% he's recorded this season. He looked much more confident and made good decisions with and without the puck.

I can't recall many instances where Nemec was out of position defensively, and there were certainly no big blunders. He progressively got better as the Devils’ game improved after the first period.

I have my qualms about Brenden Dillon's game, but he and Nemec might be a decent pairing; they posted a 62.88 xG% as a duo last night. That's important because Nemec's role will increase if Hamilton misses time, so hopefully, they can build on what they've done the previous few games.

Devils Bottom 6 Is Useless

OK, let's move on to less positive vibes. This isn't anything you don't know, but the Devils' bottom six is utterly useless.

Erik Haula took a careless high-sticking penalty early in the game, leading to a Stars power play. Fortunately, the Devils killed the penalty, but he also lost the faceoff that led to Thomas Harley's game-winning goal with five seconds left. It should never have been icing, but win the draw there, and the Devils probably get at least a point.

Nathan Bastian had a quality scoring chance in the third period off the rush, but he hesitated just long enough on his release and fired a shot straight into Casey DeSmith's left pad for a routine save. Curtis Lazar seems like a great guy, but I'm not sure what he offers on the ice anymore. And Justin Dowling is a fish out of water.

Do you want to know how bad the Devils' forwards have been in non-Nico Hischier/Jack Hughes minutes? Take a look at this tweet from Dimitri Filipovic.

Scoring 1.49 goals per 60 minutes in non-Hughes/Hischier minutes isn't bad. It is horrific, and it's obviously no surprise they're getting outscored 52-34 in those minutes. That's "we should be in the draft lottery" horrible territory.

Fitzgerald can't fix it all in the next three days. The bottom six/middle six needs extensive surgery during the offseason, but some help by Friday would go a long way.

Quick Hits

• Jonas Siegenthaler's injury has been less than ideal, to put it mildly, but at least it has shown that the Devils should probably pass on re-signing Kovacevic. Kovacevic has not played well since Siegenthaler's injury before 4 Nations, and last night was particularly brutal. He sailed a puck into the upper bowl that led to a delay of game penalty. And, of course, there was the icing that led to Harley's winner. It looks more and more like he's a Siegenthaler merchant.

• Hischier, Timo Meier, Jesper Bratt, Brett Pesce. Even Dawson Mercer, Ondřej Palát and Nemec. The players you'd expect to carry the Devils carried the Devils last night. The players you'd expect to drag them down dragged them down. We'll see if any trade deadline additions can change that at all.

Game Score Chart

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Advanced stats from Natural Stat Trick

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