Devils' 5-1 Loss to Ducks: Not Always the Goalies

Some poor defensive breakdowns doomed the New Jersey Devils in a 5-1 loss to a struggling Anaheim Ducks squad.

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The New Jersey Devils put up a solid effort in a 6-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday evening. But they couldn't follow that up against the lowly Anaheim Ducks in a 5-1 loss. Here are three takeaways from last night's game. 

It Isn't Always Just the Goalie

I've long been on the train that the Devils' struggles this season are just about the goalie. But it's games like last night where I fall in line with what Kevin Woodley and Dimitri Filipovic said on a recent episode of the Hockey PDOcast: it's not just the goalies. 

On the Ducks' first goal, which came on the power play, Adam Henrique was left wide open at point-blank range in front of Akira Schmid. Kevin Bahl got caught roaming and put himself well out of position, leaving Henrique wide open for a redirect. 

On the Ducks' second goal, Jonas Siegenthaler was caught out of position after trying to pressure the puck. That left Henrique open in front of the net again for an easy tap-in. 

The Devils did get one back at the end of the second period to make it a 2-1 game, but the defensive breakdowns continued in the third period. Siegenthaler and Šimon Nemec got caught running around, leaving Alex Killorn wide open on the back door for an easy goal to make it 3-1. 

Schmid should have made a save on Troy Terry's goal, but the Devils did not help him on the first three Ducks tallies. The goalies are more of a problem than the Devils' defense. But it does seem like when the Devils have a defensive breakdown, it leads to opponents having grade-A, almost unstoppable chances, just as the Ducks had last night. That could speak to systemic issues. 

Schmid finished the night by giving up four goals on 2.66 expected goals. That comes close to what the eyes said and that he should have stopped Terry's goal. The other three tallies were defensive breakdowns that led to grade-A opportunities he had next to no chance of stopping. 

Why Change the Lines?

The Devils played an excellent first period. They put 14 shots on goal at all strengths and generated 1.01 expected goals at five-on-five. Even though they weren't great in the second period, they were still controlling play.