Devils' 4-1 Loss to Islanders: It's Over
The New Jersey Devils played their greatest hits of 2023-24 in a 4-1 loss to the Islanders to conclude the season.
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It's over. It's finally over. The New Jersey Devils' disappointing 2023-24 season concluded last night with a 4-1 loss to the New York Islanders. With the loss, the Devils finished the season 38-39-5 for 81 points. Here are three takeaways as we begin to turn our attention to what should be a very interesting offseason in the Garden State.
Devils Played the Greatest Hits
The Devils decided to play the greatest hits of the 2023-24 season in their loss to the Islanders. Start well, but have a boneheaded play that leads to a goal against? You bet. After Kevin Bahl made an ill-advised pinch in the offensive zone, the Islanders went the other way on a 2-on-1 and scored on their first shot on goal of the game. This was about 12 minutes into the opening frame, by the way.
Give up a power-play goal to a struggling power-play? Check. Kyle Palmieri scored a power-play goal shortly after the Islanders went up 1-0 to give them a 2-0 lead. Outplay a team and head into the first intermission down two goals? That seems about right.
The Devils got within one goal when Timo Meier scored early in the second period to make it 2-1. But they gave it back about eight minutes later when their defense couldn't tie up Brock Nelson in front of the net and he scored to make it 3-1.
Oh, and how about the Devils' power play? They had success against the Islanders when up a man this season, but their power play was powerless yesterday. They couldn't get set up and barely made Semyon Varlamov work, a fitting end for their man advantage.
Finally, Jake Allen had one of his worst starts since the Devils acquired him from the Montreal Canadiens at the trade deadline. He played well in his time with the Devils, but gave up four goals on 2.54 expected goals yesterday.
If there was a game that summed up how the Devils' season went, it was last night's. And it was fitting that it occurred in Game 82. The power play not showing up, an off night for goaltending, giving up the game's first goal, and losing another game at home. These are all things the Devils will need to change to get back in a playoff spot next season.
A Mixed Bag for Devils Young Players
Yesterday was a mixed bag for the Devils' young players. Let's start with Alexander Holtz, who played well. It's been a topsy-turvy season for him, but he did go out on a high note yesterday. No, he didn't find the scoresheet, and he was on the ice for two goals against, but I liked his game.
Holtz finished last night with an expected goals share (xG%) of 59.11 percent and looked confident with the puck. He finished with a couple of shots on goal and was one of the Devils' more threatening players offensively.
General manager Tom Fitzgerald mentioned on the MSG Pregame Show that they're trying to turn Holtz into a more complete 200-foot player. I understand where he's coming from because Holtz still has to clean up his play off the puck. But hopefully, it doesn't come at the expense of his offensive development.
Nolan Foote didn't play much yesterday, but he was noticeable offensively. He had three shots on goal, six shot attempts, and one scoring chance. It's unfortunate he missed 95 percent of the season due to injury because it seems like he could have been an upgrade in the bottom six.
On the not-so-good side was the play of Bahl. While he's perfectly fine defensively, his play in the offensive zone can be tough to watch. He makes poor decisions in the offensive zone, like the pinch he made on the Islanders' first goal. And he has no puck skills, which kills offense when he's on the ice.
The Devils have a decision to make on the blue line this offseason. If they retain Jonas Siegenthaler, I don't think Bahl can stay, too. Even if Siegenthaler rebounds, we know he'll never be a threat offensively. The Devils can't have two defensemen like that on the left side of the blue line, so Fitzgerald will likely have to move one of them.
Unfortunately, Graeme Clarke didn't play last night. That was a pretty indefensible decision, considering the game was meaningless for the Devils. Are you telling me Shane Bowers or Kurtis MacDermid couldn't have made their way out of the lineup for Clarke? Come on now. Last night should've been another data point to assess Clarke, but he didn't even get the opportunity. That leads us to our next point.
Devils Should Move on From Green
Fitzgerald said on the pregame show that Travis Green will get an interview this offseason for the full-time head coaching gig. That's perfectly fine. Let him lay out his plans for how he'd want the team to play with an offseason to prepare.
But based on how the Devils played under Green after the coaching change, it'll be a hard sell to retain him full-time. The Devils finished 8-12-1 under Green and got worse in every five-on-five metric possible. Their xG% dropped significantly, they created less offense, and they gave up more quality chances.
Aside from Luke Hughes, I'm not sure who played consistently well on the Devils' blue line under Green. Even Šimon Nemec's play began to drop off as soon as the coaching change occurred.
There's not enough to justify bringing back Green as the full-time coach, and I think it's pretty simple. Just look at the Devils' stats pre- and post-coaching change. Despite being banged up under Ruff, the Devils were still an excellent five-on-five team. Under Green, that was not the case. I'd guess that even though Fitzgerald will interview him, it's a long shot he returns. And starting fresh behind the bench might be best for everyone anyway.
Thank You, Subscribers
Instead of doing some quick hits, I just wanted to thank everyone who subscribed to Devils on the Rush this season. Obviously, I was hoping to write about playoff games, but the worst of worst-case scenarios happened for the Devils. Even then, I will have plenty of offseason content (draft, free agency, trade targets, etc.) over the next two months leading up to the draft in late June. I'm looking forward to it, as this is a crucial offseason for the Devils and Fitzgerald, so there should be plenty to write about.
Game Score Chart
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Great season, Alex (for you, not so much for our Devils)!