Devils' 4-3 OT Loss to Lightning: Effort Was There

Despite a depleted lineup, the New Jersey Devils' effort was very much there in a 4-3 OT loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.

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The New Jersey Devils iced a depleted lineup last night, but the effort was there in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Unfortunately, a familiar problem doomed the Devils from grabbing a second point. Here are three takeaways from the defeat. 

Vaněček Falters Again

There was a lot of good from the Devils' game last night, but let's get the bad out of the way first. Let's not sugarcoat things. Vitek Vaněček was awful and a significant reason why the Devils did not manage to come away with the second point. 

The Lightning's first goal was via an insane redirect from Luke Glendening. There was nothing Vaněček could do about it, but the second goal he gave up to the Glendening was inexcusable. Sure, Luke Hughes committed a terrible turnover, but that puck went right through Vaněček. An NHL-caliber netminder has to make that save. 

Vaněček did make some timely stops later in the game, like when he made a crucial right-pad save on Nikita Kucherov to keep the game at 3-2. Had he not made that save, there's a good chance the Devils don't come back and get a point. He deserves some credit in that regard. 

However, the overtime goal he gave up to Darren Raddysh can't happen. It was again on the glove side, where he got beat on Glendening's second tally. Per Money Puck, that shot from Raddysh had a 3.15 percent chance of going in. That shouldn't be taken as gospel, but it shows that it was not a particularly threatening shot from Raddysh. 

Vaněček finished the night by giving up 1.72 goals above expected, which matches the eye test. He's now the worst goalie in the NHL by goals saved above expected. It's getting to the point where the Devils need to cut bait with him, whether that's acquiring a goalie through a trade or pairing Nico Daws with Akira Schmid. 

Devils Dominated at 5-on-5