Devils' 6-3 Loss to Lightning: Groundhog Day

It was an all too familiar loss for the New Jersey Devils, as the same problems we've seen this season led to a 6-3 loss vs. the Lightning

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It was an all too familiar affair for the New Jersey Devils. In a game where they needed at least a point, the effort just wasn't good enough in a 6-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Here are three takeaways as the Devils begin their bye week. 

Rinse & Repeat

Stop me if you've heard this one before. The Devils give up the game's first goal, fall behind by multiple goals, score a couple and rally to nearly tie it, only to have the same miscues pull them down from coming up with two points or even an overtime loss. 

Last night's defeat to the Lightning wasn't a carbon copy of the Hurricanes game a couple of nights ago, but it was pretty familiar. The Devils actually played an OK first period versus the Lightning. It was a very low-event opening 20 minutes, but given the lineup they iced, that was probably for the better. 

Unfortunately, things unraveled in the second period. They gave up a quick goal to the Lightning, the 34th time in 47 games they've allowed the game's first goal. That eventually turned into a two-goal deficit after a brutal second period that saw the Devils heavily outplayed. 

To their credit, the Devils fought back in the third, just as they did against the Hurricanes a couple of nights ago. But the Lightning had an answer every time they got within one goal.  

Kevin Bahl and Šimon Nemec got caught napping on the Lightning's third goal. Jesper Bratt brought it within one goal to make it 3-2, but Bahl made an extremely ill-advised pass to the middle of the ice that Brayden Point put past Vitek Vaněček to make it 4-2. That essentially iced the game. 

There have been too many Devils games that have played out like that this season. And frustration is clearly boiling over. Just look at this quote from Nico Hischier post-game (via Amanda Stein):

“Disappointing. I’m embarrassed a bit, to be honest. We got outworked, outplayed in such a big game. The way we performed is embarrassing.”

The 10-day break should help the Devils, but it's clear some things need to change. I don't think the team is just a Jack Hughes return from things being OK, too. 

The countless times of giving up the first goal, the defensive miscues, Timo Meier forgetting how to play hockey, Alex Holtz's misusage. Coach Lindy Ruff's seat could be getting hot because these last two games suggest there are issues bigger than injuries.

Timo Meier, Where Art Thou?