Devils Offense Goes Cold in 3-0 Loss to the Flames

Jacob Markström did what he could, but the New Jersey Devils' offense went M.I.A. in a 3-0 loss to the Calgary Flames

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A three-game winning streak remains elusive for the New Jersey Devils. After scoring 12 goals over their previous two games, the Calgary Flames shut out the Devils, winning 3-0 in Calgary last night.

Jacob Markström played very well, but the Devils couldn't muster anything offensively in what was their worst offensive performance of the season. Here are three takeaways from the loss.

Markström Did All He Could

Yesterday was Markström's first game against the Flames since the Devils acquired him from Calgary in an offseason trade. The Devils may have lost the game, but it was to no fault of his own.

It was pretty clear from the opening faceoff that the Devils didn't have their legs last night, but Markström did his best to keep the team in the game, especially in the first period.

Markström made 12 saves in the opening frame, including a couple of quality stops on Rasmus Andersson, one of the Flames' best players to start this season.

You would have hoped the Devils would've picked it up for him in the second period. And while Jack Hughes did have two breakaways that he didn't convert on, Markström remained the reason the team stayed in the game.

Markström made a great save on former Devil Yegor Sharangovich moments after Dan Vladar denied Hughes on his first breakaway. He was particularly great on a Flames power play late in the second, making five saves on five Flames shots.

Former Devil Blake Coleman broke the ice with about five minutes left in the third, but it was a bit of unfortunate luck for Markström; the puck went off Coleman's stick then his skate and past Markström.

Markström finished the night giving up two goals on 2.07 expected goals, meaning he stopped what he was supposed to. I don't think anyone would argue with that, and it's unfortunate the Devils couldn't put forth a good enough offensive effort to support him.

Devils Offense Dried Up

I don't know how often you'll see the Devils' offense go M.I.A. like that. They were averaging 2.72 expected goals per 60 minutes coming into last night's game, a top-10 rate in the NHL.

They had also been averaging over four goals per game since the 6-5 overtime loss to the Washington Capitals a couple of weeks ago, so perhaps they were due for a bit of regression, too.  

Still, games like last night's are where I look at the Devils' lineup and see the need for another scorer on the wing. Ondřej Palát has looked better on Hughes and Jesper Bratt's line, but I doubt he'll be able to score enough to be a solution. That's where Kevin Labanc could have helped; he has five points in seven games with the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Devils' offense will have ebbs and flows, especially until Jack Hughes looks more like Jack Hughes. He's getting there but isn't all the way there yet. Once he does, I expect the Devils' offense to find more consistency. But a scoring winger looks like it'll be a need sooner rather than later.

Devils Played a Sound Defensive Game

Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe mentioned it in his post-game press conference, but he liked how his team played defensively. It's hard to argue that, as they only allowed five high-danger chances at five-on-five.

The Devils did well to keep the Flames to the perimeter, which helped make Markström's life a bit easier; he faced just six high-danger shots. On a night when you don't have your legs, you need to find ways to stay in the game. Getting saves is one way, but playing scrappy defense is another.

Of course, you need to score. If Hughes converts on one or both of his breakaways, perhaps the Devils would have won that game 1-0 or 2-1. That's just a bit of bad luck.

But this is one thing the Devils did not do well last season. When one defensive breakdown occurred, it usually snowballed into two, three, etc. goals against. Aside from last night, that hasn't happened much this season, so that's progress.

However, it needs to translate into wins. And with the Devils having not won three in a row since the 2022-23 season, hopefully that will help them build an extended winning streak at some point.  

Quick Hits

• The Timo Meier, Nico Hischier and Dawson Mercer line has been lights out in the early part of this season, but the Flames did well to keep them off the scoresheet. Very well. Meier, Hischier and Mercer finished with an expected goals share (xG%) of 20.9 percent and were on the ice for just 0.10 expected goals for. The Devils were also outshot 8-2 and out-chanced 6-2 with them on the ice. That probably won't happen too often moving forward, so consider it a rare night off.

• Nathan Bastian did the right thing by standing up for Paul Cotter after a questionable hit, but it looks like he took one of the team. He never returned to the game after serving his 10-minute misconduct due to a jaw injury he suffered in the scrum with Ryan Lomberg. With Curtis Lazar out indefinitely, that's two-thirds of the fourth line that could be missing. Will the Devils call someone up before Monday's game against the Edmonton Oilers? Nolan Foote has seven points in seven games with the Utica Comets, so perhaps he gets a look. That'll be something to watch over the next 24-48 hours.

• Jonas Siegenthaler and Johnathan Kovacevic have been one of the best shutdown pairs in the NHL this season. While they still did well to limit chances when they were on the ice last night, it was a rare night off for them, too. Kovacevic made a poor pinch on the Flames' second goal, while Siegenthaler didn't play the ensuing 2-on-1 well. As Keefe said, no one played particularly well. It was just one of those nights.

Game Score Chart

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