Devils Fall Flat to Lightning to Close Out Florida Road Trip
The New Jersey Devils' five-on-five offense disappeared in the 4-0 shutout loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
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The New Jersey Devils had a chance to make an emphatic statement against the Tampa Bay Lightning, but it appears they ran out of gas after two impressive wins against the Florida Panthers earlier in the week.
Unfortunately, they fell flat, losing 4-0 to the Lightning. Still, it was a successful trip for the Devils, who secured four of six points in Florida. Now, they'll return to New Jersey with a needed four days off before playing the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday.
Devils Couldn't Generate Much Offense at 5-on-5
The Devils scored ten goals in two games against the Panthers but couldn't solve Andrei Vasilevskiy yesterday. Vasilevskiy did play well, but the Devils did not do much to challenge him at five-on-five.
Perhaps the schedule had something to do with it; the Devils played their seventh game in 12 days yesterday, while that was just the Lightning's second game in nine days. If so, it might explain why they generated just 1.22 expected goals and four high-danger chances at five-on-five.
It was a far cry from the first time these two teams played a few weeks ago when the Lightning defeated the Devils 8-5. To the Lightning's credit, they blocked plenty of shots and made it difficult for the Devils to generate anything on the rush or the cycle.
The Devils' best chances came on the power play, as they had six scoring chances and three high-danger chances on the man advantage while generating 1.02 expected goals. If it weren't for that, the Devils would have generated close to nothing offensively.
While I'm not overly concerned about the Devils' five-on-five offense, I am mildly concerned. Their top players are scoring for the most part, though they could use more from Timo Meier. And they're getting contributions from Stefan Noesen and Paul Cotter when needed.
However, there's an obvious need for more scoring pop in the top six/middle six. The Devils have already gotten shut out three times this season after getting shut out four times all of last season.
Ondřej Palát has five points in 19 games. That will not cut it in the top six in the long run, and not having enough scoring is part of why they go from scoring three or four-plus goals in a game to getting shut out once every seven games.
Markström Was Solid
Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe mentioned it after the game, but yesterday was not on Jacob Markström at all. If anything, Markström did his best to keep the Devils in the game, especially as it progressed.
The Devils' netminder made a few timely saves, including an incredible post-to-post glove save on Nick Paul in the second period. Unfortunately, there was only so much he could do since the Devils' offense didn't have their A-game.
You could argue Markström should have stopped one of the Lightning's first two goals, but he was screened on both. There wasn't much he could do, and at the end of the day, he made the saves he should have made.
Markström finished the night allowing three goals on 2.83 expected goals, so he stopped what was expected of him. He was 5/5 on high-danger shots, so there's been an improvement in his game. He just needs the goal support in return.
Devils Fourth Line Is a Disaster
The Devils' fourth line was treading water before this Florida trip, but the Panthers and Lightning have completely exposed them. They didn't cost the team yesterday's game, but they got cratered at five-on-five, even in limited ice time.
Kurtis MacDermid only played four minutes but finished with an expected goals share (xG%) of zero percent and took the penalty that led to the Lightning's power-play goal that made it 3-0. That essentially iced the game away.
Tomáš Tatar has done what he can to help the fourth line stay above water, but he can only do so much. MacDermid is not a player who should be getting regular minutes, while Justin Dowling is replacement-level at best.
General manager Tom Fitzgerald could look to the trade market since Curtis Lazar and Nathan Bastian are out long-term with injuries. The Washington Capitals acquired Lars Eller from the Pittsburgh Penguins earlier this week, so perhaps there's a bottom-six forward out there to be had.
But that might still take a while to materialize, so the best option would be to call up Nolan Foote or Brian Halonen from the AHL. I know the Comets remain winless 13 games into their season, but their season is essentially toast at this point.
One of Foote or Halonen would likely be a significant upgrade over MacDermid, and with the Hurricanes as the Devils' next opponent, having a more competent fourth line would probably be in the team's best interest.
Quick Hits
Luke Hughes continues to look like a different defenseman. The Devils finished with a 62.8 xG% and out-chanced the Lightning 8-3 during his five-on-five minutes. More than half the team's expected goals (0.79) came with Hughes on the ice. He could help get their five-on-five offense going, as it looks like he's starting to find his offensive game.
Meier isn't playing poorly, but when you're making $8.8 million per year, you need to produce more than 14 points in 21 games — a 55-point pace over 82 games. He finished with a team-high six shots on goal last night, and had five scoring chances and two high-danger chances. He should start scoring more if he keeps generating opportunities at that rate.
Every night is an adventure with the Brenden Dillon and Dougie Hamilton pairing, and last night was not a good adventure. Hamilton finished with an xG% of 34.51 percent, while Dillon's xG% was 23.31 percent. You probably have to live with it if you're the Devils because the other two defense pairs are playing so well, but Dillon and Hamilton tightening it up defensively would help.
Game Score Chart
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