The New Jersey Devils have dropped three straight games. On Saturday night, they managed to score but still couldn't secure a win—continuing their struggles.
The New Jersey Devils have dropped three straight games. On Saturday night, they managed to score but still couldn't secure a win—continuing their struggles.
As a result of their recent skid, the Devils now sit in fifth place in the Metropolitan Division with 42 points, tied with the New York Rangers. There were several positive takeaways.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe shared his thoughts on the game with NJD.tv.
“We played a good game, found ways to get a couple in the third period, which obviously puts us in a position to win," Keefe said. "One on the power play, two at even strength should be enough to win you games, but we gave them too many tonight.”
Statistically, the Devils outshot the Capitals 38-33 on Saturday night, with goaltender Jake Allen stopping 29 of the 33 shots he faced.
Following the game, Allen spoke about the team’s performance, providing further insight into the night.
“You’ve got to take a lot of decent things away from it,” Allen said. “I thought our penalty kill did a great job on the one kill we had, and our power play kicked in. There are definitely a lot of things we can take.”
While Allen pointed out the game's good parts on Saturday, the Devils also faced clear challenges, losing 66 percent of the face-offs and recording 15 giveaways.
This loss on Saturday marks the team's third straight, as they have now fallen to the Buffalo Sabres, New York Islanders, and Washington Capitals.
Although the team has welcomed back several key players from the injured list, they have struggled to regain the momentum that marked their strong start to the season. As the midway point of the 2025-26 season approaches, Keefe shared his thoughts on the team's future, particularly its struggles with scoring.
"It’s been a tough stretch. When you see a guy like (Jesper) Bratt get two goals, you get 5-on-5 goals, a power-play goal as a team, you hope that’s a positive trend that we’re going to start to finish here. But you can’t sit back and expect it’s going to snap back. We know we’ve generated more scoring chances and opportunities than we've had actual goals. But the actual goals are what matter most," Keefe told NJD.tv. "We have to find a way to get these over the line. We’re working on the mental side of it with the guys. Showing clips, getting reps in practice, reinforcing the habits and details inside of finishing, where to shoot, when to shoot, traffic, all those details are where we have to do the job as coaches."
Looking ahead, the Devils will aim to end their losing streak against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday.
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Category: General Sports
