Devils Continue to Struggle After Olympic Break

The New Jersey Devils were not a good hockey team heading into the Olympic break.

The team was struggling in every facet of the game and looked like a team that was focused on getting time off rather than on heading into the break in a positive manner. That is why the Devils looked all out of sorts heading into the break.

Unfortunately, it does not look like much has changed for the Devils coming out of the break. The team lost to 2-1 to the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday night, February 25, and lost 4-1 to the Pittsburgh Penguins last night.

If you are counting at home, that is two straight losses and a team that was outscored 6-2 in said losses. With the two losses, the Devils are now 7th in the Metropolitan Division, 15th in the Eastern Conference, and 26th in the NHL with a record of 28-29-2 for 58 points.

To make matters worst, the Devils have lost five straight games, and seven of eight overall. Based on their two last games, it is easy to see why this team is still struggling.

For starters, this team still cannot put the puck in the net. As of this writing, the Devils are 31st in the league in goals scored as they have scored 145 goals in 59 games, which means they are averaging just over two goals per game (2.46).

While the Devils have players who can put the puck in the net, they are not able to do so on a regular basis. Players such as Nico Hischier (19 goals), Timo Meier (15), Jesper Bratt (13), Cody Glass (13), Dawson Mercer (13), Jack Hughes (12), and Connor Brown (10), all need to do a better job of putting the puck in the net.

The Devils also continue to struggle with shot selection. They are currently sixth in the league in shots per game (29.6), and yet are second to last in the league in goals scored.

This means that they have not done a good job of getting quality scoring chances, going to the hard areas to put the puck in the net, and are keeping things to the outside. When you put these three things together, you have a team that is not shooting the puck from the areas that lead to goals being scored.

Goaltender Jacob Markstrom also continues to be a problem for the Devils. After allowing allowing three goals in the team's loss to the Penguins, he is now 15-14-0-1 with a 3.20 goals-against average and a .884 save percentage.

At some point, the team is going to have to play Jake Allen more if they want to finish the season in a respectable manner. Allen is currently 12-15-0-1 with a 2.64 goals-against average, a .907 save percentage, and one shutout.

Lastly, it is clear that the team is not playing with a lot of confidence. After getting off to a strong start, they went into a tailspin after Jack Hughes got hurt and continued to spiral even after he returned.

The Devils are going nowhere fast, folks. Based on the way they have played this season and with the way the teams in front of them in the standings are playing, it looks like it is going to be yet another season in which they miss the Stanley Cup playoffs.