Devils: “A lot of Not-Great Hockey”

New Jersey Devils played their second preseason game against the Washington Capitals and confirmed what we know about the team already, their defense isn’t where it needs to be. The 5-2 loss was notable, not because of the goals that were scored but how they were given away and how the team seemed to trip over themselves near their own goal.

“A lot of not-great hockey,” said head coach Stefan Keefe after the game. “We got run around a bit in our own zone. The second goal we had a complete mistake in our coverage in the neutral zone. There are some miscues there for sure but I think it was all a general product of we didn’t play hard enough.”

Keefe’s criticism is concerning given that the Devils have lofty expectations for the regular season. While preseason isn’t necessarily an indicator of what will happen when the games really count, there are trends that can be noticed and the Devils’ lack of defensive awareness is something that many scouts will be keeping an eye on.

What makes the scoreline even more worrisome is who they played. The Washington Capitals are a team still awaiting transition. At this point they are looking to get their star player, Alex Ovechkin, over the Wayne Gretzky goal-scoring mark but little else. Despite this, they appeared to be the faster team and played with more pressure and intensity.

The story wasn’t all bad however. The team did score on the power play, showing their dynamic attack when it matters most. Keefe was happy in that area and wants that intensity to continue as the team prepares for a game on Friday that will see a roster that is closer to the opening night squad.

“We ended up getting the reps that we needed in the third period,” said Keefe about his team’s power play efforts. “I thought those guys that were out there did a tremendous job in that area of the game tonight. That’s what we’ll pull away, other than to say that there’s certainly a lot of areas we have to clean up.”

The Devils will continue their preseason schedule on Friday against the Islanders at UBS Arena. After that it’s just two more games against the Rangers and Flyers before heading to Prague in the Czech Republic to open the season against the Buffalo Sabres. Both the team and coach know that there is still a substantial amount of work to do before than and hope to create that consistency starting on Friday.

“You don’t put together line-ups with the records or results in mind,” said Keefe. “When you’re behind the bench and you’re playing, you want to compete and you want to win. That said, the process of getting guys ready for the season physically is really what the preseason is about.”