The New Jersey Devils continue to struggle and have now lost their last five games after dropping three straight on a horrendous road trip in which they lost to Winnipeg last Thursday, Buffalo on Saturday in a shootout, and Toronto last night.
After earning only one point in the shootout loss to Buffalo on the road trip, the Devils have now won only two in their last ten games. With Martin Brodeur injured, Johan Hedberg has been carrying the load in goal and his play has been sub-par.
Other problems include the special teams as the power play continues to struggle and is 0-for-17 in the last five games. Their last power-play goal was Ilya Kovalchuk’s 5-on-3 winner against Washington on February 21.
“Sure there’s frustration,” Devils coach Pete DeBoer said. "I think the last two nights we've held the other team to 23, 22 shots on the road. We’re getting a couple goals a game. When you don’t get rewarded for trying to do the right thing with wins, it gets frustrating.”
David Clarkson hasn't scored a goal in eight games after starting the season with 10 goals in the first 14 games. Kovalchuk has no goals and one assist over the last four games. Patrik Elias has no goals and one assist in the last five games. Travis Zajac has just four goals and two assists on the season and only two goals and two assist in the last 20 games. Adam Henrique has just one goal and one assist in his last 10 games.
“I don’t know what it is,” Clarkson said. “I don’t consider myself a scorer that’s going to score every night. I don’t know. I’m getting the chances, but not finding the back of the net. I’ve just got to find a way to keep putting it on net and, hopefully, it goes in here soon.”
The Devils were outscored 3-0 in the third period on Monday night and have been outscored 12-2 in the third periods of the last five games as they have had trouble holding leads late in the game.
New Jersey looks to get back on track and avoid a six-game losing streak as they return to the Prudential Center tonight for a 7 p.m. match-up against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Tampa Bay has also lost their last five games. Head coach Pete DeBoer has not yet revealed the starting goaltender for tonight's game.
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