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Devils’ Keefe looking for more from top players amid four-game losing streak
With the New Jersey Devils currently on a four-game winless streak after Sunday’s loss to the Ottawa Senators, head coach Sheldon Keefe is looking for more from his top players.
With the New Jersey Devils currently on a four-game winless streak after Sunday’s loss to the Ottawa Senators, head coach Sheldon Keefe is looking for more from his top players.
“Our best players have to be better. It’s that simple. End of statement,” Keefe told reporters after the Devils fell 2-1 to the Senators.
Three of the Devils’ four consecutive losses were by one goal, and one was by two. Prior to Sunday’s loss, they were beaten 3-1 by the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, 4-3 in overtime by the Maple Leafs on Thursday and 2-1 in a shootout by the Panthers on Tuesday.
Among the Devils’ top eight scorers this season, only one has registered a point in the past two games.
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Jack Hughes, who leads the team in goals and points and is tied for the lead in assists, recorded a goal and two assists against the Maple Leafs but went without a point in the team’s other three losses this week.
Jesper Bratt recorded one assist over that span, Nico Hischier had three assists and Timo Meier had two. Dougie Hamilton and Stefan Noesen each scored once, while Dawson Mercer and Ondrej Palat were held pointless.
“I met with those guys today before the game. There are some things structurally they can do better, and I thought they were better certainly in the first period in that area. That’s part of it. The other part of it is that they’ve got to execute. These are elite, elite players. There’s times when there’s pucks available, plays available, shots available that they’re just not converting right now, but they will. It’ll come back around,” Keefe said when asked if there’s something he can say to his top players or if it’s up to the players themselves to discuss.
“Any team in the NHL, if their top people aren’t clicking and producing, the games look like that — it’s 0-0, it’s 1-1, it’s 1-0. That’s what the games look like when you defend. We’ve done a good job, we’ve defended well, so that’s going well, but you don’t get to two, three, four (goals) unless your best people are clicking, and that’s on me to help those guys get back to the level they were at.”
The Devils (26-17-6) currently sit second in the Metropolitan Division, third in the Eastern Conference and eighth in the league overall.
“It is an 82-game season, there’s lots of hockey left to be played, and I believe we’ll be better. We’ve got elite players, and once they get clicking, we’ll be rolling again,” added Keefe.
“When your best guys are really clicking, all at the same time, it looks unbelievable, and you’re probably thinking you’re better than you are. And then, when they’re all not going at the same time, you probably look worse than you are. That’s just kinda the reality of it, and once these pucks start falling and guys can loosen up on their sticks a little bit and make some more plays, things will come together.”
