The New Jersey Devils are technically still in the playoff race. With 21 games left they sit 8 points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. While they do have two games in hand on the Bolts, they have been skidding a bit lately, losing their last two games and going 4-6 over their last 10 games. If they’re going to climb their way back into the playoffs, it will be with a different voice behind the bench as head coach Lindy Ruff was relieved of his duties on Monday.
Assistant coach Travis Green will take over the coaching duties on an interim basis. Just a year removed from a franchise record 52 wins and a first-round win over the New York Rangers, the Devils have yet to get things going this season. Offense hasn’t been a problem as they are averaging 3.31 goals per game, which is 9th in the league. Defense is another story as they are allowing 3.49 goals per game.
I’m not saying goaltending has been an issue, but they haven’t exactly helped:
| SV% | GA | GSAx | |
| Akira Schmid | .897 | 3.09 | -0.7 |
| Nico Daws | .887 | 3.47 | -6.23 |
| Vitek Vanecek | .890 | 3.18 | -10.67 |
Is the move a sign that the Devils are going to try and make a run? After all, if they were done with the season, why fire Ruff now (just a few months after signing him to a multi-year extension)? Perhaps those in charge think this change can spark a run over the last couple of months. After all, it’s not like the teams they’re chasing don’t have flaws.
If the Devils can get even reasonably average goaltending, either from someone on the roster or through a trade, they could easily leap frog the Islanders and Capitals. We, hear in Lightning Land, know all too well that the Bolts aren’t exactly locking things down, so they could be caught unless they dramatically change the way they play.
Other Hockey News
Coop’s Catch for Kids raises $200,000 for pediatric cancer research [Tampa Bat Lightning]
Since beginning the fishing charity charter in 2016, Coach Cooper and the Lightning have raised over $750,000 for pediatric cancer research and patient services. It also looks like it’s a good day for the Lightning to get off the ice and forget about hockey for a little while.
Even the Great One was there to help out.
Alex Wennburg held out for “trade-related” reasons [Davy Jones’ Locker Room]
Wennburg is a third-line center that can score a goal or two from time to time. The Rangers and Avs are supposedly interested in the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent. The Kraken are fading from playoff contention out west and need to open some spots off for youngsters like Shane Wright.
The hockey brawl that changed the NHL [The Athletic]
A brawl between the Senators and Flyers led to 419 penalty minutes and a league-wide rule change aimed at preventing end-of-game fights. The Athletic has an oral history of what went down on March 5, 2004.
32 Thoughts: A note on every team for deadline week [Sportsnet]
Yes, the Lightning talk is about Noah Hanifin (as well as some weird Marvin Hagler comparison. It really feels like Friedman is using a lot of filler in these reports recently). Still, it’s a decent read to see some of the other names that are being thrown out there.
Dylan Larkin out for two weeks [Winging it in Motown]
Holding off the Lightning just got a little tougher for the Red Wings as their captain will be off of the ice for about two weeks due to a lower-body injury.
A bounty on Connor Bedard [Dave and Adams Twitter]
Feeling lucky? Rip a pack of 2023-24 Series 2 Upper Deck and you could be a million dollars richer as Dave & Adams Card World is offering a bounty on the 1/1 Gold Outburst parallel of Bedard’s rookie card.
Finally….this was just fun to watch:
