Canadiens @ Devils: Game preview and how to watch
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Jan 17, 2024; Newark, New Jersey, USA; Montreal Canadiens left wing Juraj Slafkovsky (20) skates with the puck against the Montreal Canadiens during the third period at Prudential Center. | Credit: Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports
Start time: **2:00 PM EST / 11:00 AM PST**In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)In the Devils region: MSGStreaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN
It’s the same old story for the New Jersey Devils in 2023-24. They have the offensive talent to compete with the league’s best, but just cannot keep the puck out of their own net. Despite drafting some very good forwards in recent years and acquiring others, their seasons get squandered by the lack of attention paid by management to the defensive side of the puck.
It’s true that they have good possession analytics, one of the top teams in shot-attempt and scoring-chance share, but when you look at the comparison between those opportunities and what actually gets through to the net, their standing slides. From sixth place in terms of five-on-five attempts against, they drop to 15th when looking at actual shots on target and the same for expected goals against. Teams make up for the lack of quantity they’re allowed with high-quality attempts.
A middle-of-the-pack defensive team has no chance of surviving the subpar goaltending it receives. None of the options in goal have a .900 save percentage, not even Nico Daws after a couple of rough nights over the past week, allowing 11 goals across two starts. It’s a tiresome storyline to mention every time you discuss the Devils, but it remains the greatest issue holding the team back.
Because of that substandard netminding, the Devils haven’t been able to put together a long winning streak of the kind that helps most playoff teams gain ground on rivals and provide a margin for error for the inevitable slumps during a season. New Jersey’s longest sequence of wins has been three in a row, and each of those four streaks was halted by a game in which they allowed at least four goals.
The amount of offensive firepower they’ve amassed allows them to get a few wins even when opponents score four; with a 3-5-2 record when that happens. They’ve even won on two occasions when giving up five. But it’s the sheer number of times that happens to them that can’t be overcome, On 26 occasions they’ve allowed at least four in 56 games, one more time than a rebuilding Montreal Canadiens team trying to get through a season with a young defence corps and some replacement-level forwards.
It could be just the team the Canadiens need to play to restore a bit of confidence. The power play has had issues setting up in the past couple of games, and Nick Suzuki and Juraj Slafkovský, red-hot heading into this week with 10- and eight-game point streaks, respectively, were held off the scoresheet in both games of the mid-week back-to-back. While some fans may want to see the losses accumulate, those games still need to see progression from the core members of the team, and the top trio making adjustments now that opposing clubs scout them thoroughly before games will be very helpful for next season.
