The New Jersey Devils made franchise history by going two consecutive games without a single penalty—an unprecedented feat for the team.
Despite this record, the Devils lost to the Islanders on Tuesday and to the Sabres on Sunday. Tuesday night brought another record for the Devils. In their game against the Sabres, neither team incurred a single penalty—the first such occurrence since March 11, 2023.
Making history and breaking records has not distracted from the team’s offensive struggles, which have ultimately overshadowed these accomplishments. Though the Devils achieved two records, they have now dropped two straight games as they head into the holiday break.
Tuesday's loss ended in brutal fashion. With just one minute left against the Islanders, Adam Pelech scored the game-winning goal, resulting in a 2-1 win and sending the Devils home in regulation instead of overtime.
After the game, Brett Pesce spoke candidly to NJD.tv about the final minute of play, not hesitating to share his thoughts.
"Kind of unacceptable not to take that to overtime," Pesce said. "Can’t give up a three-on-two. It’s that simple.”
Jesper Bratt agreed with Pesce.
“I think we are capable of a lot more,” Bratt said to NJD.tv. “We’ve been working on it, we’ve been talking about it, and I think the intentions in practice have been great; it just hasn’t really unfolded in game time. I think just because it doesn’t go our way right now doesn’t mean we need to change everything; there’s still a process working on it, and these things will start clicking. For us, today wasn’t one of them.”
Scoring only two goals in the past two games has proven problematic for the Devils, as offensive performance remains a persistent struggle.
Addressing these issues, head coach Sheldon Keefe shared his thoughts on the team's ongoing scoring slump.
“It’s a tight game, and when you don’t score, the margin for error is quite small,” Keefe said to NJD.tv. “Ultimately, you make a couple of mistakes that end up in our net, you know, that’s the way it’s been going.”
It isn’t just two games, though. The Devils have scored two or fewer goals in their past seven games.
Several forwards have returned from injuries, but the team can’t seem to find a way to win. The team is currently in sixth place in the Metropolitan Division, and unless they find a way to win, they will continue to slide down the standings.
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