Sheldon Keefe had a strong message for his team after they snapped their five-game winning streak on Tuesday.
The New Jersey Devils had dropped five games in a row, the most this season, and were in need of a win.
The Devils defeated the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday, maintaining pressure throughout. Following the game, head coach Sheldon Keefe passed along a message about the team's perseverance.
"Fellas, when you're trying to come out of it, when things haven't been going your way, it's not going to be easy," Keefe said. "You're going to have to grind to find your way through. I wouldn't have asked for it to go any differently, for us to battle, compete like that all the way to the end ... All those battles at the end, that's how you turn it. That's how you turn it, right? You just take it and compete."
He continued by complimenting Devils goaltender Jacob Markstrom, who had an incredible performance after struggling for a couple of games. Markstrom had 35 saves and earned a .921 save percentage.
“I actually think that the harder [the Senators] came to the net, the harder Mark[strom] played. I don’t know if there is a greater competitor that we have than Marky," Keefe said of his netminder. "So you start going hard to the net like that, he’s going to be that much more engaged in the game and competing. I thought it was great, the way he stood his ground in those moments, but also just dug in and helped our team get the two points.”
Keefe has been with the Devils since May 2024. He joined the team after spending five seasons as head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, from 2019-20 through 2023-24.
The Devils have a record of 59-45-8 record since May 23, 2024, when Keefe was hired.
With the losing streak finally behind them — and a strong message from their coach delivered — the team now has a chance to resume their playoff push tonight against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
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