New Jersey stumbled out the gate and was unable to mount a third-period comeback.
The night started with so much promise for the New Jersey Devils.
A young fan eagerly watched his favorite players partake in their pregame soccer ritual and got his hat and jersey signed by Nico Hischier, Alexander Holtz, and Nathan Bastian. His smile was as big as the guys who were laughing as the soccer ball swiftly moved from player to player.
Even though New Jersey managed to register the first shot on goal, and things appeared to be moving in the right direction, the first period unfolded in the same manner as the past two contests. The team was disconnected, unprepared, and heavily outworked by their opponent.
Sam Reinhart opened the scoring with his first goal of the night, a tip-in that got past Devils goaltender Vitek Vanecek. From there, it was all Panthers, with Carter Verhaeghe and Niko Mikkola also scoring.
The Devils' third-period comeback efforts would eventually fall flat as they were handed their first regulation loss of the season as they fell by a final score of 4-3. The result led to a disappointing locker room and one very angry head coach.
Lineup versus Florida
New Jersey
Timo Meier - Nico Hischier - Ondrej Palat
Tyler Toffoli - Jack Hughes - Jesper Bratt
Dawson Mercer - Erik Haula - Alexander Holtz
Tomas Nosek - Michael McLeod - Nathan Bastian
Jonas Siegenthaler - Dougie Hamilton
Kevin Bahl - John Marino
Brendan Smith - Luke Hughes
Vitek Vanecek
Florida
Evan Rodrigues - Aleksander Barkov - Sam Reinhart
Carter Verhaeghe - Eetu Luostarinen - Matthew Tkachuk
Nick Cousins - Anton Lundell - Justin Sourdif
Ryan Lomberg - Kevin Stenlund - Steven Lorentz
Gustav Forsling - Oliver Ekman-Larsson
Niko Mikkola - Dmitry Kulikov
Josh Mahura - Uvis Balinskis
Sergei Bobrovsky
Five Things
1. "Desperation Has To Be There"
"We need more desperation, more battle," head coach Lindy Ruff said. "It's something we talked about. It's something we didn't get. We had too many passengers in the first period."
The Devils knew the Panthers were going to play a desperate game. They began the contest with a 0-2-0 record and were looking for their first win. The writing was on the wall, yet the team suffered a second consecutive loss due to a sluggish start in the opening frame.
On Reinhart's opening goal, the Devils were outworked along the wall, and there was a lack of focus among the five players on the ice. New Jersey's work along the boards was sloppy, and it did not seem like they could make a play and get the puck out of their zone.
2. A Second Period Swap and Third Period Benching
Ruff made a change to his lineup to start the middle frame. Mercer rejoined the team's top line with Hischier and Palat, while Meier moved to the third line to play alongside Haula and Holtz.
By the third period, the lines were in a blender as Meier and Lazar only had one shift in the final frame while Bastian had two.
"You saw the line changes going into the third period (and) you saw the line changes going into the second period," said Ruff. "Again, we have to find a little more chemistry, and we got to find where we're generating offense. Sometimes you won't score, but the numbers right now for generating aren't aren't high enough in those first two periods."
"It's one thing if a line goes out and generates five or six chances, but the goaltender makes unbelievable saves," the head coach continued. "It's another thing not to generate anything, and we're not generating anything. It's like pounding a square peg in a round hole. It's not going to work."
3. Undisciplined Play will Result in A Shortened Bench
New Jersey has taken 17 penalties through three games, the third-most in the league. Against the Panthers, Meier took consecutive tripping penalties in the second period.
"You can't take the penalties he took," said Ruff. "We talked about not taking penalties."
During his postgame press conference, a frustrated Ruff was asked how he gets his players to stop taking undisciplined penalties. Without hesitation, he said, "Don't play them when they take penalties."
His team has been warned.
4. Bratt Extends Multi-Point Game Streak
The Swede earned another multi-point game thanks to his goal and assist on Erik Haula's first of the season. Bratt has done it all since signing his $63 million extension. He is contributing offensively, playing on the penalty kill and entering last night's game, had six hits, which at the time was second-most on the team behind Kevin Bahl.
5. Thoughts on Brendan Smith
Like his team, veteran defenseman Smith struggled. Before Verhaeghe's goal, the puck bounced, and Smith could not cleanly get control before finding it in the back of his net.
In addition to benching Meier and Lazar, the coaching staff decided to sit Marino, one of the team's most reliable defensemen. The decision to bench one and not the other led many to question why Smith seemingly got a free pass to continue to play.
Hockey is a game of mistakes. Every time a goal is scored, an error is made somewhere on the ice. Making mistakes while still competing is different than being a passenger and not playing with the level of desperation the coaching staff wants to see.
"I saw guys skate right through us in the neutral zone," said Ruff. "(We) didn't get in front of people (and) didn't angle people. Small details that led to opportunities by (Florida)."
While it's easy to hone in on the glaring mistakes, it's just as important to look at the small details and level of compete a player is showcasing throughout a game.