FIVE THINGS: Devils Fall to the Sharks, 6-3

On Friday night, in front of 16,528 fans, the New Jersey Devils were handed a 6-3 loss courtesy of the San Jose Sharks. Dawson Mercer, Jack Hughes, and Ondrej Palat scored for the Devils, while Jacob MacDonald (2), Anthony Duclair (2), Mikael Granlund, and William Eklund found the back of the net for the Sharks.

A familiar story unfolded as the Devils surrendered the game's first goal. With Simon Nemec on the ice for his first NHL shift, MacDonald scored his second goal of the season, a wrist shot that got past Devils netminder Akira Schmid.

What followed was a loss that can not solely be placed on one player. A glance at the shots, which were 47-18 in favor of New Jersey, would leave one to put 100 percent of the blame on the netminder, but shots can be a bit of a deceptive statistic. It will always come down to quality over quantity.

"In the (offensive) zone, we were too much on the outside, and that's not how you're going to score goals," Timo Meier said. "We have to do a better job getting inside and getting in front of the goaltender's eyes."

"I can reference a shift late in the second period where (Meier) was the guy I probably wanted net front, we had 40 seconds of (possession time), and not once did anyone go to the net front," head coach Lindy Ruff said.

The team's defensive struggles continued versus San Jose, as the mistakes were glaring and costly.

On the Shark's first goal, Meier lost the puck along the wall, and Jonas Sigenthaler and Nemec were caught on the same side, leading to MacDonald shooting into a wide-open net.

The second San Jose goal was a direct result of a Luke Hughes giveaway, and as MSG Networks in-game analyst Ken Daneyko said during the broadcast, "It's a high-risk play right in front of (his own) net."

New Jersey's third goal against started when Granlund stole the puck from Jack Hughes in the neutral zone. Nemec was the fourth player back in his zone, and Siegenthaler failed at his attempt to intercept the pass from Granlund to Duclair.

In the final frame, San Jose scored two more goals on Schmid. Ahead of their fourth goal, Kevin Bahl got caught, and Schmid's own giveaway led to Granlund celebrating his second goal of the season.

Now to the goaltending.

If a forward makes a mistake, the defense is there to bail them out. If the defense makes a mistake, the goaltender is there to bail them out. If the goaltender makes a mistake, it is a goal.

Plenty of Devils players made mistakes Friday night, including Schmid. The 23-year-old finished the game with a .706 save percentage, making 12 saves on 17 shots.

Schmid faced only three shots in the second period, two of which were goals. Goaltenders will be the first to say that the games where they see minimal shots are usually the hardest to play. It is not making an excuse. It is the reality that comes with the position.

After the game, Ruff said he would have liked to see his netminder, who played Thursday and Friday night, make a couple more stops.

"You got to get a save on one or two of those," Ruff said. "You have to get some timely saves. Were they bad goals? No. But you've got to get some timely saves."

The Devils have not been strong enough at the goaltending position through 22 games to make up for and frankly hide the team's deficiencies on defense, and that was the biggest takeaway from the Devils' 11th loss of the season.

1. Simon Nemec Made His NHL Debut

With Dougie Hamilton out indefinitely after having surgery on a torn left pectoral muscle, and Brendan Smith suspended for his slashing on Travis Konecny, Simon Nemec was recalled from the Utica Comets (American Hockey League).

"I felt good on the ice," Nemec said. "It was crazy. It felt like a normal day. Maybe it'll feel different tomorrow or the next day. I felt good on the ice and tried to enjoy this moment."

The 19-year-old collected the first two assists of his NHL career.

"If this first game is an indication, he handled the game well," Ruff said. "He skated in position. Didn't give up a lot. You've got to defend first. For a first game, I thought he handled it well."

Per Devils Pr:

- He became the third teenage defenseman in franchise history who earned a point in their respective NHL debut, joining Scott Niedermayer and Ken Daneyko.

- He became the ninth player in franchise history who recorded a multi-point game in their NHL debut, joining Will Butcher, Jesper Bratt, Pavel Zacha, Zach Parise, Mike Rupp, Scott Pellerin, Mitch Wilson, and Doug Buhr. Nemec is the second defenseman in franchise history who earned a multi-point game in their NHL debut.

- He logged 22:38 of ice time, which is the second most that a skater recorded in their NHL debut for franchise history (since TOI was tracked). Scott Gomez logged the highest total ice time for any player in franchise history during their NHL debut (Oct. 2, 1999, at ATL, 23:30).

2. Timo Meier Returned

In a game that has most likely been circled on his calendar, Meier returned to face his former team. He played a little over 21 minutes in his return and finished the game with five shots on Sharks' netminder Kaapo Kahkonen.

Meier had been skating on his own for the past several days but had not practiced with his team before returning to game action.

"I don't think (Meier) was up to speed yet," Ruff said. "I didn't like the first half of his game. I thought he skated better in the second half. ...It was nice to have him back, but I don't think he was anywhere near where his game could be."

3. 31 Blocked Shots

Kahkonen made 47 saves in his team's victory, including 23 in the third period. That number could have been much higher as his teammates blocked 31 shots in front of him. Mario Ferraro was credited with a team-leading nine.

For those who are curious, the Devils blocked ten shots in front of Schmid. John Marino was the lone defenseman with three.

4. Another Record for Jack Hughes

Per NHL Pr, "Jack Hughes recorded his 30th point and required the third-fewest games in a season to reach the mark among U.S-born players, behind only Pat LaFontaine and Kevin Stevens."

As Devils Pr pointed out, "He also required the fewest amount of games played to reach the 30-point benchmark for franchise history."

Per NHL Pr, "Hughes surpassed the benchmark of 21 games, to reach 30 points, set by Paul Gardner in the 1977-78 season."

5. "A Lack of Respect"

Friday night was not the first time media and fans have heard Ruff mention a "lack of respect" after his team's loss, as it has become a theme in the early goings.

After the team's disastrous 4-0 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Nov. 22, the Devils held a practice on Thanksgiving. That afternoon, Erik Haula provided a glimpse into some of the honest internal conversations that took place in the hours that followed their defeat in Motor City.

"It's just realizing we're not playing the game the right way; we've been arrogant and not respecting the game," Haula said, and it's cost us."

Ruff's full quote from his press conference Friday night: "Lack of respect with the puck on the goals. Puck management on the goals. Not respecting the game. Disappointing."