Devils In A Ruff Spot, Needing Adjustments To Get Back In Series
Lindy Ruff’s golden carriage has apparently turned into a pumpkin.
Out of nowhere, the Devils Head Coach, who hadn’t been behind the bench of a team that qualified for the playoffs since 2016, including the last two seasons in New Jersey, suddenly morphed into a wizard after losing the first two games of the regular season.
Where previously Ruff’s feel for the game appeared confounding and he either couldn’t get his players to buy into his system or the players didn’t have a clue how to execute it, this club got on a roll and finished off the most magical season in franchise history, setting records for wins and points. Yup, better than any of the Brodeur/Stevens teams.
Ruff would pull a goalie when behind and the team would rally. His lineup decisions often proved prescient and his in-game re-setting of lines would produce goals. The system engineered dominant puck possession and shot creation metrics.
Judging solely by how the first two games of this Devils/Rangers first-round playoff series has gone, however, with New York enjoying a pair of 5-1 routs on New Jersey’s home ice, the fairy dust seems to have dissipated.
It’s not that the Devils haven’t been able to match their opponent’s physicality, which is how many of the lazy analysts are putting it. If Jack Hughes is laying people out with checks, you know the Devils have been bringing an appropriate level of grit.
No, where New Jersey has been getting beat the most has been on special teams, the areas where coaching most matters. It’s easy to say, “Well, don’t take penalties.” That’s not how hockey is played. You have to be prepared to kill a few off every night, because, unless you’re in Carolina hosting the Islanders, you’ll find yourself down a man at some point.
New Jersey looked totally unprepared. In Games 1 and 2, the Devils inconceivably allowed Rangers power forward Chris Kreider to set up shop in front of goalie Vitek Vanecek virtually unattended. That’s madness, akin to ignoring Alex Ovechkin at the left circle or Wayne Gretzky behind the net. You’re just asking for trouble.
And the Devils are in trouble, thanks to Kreider’s four power play goals in the two games. Can the league’s second-best road team get back in the series starting with Saturday night’s Game 3 at Madison Square Garden? Sure, but it will require Ruff to drink some more of whatever elixir he found that worked wonders in the regular season.
It has to start with the net-front coverage on the penalty kill. On both of Kreider’s second period goals on Thursday night, the Devils defensemen were in poor positions, allowing Kreider to sneak behind for redirections. On the first, Ryan Graves was way too high trying to step up to block a shot by Rangers forward Patrick Kane, and then Graves’ partner John Marino didn’t move over to mark Kreider when Graves had to cover Kane walking into the slot from the right circle for the second goal.
It shouldn’t be so difficult to understand that whenever Kane or Rangers defenseman Adam Fox, who has already registered six assists (three on the power play) in this series, has the puck near the blue line, they are looking to funnel it to the goal. A Devils defenseman should immediately find Kreider and move him out. The other three penalty killers would be in a diamond, with a forward attempting to get into Fox’s lanes and the other two on the flanks to prevent one-timers. Having both defensemen starting the sequence at the bottom of the circles makes it impossible for one to protect the net front. When the puck moves down low, the two Devils on the wings have to move as well, or else Vanecek could be staring at a two-on-one by his crease.
The Devils have gotten away with leaving the net-front guy open all season, but give the Rangers credit for their personnel additions and executions that has given them opportunities to make Ruff’s system pay a heavy price.
Now the Devils have to adjust, and not just on the PK. Unfortunately, based upon Friday’s practice, Ruff might be doubling down on the configurations that have put his team in this hole. He benched defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler after Game 1, even though NaturalStatTrick.com recorded him being on the ice for just one of the Rangers’ five goals in 16:06 of ice time at all strengths and the Devils expected goals for percentage was nearly 60%, the best of any of their d-men. Instead, Ruff turned to veteran Brendan Smith, who appears to be keeping his lineup slot for Game 3, with Kevin Bahl coming out. Really? I guess we won’t see Luke Hughes until the Devils are down 0-3.
To be fair, Smith didn’t do much damage on Thursday—his first period penalty was killed off and he wasn’t on for any of the Rangers goals—but he brings nothing to the table in terms of the puck movement you need when playing from behind. Per NST, the Devils were outchanced during his 13:55 of even strength ice time.
And speaking of even strength, the Devils have yet to net a single five-on-five goal this series. Hughes converted a penalty shot in Game 1 and Erik Haula got to the crease to swipe in a loose puck while on Devils second unit power play on Thursday. Rangers goalie Igor Shesterkin has had to make a couple of 10-bell saves, but the Devils really haven’t tested him enough to say that he’s been the difference maker.
Again, the Rangers deserve credit for bottling the Devils up, especially after taking the lead in both games. However, there are things Ruff can do to jump-start the attack.
I know Ruff is waiting for wing Ondrej Palat’s Stanley Cup experience to assert itself, but he hasn’t produced all season, so it would be foolish to think he’ll start now. Playing top-six minutes mostly with the creative Hughes, Palat has gotten off one shot on net in two games. So where did Ruff have Palat during Friday’s practice? On the top line, with Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt. Timo Meier, meanwhile, has dropped back to the third line with Michael McLeod and Dawson Mercer, as if he’s just a mucker. Miles Wood, whose speed can change a game, appears to be on his way to the MSG skybox on Saturday after taking a pair of offensive zone penalties in the first two games. Curtis Lazar, another banger, seems likely to draw in.
Obviously, practice lines can be a ruse, but should the Devils line up this way on Saturday, it would be another sign that Ruff is nudging his club to play differently than from what was so successful in the regular season.
Where’s that fairy godmother when you need her?