Devils Paying Heavy Price For Casual Puck Misplays—And Ruff Needs To Hold Players Accountable
In Tuesday night’s important Metropolitan Division contest against visiting Philadelphia, Devils star center Jack Hughes dished out three assists.
Unfortunately, two of them went to Flyers’ sticks, with the final one leading to Owen Tippett’s goal that gave Philly a 3-2 overtime victory.
It was a lazy backhand pass at his own blue line that was intended for his brother Luke in the 3-on-3 event that Jack Hughes normally dominates. Only Tippett stepped between them and then walked in on a breakaway. Goalie Vitek Vanecek was beaten between the legs and the Devils lost for the first time in four overtime decisions this season.
A Hughes turnover with New Jersey nursing a 1-0 lead early in the second period also set up Philly’s first score. From deep in his own zone, Hughes sent a pass up the middle of the ice that was intercepted by Flyers center Ryan Poehling. A nifty give-and-go with Joel Farabee put the puck back on Poehling’s stick for the one-timer.
It’s not like these boneheaded decisions by the Devils’ best player have been outliers. There have been way too many others this season that have either directly led to goals against or near-misses. Vanecek bailed out another Hughes misplay during the second period.
The official NHL recordkeeping on the stat can’t be trusted—I once received a mid-game stat sheet that listed zero giveaways by either club during a period of action, which is beyond belief if you’ve ever watched a hockey game—and it’s natural for players who carry the puck a ton to register the most giveaways.
And I want to emphasize, Hughes can be spectacular with the puck on his stick. He creates offense as well as anyone in the league, and that includes Edmonton’s three-time Hart Trophy winner Connor McDavid. Hughes’ secondary assist on Jesper Bratt’s second period power play goal was his 24th of the season in 25 games. The five games he missed due to an upper body injury probably cost Hughes a shot at the NHL scoring title, but he was third in the league at 1.54 points per game coming into the game, trailing only McDavid and Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov. All three of those All-Stars, by the way, are also in the top 10 in giveaways per 60 minutes (minimum 15 games played).
Still, some mistakes are more egregious than others. It’s one thing to lose a puck trying to make something happen going to the opposing net; it’s quite another to throw blind passes in the defensive half of the ice. The golden rule should be: You’re allowed to be creative in the offensive zone, but play with minimal risk in the defensive half of the ice.
Hughes, though, has been scampering about as if he’s exempt from all rules. It can be fun when he conjures something magical; not so much when the opponent gets in the way.
It also begs the question. Where’s the coaching?
In his postgame press conference, Devils Head Coach Lindy Ruff didn’t initially call out Hughes by name when lamenting his club’s “puck management” troubles. Someone finally offered a question about, you know, the game-changing plays where his superstar let the team down. On what he said to Hughes, Ruff replied, “I think Jack knows. I don’t really have to say anything…There’s an amount of rope that Jack needs to operate and he’s the type of guy who can make special plays.”
Ruff then mentioned that Hughes, who is still just 22, is a young player who needs to learn. Only it doesn’t appear that he’s learning such an important lesson. He’s making as many, if not more, of the same errors he made last season.
Only then the Devils were a juggernaut at five-on-five. They dictated so much of the action that they could diffuse each particular puck management misplay. The team and Hughes went on to set records for total points in a season and reached the second round of the playoffs for the first time in 11 years.
That hasn’t been the case in the first third of the 2023-24 campaign. With a youthful defense and substandard goaltending, the Devils are likely to be in a dogfight just to get to a playoff seed. They can no longer afford to play so casually.
The fact that they have been doing it more often at home has put their fans on edge. New Jersey (16-12-2) has won just six of 15 matches at Prudential Center after dropping the first two games of a five-game home stand that will continue on Thursday against Edmonton.
The bleeding will only stop if Ruff demands it and holds players accountable, especially his top ones. Let’s not forget that Ruff went from the hot seat to a Jack Adams Coach of the Year candidate last season in the blink of an eye. A return trip can always be put back on the table if this continues.