Shootout Joke Continues For New Jersey Devils With No End In Sight
By Nick Villano
@nick_villano
Getty Images
The New Jersey Devils played toe-to-toe with one of the best team in the Western Conference on Friday night. The Dallas Stars came into the Prudential Center with points in five of six games. They are the measuring stick the Devils want to compare themselves to.
The Devils were in the game up until it went to a shootout. It seems almost comical at this point, but once overtime ends, the Devils basically take their point and go home. The Stars have major shooters Jason Spezza, Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin. The Devils haven’t won a shootout against anyone since March 15, 2013. They weren’t going to win this one. The loss is the Devils third at home, keeping them winless in New Jersey on the season.
The Devils undoubtedly have more skill than they did last season. Not only did they add Marty Havlat and Cammalleri, they seem to be getting better contributions from Michael Ryder and Damien Brunner. There is no way that the team will go an entire season without a shootout win again, but Friday brought back really bad memories.
The team doesn’t have time to dwell on the loss. They play the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night. They haven’t played many games thanks to the terrible incident that happened at Parliament Hill this week. They will most likely be motivated to be back on the ice after such a stressful week off of it. It will be one full week without hockey, and they are going to be chomping at the bit to get back on the ice.
The shootout woes are going to be an ongoing joke until the Devils win one. Everytime they lose one, it becomes a negative headline. Every single shootout the team is involved in makes the next press conference even harder. They have lost 18 straight shootouts. Cory Schneider played a heck of a game. Brunner finally broke out and scored. Eric Gelinas played well on the blue line. Nobody will care about that.
They will only talk about another shootout loss. That will not stop until the losses stop.
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