New Jersey Devils Need To Look Forward After Blowout Loss To Pittsburgh Penguins

By Nick Villano @nick_villano on October 29, 2014

At one point, the New Jersey Devils had a 3-1 lead against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Seven straight goals later, and the Devils come out of Tuesday night’s game completely embarrassed at Consol Energy Center.

Seven of the eight goals came from different Penguins. Cory Schneider was terrible. There is no other way to say it. He couldn’t stop anything. While all the goals weren’t his “fault,” there is no night where five goals should be scored on him in two periods. He only saw 23 shots, and five hit the back of the net.

The penalty kill was God awful once again. The worst PK in the league got even worse after allowing three more power play goals.

There were a lot of factors as to why this game went so badly. Schneider probably needed a break after playing every game this season. Like was said before, the PK is still a major issue. The team was playing without their best offensive player Mike Cammalleri. The defense made numerous mental mistakes. The puck hit the post three times in the first 30 minutes, which could have hurt the Devils’ confidence despite three early goals. They are at the tail end of yet another road trip.

Despite the awful result, the Devils cannot dwell on this game. They return home for the first time this week. The Winnepeg Jets come into the Prudential Center with only eight points. The Devils need to win the games where they play a lesser team. As long as Ondrej Pavelec is in net, the Devils are better than the Jets.

The team did get goals from unlikely players. Dainius Zubrus got the scoring started very early, putting New Jersey up by one just nine seconds into the game. Jacob Josefson scored his first of the season shorthanded. Tuomo Ruutu scored to give the Devils a 3-1 lead. The final score ended up being 8-3.

The team should just attribute this loss to letting the game get away from them. It isn’t the end of the world. It is one game against a team that can score in bunches when you give them the chance. The Devils just need to shake this one off, and come to play this Thursday.

Nick Villano is the New Jersey Devils writer for Rant Sports.  He also adds to the site’s NBA, MLB and NFL content.  You can follow him on Twitter or add him to your Google circle.