Devils Season Ends in Heartbreaking Fashion

The New Jersey Devils season has come to an end in Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. New Jersey was defeated 3-2 in overtime in Game 5 by the Carolina Hurricanes on a goal by Jesper Fast. The Hurricanes are off to the Eastern Conference Final for the first time since 2019.

This was by far the best effort the Devils have shown in this series. The Devils kept things simple and hoped to keep their incredible season going. Unfortunately, a comeback was not in the works. Early into the overtime session, Jonas Siegenthaler took a penalty for delay of game for shooting the puck over the glass.

As time wound down, Jesperi Kotkaniemi got a shot off and was deflected by Fast, who was standing right in front of Akira Schmid. Thus ending the incredible season for the Devils. It is definitely heartbreaking a heartbreaking way to end a team’s season on that penalty, but the Devils can keep their heads high for pulling off the season they did. It is something to build on going forward.

The effort in Game 5 was there after a poor performance in Game 4. But New Jersey continuously shot themselves in the foot. The story of this game was missed opportunities.

“We got our looks, but it just wasn’t enough,” said Jack Hughes post-game. 

With the Devils up 2-1 in the second period, Timo Meier, who already had a goal in the game, had an opportunity to give the Devils a two-goal lead heading into the 2nd intermission. Instead, Meier misses the open net. Whether he was shooting or passing to a driving Jack Hughes is up for debate. But the Devils needed a goal there.

Moments later Carolina went down the rink to tie the game on Brent Burns‘s second goal of the season. New Jersey had been dominating the game for about a nine-minute stretch. That goal would have been huge. Instead, that miss became the turning point of the game and the series.

However, the real turning point of the series was in Game 4. That is where the Devils stopped playing in a 5:20 minute stretch where the Hurricanes scored four goals putting Game 4 out of reach. New Jersey showed no heart or championship mentality in the third period to give the Hurricanes something to question.

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However, in this game, the Devils did not get frustrated. The players did not hang their heads unlike in the previous games. New Jersey had opportunities in the third period to regain the lead. But they just could not cash in.

It is just amazing the Devils could not put this type of effort in Games 1 through 4. But that is a growing and learning experience. Whether Hughes wants to believe it or not, the Devils are an inexperienced group at this time of year.

“I don’t think it matters about a young team or whatever, they just played better than us,” Hughes continued. “We’re a competitive group and we wanted to go deeper.” 

The Hurricanes showed the Devils what it takes to win in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. It takes a 60-minute effort night in and night out. There are no nights offs. Players have to make sacrifices to make sure the job gets done. It has to be a total team effort. Those same players have to step up with the game on the line.

“A lot of guys now realize, oh wow, playoffs are a different beast,” said head coach Lindy Ruff. “Hard to get there even harder to move on.” 

Not competing in three of the five games hurt the Devils in Round 2. That is what Carolina did better than New Jersey. In addition, the Hurricanes got scoring from everyone in their lineup as they frustrated the Devils at every turn. The Devils top players were nowhere to be found outside of Hughes, Mercer, and Meier. Meier more so towards the end of the series.

Carolina has been in this position before. This group of Devils players have not been here before. Outside of a couple of players, the team brought in. But as the old saying goes, a team has to learn to lose before it can win. The Devils got that lesson in losing.

Extending the series just was not in the cards for the Devils. The Devils had to put forth the effort they did in Game 5 earlier in the series. But that is the inexperience of a young group dealing with success.

While the Devils players are disappointed after a heartbreaking loss, when they look back on the season, they should see it as a success. That is hard to do after losing in overtime in Round 2 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

But as the Devils season comes to an end it can be viewed as a success, with a bright future ahead.