New Jersey Devils
Sheldon Keefe Uninterested in Discussing Hit on Devils Star, Lack of Response
Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak laid a big hit on Devils star Jesper Bratt. There was no response from his teammates, and the Devils’ head coach was uninterested in discussing the play.
NEWARK — The New Jersey Devils continue to struggle on home ice. On Tuesday night, they were embarrassed by the Tampa Bay Lightning, losing 8-5 in regulation. The effort on home ice has been publically noted by the Devils’ head coach who has summed it up as “not enough” with a 1-2-1 record at the Prudential Center. It felt a lot like the turning point of Tuesday’s game was in the second period as the result of a big hit on Jesper Bratt. However, Sheldon Keefe was uninterested in that opinion.
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The Devils held a 2-1 lead in the middle frame following a goal by Timo Meier 50 seconds in. Shortly after, the puck made its way below the Lightning’s goal line, where Jesper Bratt pursued a puck battle. Lightning defenseman Erik Cernak laid a big, clean hit on the Swedish forward. The hit collected an audible gasp from Devils fans in the stands.
The result of the hit?
Nothing. Nada. Zilch.
Ondrej Palat and Jack Hughes continued to play the puck despite some whistles. Dougie Hamilton and Brenden Dillon were too far to pursue revenge on the play before the referee’s got things under control.
After some post whistle conversations, the Lightning proceeded to score five unanswered goals, negating the Devils’ lead and ultimately propelling them to victory.
When asked, Sheldon Keefe explained he didn’t think the hit on Bratt had an impact on the momentum that favored Tampa Bay.
“No, [the hit] had nothing to do with the game,” Keefe responded. “I don’t think that affected why they scored so many goals.”
New Jersey Hockey Now followed up on the idea that Cernak’s hit on Bratt might have swung momentum in Tampa Bay’s direction. Not a single Devil responded, and they appeared to deflate. Still, Keefe remained uninterested in that idea.
“We just gave up eight goals. Come on, let’s talk about hockey,” Keefe demanded to the follow-up question.
To a point, Keefe is right about the Devils lacking functionality on the ice.
However, there’s little doubt that the Devils folded following the hit, hence the five goals that followed in the ensuing 10 minutes.
According to Dillon, the Devils can match the physicality. In fact, he alluded to having asked Cernak to fight as a response to the hit, yet was denied.
“Yeah, I mean obviously we know we’re a physical team too. We’ve got big guys,” Brenden Dillon explained. “At the point in time of the game, the puck goes the other way and the game is still going on. You could ask for a fight right after that, but if they say no, you gotta just keep playing hard and try to inflict the physicality on the next shift and try and make them react to you.”
Clearly, the hit on Bratt wasn’t the only reason why the Devils lost in a game where they scored five goals. However, there’s also no denying that had there been a bit of push back, the Devils might have severed the momentum that led to five ensuing goals.
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