New Jersey Devils
Stefan Noesen Calls Out Devils After Another Ugly Loss, ‘We Have to Figure This Out’
After another ugly loss, this time to the Golden Knights, Stefan Noesen calls out the Devils. ‘We have to figure this out.’
NEWARK—It’s no secret that the New Jersey Devils have not played well since returning from the holiday break. After another ugly loss on Thursday, Stefan Noesen sat in his stall clearly dispirited.
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The Vegas Golden Knights routed the Devils to a 3-1 loss, nearly a shutout, as it took New Jersey over 55 minutes to register their first goal of the game.
In fact, they only registered nine shots through the opening 40 minutes of the game, as opposed to Vegas’ 24.
Since Dec. 27th, the Devils are 7-8-3 with a minus-1 goal differential in that span.
Whereas they were dominant leading up to Dec. 23rd for the better part of November up to the holiday season, that team hasn’t presented itself consistently in 18 games.
Stefan Noesen was able to sum up what the Devils are lacking in just one word.
“Care.”
That was Noesen’s response when asked what it’s going to take to get the message through to the Devils.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe didn’t necessarily agree with noun Noesen chose.
“I don’t like that word, because that implies the players don’t care, they do care, but they have to learn to grow,” Keefe said.
So what did Noesen mean?
“More that we care about each other, and more that we care about winning games and taking care of the puck. Live to fight another day, sometimes that’s a win. The simple message for me is we just need to show a little more energy, a little more care,” Noesen explained passionately. “You know, don’t care whatever I do. Care more about the next person. It’s a trickle-down effect. It starts with our big boys, and it goes all the way down the line. It doesn’t matter who you are.”
Vegas is a team that is known to be difficult to transition the puck against. They clog the neutral zone and limit the opposition on offense with their heavy style of play.
It’s what won them a championship two summers ago, and although they’ve been going through their own struggles, it’s what has them pegged as a Stanley Cup contender again this season.
“Yeah, that’s a playoff team right there,” Noesen said. “That’s the bar, that’s the standard. We had times when we were okay enough, but okay, is not good enough. So hopefully we can learn from this and understand this is what it takes to win. [It was a] tight forechecking game, we were doubled in shots. [We were] just a little too cute. Actually, way too cute. [At] some point, we have to figure this out.”
Coming from the Carolina Hurricanes, Noesen understands what it’s like to play in a dedicated, structured system like Rod Brind’Amour’s. Keefe implements an equally tough system that’s proven to be successful in his tenure as a head coach.
It’s not quite the postseason yet, but against the best of the best, they bring it every night. The Devils felt that against Vegas on Thursday, and thinks New Jersey is still looking for that consistency.
“That’s playoff hockey. It’s a forechecking game. Shit, I mean, you see the best teams in the world that sit there and play [playoff hockey]. The Vegas’, the Carolinas. It’s out of your zone, it’s in their zone, it’s going to town, and it’s working. It’s going hard. And there are times to use your skill, and there are times to live to fight another day, and I don’t think we understand what the difference is yet.”
The Devils head up to Montreal on Saturday to play their last game before the two-week 4 Nations break. They’re hoping to rest and recover, and when they return, to look more like their pre-holiday selves. The good news is they plan to have Nico Hischier back, and shouldn’t be far from getting Jacob Markstrom, either.
However, in order to get back to their winning ways, Noesen explained the Devils need to be okay with playing the right way, as opposed to the cute way.
“That’s playoffs, you make a mistake, and it’s in the back of your net, and that can’t happen,” Noesen finalized. “You need to be okay with living to fight another day. It’s part of the game. We want to set ourselves out to be a playoff team. That’s where it starts, you know, being okay with that. Being okay with not having a lot of shots, when you get your chance to bury it, you have to bury it.”
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