New Jersey Devils
Devils Head Coach Responds to Viral Johnathan Kovacevic Criticism
Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe responds to his viral moment, criticizing Johnathan Kovacevic after a loss to the Senators.
NEWARK—Following another loss on Monday, this time in overtime, the New Jersey Devils’ head coach wasn’t pointing any fingers. However, he did acknowledge the viral moment he created over the weekend.
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Sheldon Keefe cut off a question in Saturday’s postgame media availability, with a scathing tone, after the Devils fell to the Ottawa Senators over the weekend.
They grabbed a point on their way to the shootout, but the Devils fell again on Monday. It could prove to be a beneficial point, or perhaps see them fall just short down the line.
Johnathan Kovacevic took three penalties through regulation. Fortunately for him, the Devils’ penalty kill was flawless. Yet, the obvious is that the Devils defenseman sat in the box thrice after some pointed criticism.
In response to both the viral moment, and Kovacevic’s play versus Vancouver, Keefe’s approach was far different.
“I thought Kovacevic was fine. Everybody wanted to make a big deal over that, and I get it,” Keefe explained to New Jersey Hockey Now. “It’s a viral world that we live in, but you know, Kovacevic was caught in the line of fire because of the question.”
In other words, Keefe ran hot after the loss to the Senators. The Devils head coach is essentially saying any name that was mentioned at that moment might have caught the same response.
Keefe clarified his intentions with the message he was trying to send on Saturday, explaining it’s not Kovacevic alone who can clean things up.
“The real message is that we need our players to stop talking in the generalities and just go out and play, do your job,” Keefe concluded. “We’ve got a lot of guys that can play better. Kovacevic is certainly one of them. Got some penalties here today, but those are unlucky, and unfortunate. He’s got to manage his stick. But he did his job and defended well for us.”
That message doesn’t fall on deaf ears. Timo Meier, who potted the game-tying and leading goal in the first and second period, was rightfully frustrated after leaving a point on the table. The Swiss forward has stepped up in the wake of injuries amid team-wide struggle. But even he can see settling for the loser point isn’t enough at this point of the season.
“At least we got one point, but it’s frustrating when you lose like that,” Meier said. “We gotta learn the hard lesson and move on and take the good stuff. Those little things that cost you a game at this time of year, we got to clean them up real quick. Like, right now.”
Still, the Devils are stumbling when it matters most.
They don’t want any more viral moments, with a handful of games left to play and the space between them and those chasing them getting tighter.
Monday’s tilt with Vancouver saw some good moments and some tough moments. They scratched and clawed for a point.
However, there are one of two ways a team can respond to a moment such as Saturday’s. They can either band together and lift each other up. Or, they can fold within themselves and let the season get away from them. With 10 games remaining on the regular season schedule, we’ll see which path they choose in short order.
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