They say defense wins championships, and through their first three games, the Devils certainly looked like contenders, allowing just three goals on the way to a 3-0 start.
But in the last three games — all losses — they have allowed 11 goals, including four while on the penalty kill. In a 5-4 overtime loss to the Islanders on Thursday, New Jersey’s penalty kill allowed three goals on four chances, a surefire way to earn the wrath of a head coach.
“It wasn’t good,” Devils head coach Pete DeBoer said after practice Friday. “And that’s a credit to the Islanders. They have a very good power play — we knew that going in. We didn’t want to play with fire so to speak and we did and we got burnt.
“I don’t think its realistic not to take any penalties, but there’s some penalties in there that we should have avoided, and then when we did have the penalties, we got to do a better job.”
That needs to change starting today when the Devils play at the Penguins, who boast a more-than-formidable power play led by two of the best in the league: Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
“They have skilled players. We got to look at the videos. We got to make some adjustments that we need to make,” Daniel Zubrus said. “We don’t want to give them too many power plays to begin with. And then if that happens, we’ll make some adjustments and we’ll make it work.”
It’s no secret the Devils’ shorthanded play has been a strong suit for years. Last season, the Devils ranked No. 1 in penalty kill (89.6 percent) and scored a league-high 15 short-handed goals.
“It’s a big part of our game,” said Adam Henrique, who scored four short-handed goals last season and was a staple on the penalty kill. “Obviously last year it was a big part of it and it has to be again this year. That was the difference in the game [Thursday]. We just need to stay out of the box.”
Travis Zajac said he thought the problem wasn’t that the penalty kill was so bad, but rather, that the Islanders caught some breaks and bounces.
“I don’t think it is anything we have to change,” Zajac said. “I think they got a couple of bounces. We may have been out of position in a couple, but just little tweaks here and there. I don’t think it’s anything to panic about.”
The Penguins, coming off an impressive 3-0 shutout of the Rangers on Thursday, always present a tough challenge for the Devils, who have 14 games in 28 days this month.
“You’re going to deal with some sloppy hockey because of the circumstances of the schedule and the number of games,” DeBoer said. “I think the teams that can recognize an off night and manage it the best are the teams that are going to get points. We’ve got a veteran group and we should be able to handle those situations.”
* There will be some lineup changes today, though DeBoer didn’t say what they would be. He didn’t commit to dressing defenseman Adam Larsson, who played Thursday for the first time all season in place of an injured Mark Fayne. … Matt Anderson was sent down to Albany, meaning Stefan Matteau or Mathieu Darche could crack the lineup.