As the New Jersey Devils continue their preseason before taking off for Prague next week, new head coach Sheldon Keefe would like to see some aspects of the game improved.
The Devils lost 4-2 to the New York Islanders on Sunday night in their first preseason game. However, there was some good the Devils could take out of that game. The Devils looked like an up-tempo team that controlled play with their speed and moved the puck in transition. For the most part, the Devils controlled the pace of the game, which really impressed Keefe after several hard days of training camp.
“I really like our start. I thought through 30 minutes, there’s lots to like there,” Keefe said. “I think what we’ll be able to pull lots out of the out of that portion of the game that looks the way we wanted it to. So, some plays in our defensive zone we need to cleanup. I thought it was a little bit too easy to get to our net in portions of that first period, but there was also lots of really good things there. I thought when we were fresh, there’s a number of good things that we’ll pull out of the game.”
Devils Will Give Kevin Labanc Every Chance to Make the Roster
However, some things needed to be cleaned up, especially in the defensive zone. With back-to-back games on Tuesday and Wednesday, the Devils new head coach hopes the mistakes in Game 1 are cleaned up with such a short preseason for this main group.
“I thought in the back half at the game, I thought we showed signs of fatigue, which I guess is somewhat expected at this time of the season,” Keefe said. “I thought it was a little bit too easy to get to our net, and I thought what we really gave up in the second half of the game was generally the result of a lot of either poor decisions or just just sloppy execution when plays with the puck. So not necessarily defensive pieces, but things that are happening when we’re we’re caught turning the puck over. So those are things we’ll talk about, for sure, especially in that second period.”
Despite the new defensive pieces and goaltender on the roster, the players are experiencing an adjustment period. They are learning a brand new system, and it takes time. There is only so much they can learn in practice before translating it to the ice. But that is why there is preseason hockey. It may take a little longer for the Devils to adjust, as Jesper Bratt told the media after Game 1 of the preseason.
“It’s a process, it’s a lot of new information,” Bratt said. “It’s a system that’s a little different and this just the fourth day of really hard working days. It’s a long process. We know it’s not going to work perfectly from Day 1, there’s some kind of work that goes into it over time that makes it a lot better.”
However, the season is a marathon, not a sprint, and the players know that. There are plays in a game that just come with understanding situational awareness. It is a learning process, and that will come with the more games and practices this team has under new head coach Sheldon Keefe.
“I think there’s obviously some situations that you can tell we’re not really 100% game ready with some awareness stuff that kind of cost us some goal, and that’s it’s a learning process for us, and we’re going into to the next day with more stuff to learn and chance to get better,” Bratt said.
There were many positives from the Devils’ first preseason game. The best thing was that the mistakes could be worked on as the players adjusted to a new system.
“For me, I wanted to just be able to pull some things out of the game, Keefe said. “Both positive and look like it’s supposed to, and then you want some lessons also. And I think we got some of that, too.”
New Jersey Devils Head Coach Sheldon Keefe Wants Team to be Relentless
The Devils will play two games this week. One group will play against the Canadiens on Tuesday night in Montreal, and another will play against the Washington Capitals on Wednesday night. Each game will allow the Devils to show signs of improvement as they march to their regular season opener in Prague on October 4th against the Buffalo Sabres.
