If there’s one word to describe the Devils’ catastrophic 9-0 loss to the Islanders, it would be humiliation. They were embarrassed by the Islanders in a rivalry game on ESPN Plus. Imagine if it had been featured on the NHL on TNT. Good thing the higher ups selected the Maple Leafs and Panthers.

A couple of days removed from fans mercifully booing Luke Hughes every time he touched the puck in a 3-1 home loss to the Hurricanes due to two own goals by the struggling third-year defenseman, the Devils hit rock bottom in what was the worst shutout loss in nearly 40 years. The 9-0 defeat was the second time in franchise history they were held without a goal by such a wide margin.

A team featuring Jesper Bratt, Nico Hischier, and Jack Hughes somehow managed to match what the 1985-86 Devils did in a 9-0 loss at the Rangers on Mar. 31, 1986. At least there were some fights in the third period of that game. Instead of showing a backbone, they didn’t take a single penalty last night.

In fact, it was the Devils that drew the only three penalties. Fittingly, they went 0-for-3 on the power play. How bad was their performance? Only one player avoided being caught on for an Islanders goal. Rookie Arseny Grityuk is the answer to that trivia question. The rest of the 17 skaters all finished with minus ratings.

Astonishingly, they gave up all nine goals at five-on-five. Despite outshooting the Islanders 44-24, the Devils never beat Ilya Sorokin, who stopped 36 of the shots at even strength, with the other eight while shorthanded.

It was a night to forget for Jacob Markstrom, who remained in for all nine goals on 24 shots. How bad was he? Markstrom allowed goals on two of the first three shots he faced. By the time Anthony Duclair beat him for the second time on an identical shot, that made it three goals on five shots to put the Devils in a 3-0 hole before 14 minutes were played.

By the time Duclair completed his natural hat trick just 3:29 into the second period, it was painfully obvious where the game was headed. Even after Simon Holmstrom padded the Islanders’ lead to five, Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe never signaled for Jake Allen to come on for Markstrom.

With team president and general manager Tom Fitzgerald in attendance along with ownership, it was a clear message being sent from Keefe to management. It was Fitzgerald’s bright idea to extend an injury prone veteran goalie for two more years.

Despite a recent revival, Markstrom’s been one of the worst starters in the NHL. His 3.48 goals-against-average is tied with Sam Montembeault for the highest GAA among starters. The difference is that the Canadiens have played two other goalies, including top prospect Jacob Fowler to help Montembeault get a reset.

Unlike Markstrom, Allen’s been the much better netminder. In 21 starts, he has a 2.55 GAA and .913 save percentage with his 11 wins leading the Devils. By comparison, Markstrom has a lowly .878 save percentage with 10 wins in the same amount of starts with each appearing in 22 games.

The odd part is that they have Nico Daws down in Utica playing in the American Hockey League. Although he isn’t considered the goalie of the future, the 25-year-old Daws has performed well when called upon. In 2024-25, he went 3-1-0 with a 1.60 GAA and .939 save percentage. In his only start this season back on Oct. 22, he made 30 saves on 31 shots in a win over the Wild. Considering how poorly Markstrom’s played, there isn’t a good enough reason for the Devils to bring Daws up and go with three goalies.

Part of the problem is that due to all the contracts Fitzgerald gave out which included no-movement clauses for many players on the roster, including the declining Hamilton and the immovable Ondrej Palat, who has two goals and six assists in 43 games this season. Keefe still plays Palat in the top nine, and has used him on the top line with Hughes. A puzzling decision when despite giving an honest effort, the 34-year-old veteran is done. When the season concludes, he’ll be bought out with a year left on his contract.

As for Hamilton, he reportedly turned down waving his NMC with Fitzgerald looking to clear space to acquire Quinn Hughes. Instead, the Canucks traded him to the Wild, who had no such trouble fitting him in without having to play musical chairs. Hughes was so impressed with what Wild GM Bill Guerin did that he had the memorable quote praising Guerin for ‘sacking up.’ Since they traded for him, the Wild are 8-2-3. In 12 games since joining Minnesota, Hughes has a goal and 11 assists for a dozen points with a plus-6 rating while averaging over 27 minutes a night.

Undoubtedly, Fitzgerald’s plan was to bring in the elder Hughes to team him up with younger brothers Jack and Luke. Quinn had expressed a desire to one day play with them. However, that now seems unrealistic due to him going to a better team that feels they can compete now. He isn’t eligible to sign a contract extension until July 1. If he does decide that he likes playing in St. Paul, then the Devils’ dream of having all three Hughes’ brothers will go up in smoke.

In a related post, Battle Of Hudson’s Hasan referenced the quick extension Fitzgerald rewarded defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic with. A good first half from Kovacevic allowed him to sign on for another five years with a $4 million cap hit. However, he struggled in the second half and then had off-season knee surgery that has kept him out of action this season. Before last season, he only played two full seasons with the Canadiens.

Despite having 2022 second overall pick Simon Nemec behind both Hamilton and Brett Pesce, Fitzgerald made the risky move due to Nemec struggling in his second year. To the surprise of only the Devils, the 21-year-old Nemec became their best offensive weapon from the blue line with his seven goals and 18 points leading them before a lower-body injury sidelined him. He was particularly clutch scoring twice in overtime to help the Devils to big wins, highlighted by his first NHL hat trick versus the Blackhawks on Nov. 13.

What if Fitzgerald had waited before giving Kovacevic the long-term contract for half a season? It never made any sense to begin with. When it comes to the roster he’s built, not a lot does.

Since Jack returned from finger surgery on Dec. 21, he hasn’t been the same player. After scoring in the first period against the Sabres that night, Hughes hasn’t scored another goal. In fact, he only has three points (all assists) over his last seven games. He set up a pair in a 4-1 win over the Mammoth on Jan. 3. That was the Devils’ second straight win following a third period rally to come back and beat the Blue Jackets on New Year’s Eve. They’ve been outscored 12-1 over the last six periods.

It doesn’t matter how bad the goaltending is when they don’t finish consistently. Aside from a two-goal performance in an overtime loss to the Caps on Dec. 27, Bratt has two goals since Nov. 6. More of a playmaker than finisher, his point production is down. Outside of a pair of two-point outings since Christmas, he’s gone without one in eight of the last 10 games. A better player than what he’s shown with 33 points and minus-11 rating in 43 games, the 27-year-old Bratt needs to get going.

Hischier has 32 points (12-20-32) thus far with an uncharacteristic minus-6 rating. Normally a dependable two-way center who’s considered one of the best defensive forwards, the Devils captain must turn it around. A player that doesn’t make excuses, he told the media that he expects the team to respond well to Tuesday night’s onesided loss.

If there’s a real problem with the roster, it’s that the only player outside of Hughes capable of putting up goals is the inconsistent Timo Meier. A streaky scorer, he’s yet to reach 30 goals since being acquired from the Sharks in 2022-23. Meier’s tied with Hischier for the team lead with 12 goals. His five power-play tallies pace the team. For a player making close to $9 million through 2031, they need more production from the 29-year-old veteran.

Dawson Mercer is tied with Hughes for second in goals (11). A versatile forward who’s taken more faceoffs since Jack returned, the 24-year-old Mercer is a solid player that kills penalties well. On a deeper team, he’s probably better suited for the third line. But he’s put up 11 goals and 15 assists for 26 points, which places him third in team scoring behind Hischier and Bratt. He had more success earlier in the season before Hughes’ incident at a Chicago steakhouse. At the time, the Devils were 12-4-1 before things went off the rails.

Aside from solid third line forwards Connor Brown and Cody Glass, there’s not much secondary help. In his rookie year, Gritsyuk has shown flashes of a promising young player capable of contributing more than the eight goals and 10 helpers he has. Keefe has started to use him more in an expanded top six role. A strong skater with a good shot, the 24-year-old can make things happen during shifts. They have to hope that Gritsyuk can find the back of the net with more regularity.

Paul Cotter is a high energy player who provides physicality. Despite being a good skater, he only has five goals. Cotter will become a restricted free agent following the season.

Fitzgerald gambled on Stefan Noesen and to a lesser extend Evgenii Dadonov to provide more scoring help. After putting up a career-high 22 goals last season, Noesen hasn’t come close to duplicating it. He hasn’t been the same since having groin surgery in the off-season, which caused him to miss the start of the season. He’s been useless with only three goals in 37 games while taking bad penalties. Dadonov has only played in five games due to injuries with the latest being a wrist issue that landed him on long-term injured reserve Dec. 11. At least he’s only signed for a year at $1 million AAV with mostly performance bonuses.

Somehow, a rising team that looked like it could seriously challenge three years ago has become a complete mess. Lindy Ruff was the fall guy in 2023-24 with Travis Green replacing him before winding up in Ottawa. Meanwhile, Ruff went back to Buffalo where it all started. Somehow, he has the Sabres playing much better with them having won 11 of 12 to vault past the Devils in the standings.

Now, it’s Keefe who’s dealing with the same core that quit on Ruff. Don’t forget that they nearly blew the playoffs last year before getting eliminated by the Hurricanes in the first round. At least they found their way in without Jack. They were no match for their nemesis on Tobacco Road.

What’s the plan moving forward? With so little room on the cap ($787,500) thanks to Fitzgerald’s mismanagement, it doesn’t look like he can make any significant upgrades for a playoff push. However, everything remains right in front of the Devils due to the parity in the East. Even with 46 points and 15 regulation wins, they still have time to turn it around. With 39 games remaining, all it would require is more of a consistent effort from an underachieving group that looks disinterested. They sure don’t play enough defense or manage the puck well. Turnovers and bad coverages hasn’t helped.

Keefe prefers his teams to play more of a two-way game. He was very critical in his postgame about the breakdowns that led to too many Islanders goals. Even if you hate Markstrom, he had played better coming in, which Keefe referenced.

The Devils will next face the Penguins, who have won five in a row to move into the second wild card. They’re only three points up on the Devils, who desperately need a win. We’ll see what they’re made of.