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Greg Wyshynski, ESPN
NEWARK, N.J. — The New Jersey Devils still believe they can make the Stanley Cup playoffs despite long odds, a ticking clock to the trade deadline and the dismissal of coach Lindy Ruff.
“The runway’s not that long, so we’ve got to really be desperate,” star center Jack Hughes said on Tuesday. “If we lose a couple more games, we’re out of the running. So, we are playing with our lives right now.”
The Devils host the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night, who own the league’s best record.
According to Stathletes analytics, the Devils have a 17.5% chance of making the postseason with 21 games remaining on their schedule. They’re eight points in back of the Philadelphia Flyers for third place in the Metropolitan Division and eight points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for the final wild-card spot. New Jersey has two games in hand on both teams.
Ruff was fired Monday after the Devils went 2-5-0 following their MetLife Stadium Series win over the Flyers on Feb. 17. Associate coach Travis Green, who coached the Vancouver Canucks from 2017 to 2021, was named interim head coach for the rest of the season.
“He’ll always have his handprints on this organization moving forward because he had a major part in our young players’ development,” said general manager Tom Fitzgerald of Ruff, whom he hired in 2020. “But at the end of the day, I knew deep down in my heart it was time for a change.”
Fitzgerald said there were discussions about firing Ruff earlier this season.
“Were there times during the season that I was looking at how he played and was unhappy at the time? Yes, for sure. Did that mean the call for heads to roll? No, not at that time. It’s the same coach that got 112 points last year,” said Fitzgerald, who gave Ruff a multiyear contract extension last October.
Did this decision come too late in the season?
“It’s never too late. We have a small window here. If we play the right way, leave everything out on the line, why can’t we put a string of games together and jump right back into this?” he said.
The Devils have had a turbulent season after breaking through in 2022-23 with a first-round playoff series win over the rival New York Rangers. Top defenseman Dougie Hamilton has been out since Nov. 28 with a torn pectoral muscle. Jack Hughes has been limited to 45 games because of injury, and the team said he’s still not 100 percent. Their goaltending ranks 31st in the league in team save percentage (.882) after ranking 11th last season.
But it has been their lack of competitive spark that has defined the season. Gone are the speed and tenacity they showed in 2022-23. Gone are their attention to detail and puck management. They’ve constantly played from behind, having given up the first goal to opponents in an NHL-worst 44 games.
“A lot of it comes down to the players, our effort and how we come out. And sometimes we just get outbattled and outplayed. There’s nothing a coach can do standing right behind the bench,” said Hughes.
The Devils have also showed a curious lack of intensity down the stretch of this season, with the playoffs slipping away.
“Obviously, the desperation and the enthusiasm and passion for the game hasn’t really been there for our team lately. We haven’t really been desperate enough to give ourselves a chance to win,” said winger Jesper Bratt.
Green said there’s still time to find that emotional motivation.
“It’s my job to also talk to them about what desperation is. I believe in the group in there, they’re a young group. We’ve gone through a little bit of adversity. I think pointing out certain things and how you want to play can bring back some desperation. How you practice, how you prepare — that’s all part of coaching. And sometimes a different voice is needed,” he said.
“I talk about playing to win. I like players that love winning,” said Green. “And when you love winning, you do a lot of desperate things.”
The ticking clock on the Devils’ season is even louder with the NHL trade deadline looming on Friday afternoon. Fitzgerald said he is still looking to improve the team’s goaltending, with speculation continuing to swirl around New Jersey and Calgary Flames netminder Jacob Markstrom, whom Green coached in Vancouver.
“I am in the [goalie] market. Is there the right person out there for the right price without mortgaging the future but understanding the short game here? I am not ignoring that, to be quite honest. I’m not sitting there thinking, ‘Oh, it’s all great.’ No, our goaltending has not been good enough. Yes, that’s on me to go and try to upgrade,” said Fitzgerald. “I’m trying to do the right thing for the organization in the short window but with the big window in my mind.”
Fitzgerald will also have to decide on Devils winger Tyler Toffoli, 31, a pending unrestricted free agent and their leading goal scorer (26) this season. A veteran scorer with Stanley Cup experience, he could be a coveted player to other contenders.
The general manager has spoken to Toffoli about a contract extension, but said, “Unfortunately right now there’s a possible term difference.” He left open the possibility they could revisit talks after the trade deadline passes.
Fitzgerald said he’s not shopping Toffoli but is fielding calls from other teams about him. He said the next three days — with games against the Panthers and St. Louis Blues at home — will determine what he does with Toffoli and others at the trade deadline.
Source: www.espn.com