Lindy Ruff Blames the Media for New Jersey Devils’ Recent Shortcomings
Photo Credit: Lynne Sladky / AP Photo
After an embarrassing 5-1 loss against the New York Rangers on Thursday night, the New Jersey Devils head coach, Lindy Ruff, spoke with members of the media. With questions pertaining to New Jersey’s struggling power play, Ruff wanted to make it clear who should also be blamed for the recent disfunctions.
“I image you’ve asked every player - now they’re feeling it, and you guys are creating excess pressure.”
The game against the Rangers showcased to the rest of the league, just how lost the Devils power play looked. The devils went 0-5 on the man advantage, while one was a five minute power play and another being four minutes. After nearly 12 minutes of power play ice time, the team couldn’t put anything past Igor Shesterkin.
New Jersey’s latest game was just a microcosm of a big problem that the team is experiencing. In the team’s last 46 power plays, they have only been able to score twice. Compare that to New Jersey’s terrific start, where they were once top five in power play percentage, and it’s a huge fall off.
Despite the awful numbers, Lindy Ruff is still confident in his group, while he wants the media to understand what kind of impact they have on his young squad. After his original thoughts on how journalism influences his team’s poor play, he said the following.
“Us as a staff will go through that power play. We changed things up. We met with individual groups tonight; as opposed to when you meet with all 10 or 11 of your guys. We’ll go through the whole thing again and just try to get better.”
The return of Jack Hughes on the power play, was Devils fans’ only hope for this group, as that is now fading. Hughes and the entire team are struggling on the special teams unit, which is harming their chances at a playoff run. The Devils are still out of a postseason spot and need a big push if they want to sneak in.
Nobody expected the devils to be in the position that they are in at the moment, while many would call this a “failed season”. Ruff looks to be the main reason as to why the team is shutting down, although he hinted at the media having to do with it. As “Fire Lindy” chants were heard on Thursday night’s game, it seems as though the head coach has to point his finger somewhere.