New Jersey Devils head coach Lindy Ruff was blunt about his team's performance in a Game 4 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes that put the Devils on the brink of elimination in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
“We had guys that just went rogue. You can't call that lack of experience. Even the power play turned into one man trying to do something and the next guy trying to do something,” Ruff said. “There was no team effort. We weren't good. That's a hard one to explain. That's about as poorly we've skated and supported the puck in any game this year.”
The Devils were embarrassed on home ice in a 6-1 shellacking in Game 4. New Jersey allowed 21 goals through the first four games of the series. The Devils had one of the best defenses in the league during the regular season, allowing the eighth-fewest goals per game. That has changed drastically in the playoffs, as the Devils have allowed four or more goals in seven of their 11 games this postseason.
After scoring eight goals in a crucial Game 3 win, the Devils' offense shut off in Game 4. They were held to one goal in each of their three losses to the Hurricanes.
The Devils are one of the youngest teams in the NHL and with that comes growing pains. There's no time for that in the playoffs though and now New Jersey finds itself in a must-win situation for the rest of the series. They'll have to step up in a big way if they want to avoid another embarrassing loss.
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