It was a tough loss at home for the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night against the Tampa Bay Lightning in an absolute barn-burner. The two Eastern Conference teams combined for 13 goals on the night, with five players (Kyle Palmieri, Wayne Simmonds, Ondrej Palat, Brayden Point and Tyler Johnson) recording three points nights, with Palmieri recording his second career hat-trick, sending the game to OT with only 8 seconds remaining and the New Jersey net empty.
One would think that most of the in-house fans would have been ecstatic with the back-and-forth, high-scoring, edge-of-your-seat, exciting contest. It was worth the price of admission. However, for much of the game, the fans at the Prudential Center seemed displeased with the Devils' effort, despite the fact that the struggling home team really made a game of what most thought was a surefire Tampa win before hand. It's not too often where the hometown fans boo their own team in their own barn, but it was just one of those nights for the Devils on Wednesday night and it left Devils winger Taylor Hall with a bad taste in his mouth.
"We're kind of battling our own fans at this point. We're 1-for-3 on the power play and we're getting booed. It's a tie game and we're getting booed. It's a tough environment to play in sometimes, especially when you're at home. I know when we're playing somewhere and their fans start booing, it's a fun environment for the away team to play in. I understand the fans' frustration. After the game if they're booing because we are losing, that's fine. But when we're 1-for-3 on the power play and they are booing, that's tough. If you're playing at home, you want to feed off the energy of the crowd and not let that affect you, but sometimes it does."
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Another player who felt like they left much to be desired was Devils defenseman P.K. Subban. "They brought me in to do a job," said Subban, "I didn't do my job today, so that really sucks." Subban also admitted that he is capable of playing much better and has accepted a large amount of the blame for the loss, stating that he plans to be better on Friday night against the Flyers.
Taylor Hall wants to play for a contender. That's no secret. New Jersey (2-5-3) is currently tied for last place in the NHL with the Ottawa Senators (3-7-1). While it's not impossible that the Devils can turn this story around in a hurry and become a playoff team, much like how the Blues pulled things together last season, it is not a foregone conclusion that Hall will want to remain with the team long-term, especially with the fans beginning to turn on the team. This creates a bit of a quandary for GM Ray Shero, who may elect to ship the speedy winger off sooner rather than later to optimize the return in a contract year. The other option may be to make other moves to try to spark the team, such as relieving John Hynes of his duties and bringing in a more competent Head Coach, or acquiring some new on-ice personnel by way of a trade. Maybe both.
Only time will tell which direction Shero and the Devils will go, but one thing is for certain. The culture in Newark will need to change in a BIG way if the Devils have any chance at keeping the band together and re-signing Taylor Hall before he hits free agency this summer. Especially now that the fans made their displeasure felt for Hall and his club's play as of late.
