The New Jersey Devils suffered a 3-0 loss on Sunday, but they were down by just one goal until Winnipeg Jets forward Evander Kane scored an empty netter with less than a minute remaining in regulation time.
So for most of the game, the Devils kept things close. Again.
“(We were) close, but close isn’t good enough right now,” Devils goaltender Cory Schneider told the Star-Ledger.
“Again we worked hard. They got the bounce to get the winning goal and we didn’t. We just have to find a way. You have to outplay the guy you’re up against, and that includes me. [Jets goaltender Al Montoya] was good tonight and he just made that one extra save than I did.”
The Devils have been collecting moral victories, but that doesn’t change the fact that they’re now 0-3-3 this season. Captain Bryce Salvador doesn’t want to see his team get discouraged, especially when their three points puts them in the middle of the pack in the Metropolitan Division.
Still, Schneider sees things a bit differently. Clawing your way back into a playoff race in the NHL is very difficult. If they slip too far early on, they might not be able to make up that ground once they finally do find their groove.
The Devils will get a breather before facing the Ottawa Senators on Thursday.