NEWARK — The Devils had an adjustment to make emerging from their first ever bye week, but did it cost them on Sunday against the San Jose Sharks?
The Devils were rolling entering the bye week, winning three of four games, but they dropped a 4-1 decision on Sunday, getting outshot 19-3 in the first period and 38-22 for the game.
“I don’t think we’re as sharp as when we left, that’s for sure. We didn’t have that much poise with the puck, especially in the first period,” forward P.A. Parenteau said. “They took a lot of momentum there. But there’s no excuse. We’re all pros, we know what we need to do, and we have to execute.”
Burns bites Devils in 4-1 loss to Sharks
Even with the lopsided shot total to start, the Devils led 1-0 after 20 minutes. But three goals in the second period put the Sharks in control, and the Devils never answered.
The loss out of the bye isn’t too shocking, however, given that the Devils haven’t been the very sharp when coming off any sort of layoff in recent months. Since Dec. 7, the Devils are 2-6-2 in games where they go two or more days without playing. In games following one or zero days without a game, the Devils are 9-9-2 in that span.
Goalie Cory Schneider didn’t blame the layoff. He pointed out the seven penalties that made it tougher for the Devils find any rhythm.
“Going to the box, having to kill an extended 5-on-3 and two others, and all of a sudden, the shot totals get a little skewed,” Schneider said. “You’re not able to get guys into the game and get them into their rhythm if they don’t kill penalties. When you spend eight minutes killing, it’s not a good recipe.”
The penalties didn’t kill the Devils directly since they finished 6-for-6 on penalty kills, but the flow wasn’t there offensively, particularly early in the game.
The Devils also showed two weeks ago that they could come out of a break strong, beating the Detroit Red Wings, 4-3, on the road out of the All-Star break. Sunday’s result was a matter of not playing the same level of hockey they pieced together before the bye week.
“I don’t think it’s the break. It’s a little disappointing because we feel we had the chance to win a game tonight that we didn’t,” forward Michael Cammalleri said. “So we’ll figure out exactly why that didn’t happen.”
Chris Ryan may be reached at cryan@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @ChrisRyan_NJ. Find NJ.com Devils on Facebook.
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