The New Jersey Devils came into Thursday night’s contest against the Tampa Bay Lightning with hopes of winning a second straight game for the first time in eight contests. Instead, they faltered as they fell 8-4. After the game, head coach Sheldon Keefe said they “got their asses kicked.”
Related: Bjorkstrand Scores Twice as Lightning Annihilate Devils 8-4
(A Second) Team Meeting?
Connor Brown told team reporter Amanda Stein that the team had a “good meeting in Boston” — five days ago — which helped shift the mindset of the team. While they lost the following game, they played much better and followed it up with a win in Ottawa.
Tonight, it appears the Devils had a very serious/direct team meeting. Media had to wait outside the locker room for ~15 minutes following the final horn, which is considerably longer than usual. Forward Jesper Bratt confirmed the team had a meeting:
“We had to be vocal … I think most of the things that we talked about, I’m gonna let that stay here,” said forward Jesper Bratt. “It had to be an honest conversation, man to man, and I think we did a good job [of that].”
Defenseman Luke Hughes said, “Everyone’s gotta play better, myself included.”
Markstrom Mightily Struggles
Coming into the night, Jacob Markstrom’s save percentage (SV%) of .880% ranked 28th of 32 goalies to play 15+ games this season. But after he was super hard on himself following a loss to Vegas, things started to look upward: his SV% of .899% over a six-start span was above league average.
After a streak-snapping win in Ottawa, tonight was a great opportunity for Markstrom to right the ship and put his struggles in the rearview mirror. Unfortunately, the exact opposite happened.
He gave up three goals on seven shots. Per Moneypuck, here were the “odds of scoring” on each respective goal against: 3.3%, 11.0% and 1.6%. After that third, which occurred just 7:56 in, Markstrom was immediately pulled by head coach Sheldon Keefe in favor of Jake Allen.
“[Down] 2-1, we’re finding our game. We’re controlling things pretty good. I thought that [third goal against] was a real emotional drain for our team, and I had to do something to try and give us a little bit of life and a little bit of change,” said Keefe.
In those fewer than eight minutes, Markstrom stopped a total of minus-2.63 goals above expected. His season SV% is now down to .872%. In 15 starts, he’s allowed fewer than three goals just twice. In his postgame availability, Markstrom said his play this season was “not good enough.”
Penalty Kill Woes
Since Brett Pesce went down, the Devils’ penalty kill (PK) has certainly struggled. They gave up two power play goals tonight in just three opportunities. Tampa Bay also scored on an extended delayed penalty.
In 21 games without Pesce, the Devils’ PK% of 66.7% ranks 31st in the NHL, barely ahead of the Seattle Kraken (66.1%). Prior to Pesce’s absence, their PK% of 93.5% was the second-best in the entire league.
This stat should put it in even better perspective: with Pesce, they allowed 0.22 power play goals per game. After his injury? 0.82 per game — a ~273% increase. Surely, though, just like the forward group: if a unit is mostly reliant on one skater for success, they probably weren’t in a great spot to begin with.
Luke Hughes & Jesper Bratt Break Through
It’s hard to tell who/what misses Pesce more: Luke or the penalty kill. At even strength with a healthy Pesce in the lineup, Hughes had 1.53 points per 60 minutes (PTS/60). After Pesce went down, that figure dropped to 0.89 PTS/60 — a 41.8% decrease. In a similar notion, the Devils are giving up almost three times the number of goals against per 60 (GA/60) when Hughes is with Pesce (1.06 GA/60) versus without him (3.09 GA/60) — a ~192% increase. He finally broke through in the goals category tonight — plus added an assist — which could open the floodgates and restore order.
HOLY MOLY 🤯
Luke Hughes has got the moves! 🕺 pic.twitter.com/5mC0XL18Ki
— NHL (@NHL) December 12, 2025
Bratt had not scored in 17 games, but finally capitalized tonight on a breakaway. He’s scored upwards of 21 goals in his last four seasons; he’s on pace for ~16 in 2025-26. However, he’s a player who can certainly score in bunches. After finally breaking the dam, it would not be surprising to see Bratt find twine more consistently.
“It’s always nice to score, but it’s hard to talk about that now after a game like that,” said Bratt. “I would have hoped that goal would have come at a little bit better time for the team.”
Honorable Mention: First Goal Woes Continue
For a fifth straight game, the Devils conceded the first goal. That moves them to 6-12-0 when doing so. When they do get the first tally, they’re 11-2-1.
Moving Forward
The Devils — now 17-13-1 — will return to action on Saturday as they face the Anaheim Ducks (12:30 PM EST).
