Hischier 'embarrassed' by Devils' performance in loss to Bolts
New Jersey Devils captain Nico Hischier was frustrated by his squad's performance during Saturday's 6-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning.
"Disappointing, I'm embarrassed a bit, to be honest," he said. "Just outworked, outplayed in such a big game. The way we performed is embarrassing."
The Lightning dominated play in virtually every category, outshooting the Devils 42-24 at all strengths while controlling over 60% of the shot attempts, scoring chances, high-danger chances, and expected goals at five-on-five, per Natural Stat Trick.
The third period, in particular, was rough for the Devils. All three of their goals came in the final frame, but the Lightning had a quick response for each of them. In the case of Ondrej Palat and Tyler Toffoli's tallies, the Bolts restored their two-goal lead within one minute.
Hischier was a man of few words when asked why the Devils have been unable to match the intensity of their opponents this season.
"I wish I could answer that," he said. "Just not good enough. Gotta calm down here and think about it. I don't have an answer to that right now."
The center added that he thought his team needed to have more "emotion" on the bench.
Saturday's clash featured two teams on opposite trajectories. The Lightning have now won eight of their last nine games, while the Devils have only picked up two wins in their last seven contests.
As a result, New Jersey is now in sixth place in the Metropolitan Division with a 24-20-3 record. The Devils are six points behind the Detroit Red Wings for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference, though the former has two games in hand. Tampa Bay, meanwhile, occupies third place in the Atlantic Division.
Hischier and Co. will fight for their playoff lives when they return from the All-Star break on Feb. 6 against the dangerous Colorado Avalanche.
"I hope everybody goes and rests up a bit and thinks about what team they want to be a part of coming down the stretch," Hischier said. "If we want to be a playoff team, we've gotta figure something out. ... Everybody's gotta start looking in the mirror."
Last season, the Devils made the playoffs for the first time since 2018. They were eliminated in the second round by the Carolina Hurricanes.