Keefe after Kovacevic criticizes Devils: He 'just needs to play better'

New Jersey Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe responded bluntly to a comment from one of his own players following a 3-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.

Johnathan Kovacevic implied the team needs to treat its remaining regular-season slate like the playoffs when asked about taking advantage of a favorable schedule down the stretch.

"We have a pretty home-heavy schedule the rest of the way here (and) we've got to make this place a hard place to play," the defenseman told reporters postgame."

Kovacevic continued: "That's something that we want to take pride in. We're in a fight, and hopefully that gets us in that playoff mentality (with) 10, 11 games out, and we carry that into the playoffs. So obviously the results (lately) are tough, but we're in a fight here and we're not going to back down."

Keefe was asked about Kovacevic's remarks about three minutes into his press conference. The bench boss interjected to give a pointed response, then ended his availability.

The Devils fell to 37-28-6 with Saturday's defeat. They occupy third place in the Metropolitan Division but have lost three of their last four games after reeling off three straight wins. The string of victories followed a three-game losing skid.

Kovacevic is playing a top-four role for the Devils with Dougie Hamilton out for the rest of the regular season. Hamilton isn't expected back for the start of the playoffs.

The 27-year-old has a goal and 16 assists over 71 games while averaging nearly 20 minutes of ice time in 2024-25. He came into Saturday's contest with 0.9 defensive goals above replacement, per Evolving-Hockey.

The Devils have two home dates and three away tilts left in March. However, once the calendar flips to April, five of their final six games will be at the friendly confines of the Prudential Center in Newark.