For many of us whose formative hockey memories were forged watching the NHL through the ‘90s Claude Lemieux is the quintessential antihero or supervillain. How you see him largely depends on your allegiances. But even that didn’t preclude him from going from one to the other depending on the night.

www.nhl.com/devils/news/... While you never like to see someone lose their job, I & many other #NJDevils fans have been calling for a change in goaltending coaching & development for a while. Our goaltending hasn’t been good enough or developed well in years & Sunny’s addressing a need for change.

If this presser is a sign of things to come under Sunny’s leadership then the #NJDevils are in good hands. He was articulate, charismatic, focused & inspiring. I have more clarity and confidence in our path to contending for a Cup after Mehta’s first 30 min. than Fitz’s entire six year tenure as GM.

Alright! That was quick, decisive & opportunistic—I hope that foreshadows the mentality of Mehta’s tenure. The #NJDevils secured this cycle’s the most sought after next gen. GM & moved faster than YYZ & BNA to do it. We got our guy & did it decisively. I predict a busy & productive summer in Jersey.

Nice come from behind victory. Playing spoiler was made even sweeter by officially ending the Wings’ playoff hopes tonight. #NJDevils

As a long time #NJDevils fans this is so old school Lou. Vegas has a Cup or bust mentality. They’ve underachieved & know something is off. This sends a warning shot through the room w/ the hope it inspires them to go on a run. Even if that doesn’t work, Torts will weed out the passengers to replace.

A first period on the road with 4 even strength goals on 8 shots!!! When did we learned how to finish?!? And did Oettinger & the Stars D have a Freaky Friday moment and switch bodies w/ Markstrom & the #NJDevils D? Whatever brought it on, I say we embrace it. More of this hockey please #NJDevils

I cannot recommend this thorough and nuanced through line of the Iranian-American relationship by CBC’s Front Burner enough. It provides the essential context of the decades old reverberations necessary to begin making sense of what’s happening in Iran right now. www.cbc.ca/listen/cbc-p...

If hockey feels heavy for you too I recommend yesterday’s The Sheet. Brilliant discussion about the growing importance of women’s hockey, the Olympics & PWHL. Plus a no holds barred discussion about the consequences of US men lending their Olympic halo to politicians. m.youtube.com/watch?v=_-Li...

I’m not certain this ends up as the PR slam dunk the organization is probably anticipating. They might want to consider having Devils, Sabres & NY Sirens Olympians standing together to celebrate all their Olympic achievements tonight. Some bridge building would go along way w/ many #NJDevils fans.

This is an important and fair question #NJDevils fans want to know. People say don’t bring politics into sports, but when you invite a politician into your locker room to celebrate a victory, it’s fair game to ask & get a proper answer about your tacit and/or explicit support of their politics.

This should be a good and cathartic listen for us diehard hard passionate fans. Jan Han is an excellent hockey mind and with this inside knowledge he should be able to provide solid insight on what’s gone off the rails for the #NJDevils under Keefe.

What a day of top quality hockey at the Olympics. The highlights, heartbreak and heroics on display today are what make this the world’s best sport. I can’t believe we’re lucky enough to get two more rounds of this for the men before the week ends. Plus we get the womens’ medal games tomorrow.

Sounds like a solution-in-search-of-a-problem. You can’t be a solution if you don’t know what you’re trying to fix. Real productivity gains come when you centre humans & make their lives/jobs easier. You don’t do that by forcing them to work in unintuitive ways & piling on mistakes for them to fix.

Unsurprising but infuriating that Fitz has been a no show the past month while the #NJDevils have been spiraling. Now that the fiasco he created has reached a crisis point he’s quick to go to friendly national media to spin his narrative & expedite a trade in a desperate attempt to save his job.

You would’ve hoped the #NJDevils would be motivated after failing to build a three game win streak by own-goaling ourselves to a loss against our nemesis the Canes—who didn’t play particular well. Instead we give up a touchdown+ & get shut out by the Isles despite putting up 40 shots. #RIPPlayoffs

With Sorokin in net you may as well call this a loss tonight & it might very well be it for the #NJDevils this season. We’re 4-6-2 against the Metro & can’t afford to lose another four point game against a team we’re chasing for a playoff spot. To be down 0-2 on the first three shots is brutal.

I’m not going to say a three-goal come-from-behind-victory in the third against the very same Jackets could turn the season around. But if the #NJDevils can play full 60 minute games and get wins against Utah & Carolina at home this weekend that might be how you start to get back to respectability.

New Jersey Devils win on the road over the Columbus Blue Jackets by a score of 3 to 2! 🚨🚨🚨 Next Game: Saturday January 03 @ 03:00PM vs. Utah Mammoth (at Prudential Center)! #NJDevils | #NJDvsCBJ

I was livid when the #NJDevils lost to Columbus on Dec. 1st. We let a very winnable game where we were in complete control slip away because we collapsed & got run over physically & more importantly on the scoreboard once the game got out of hand. Before tonight we had four wins & nine losses since.

It wasn’t as scripted & it wasn’t ideal, but coming back to erase a multi goal deficit in the third for the first time this season with three unanswered goals was the way the #NJDevils needed to end 2025. But for it to mean anything we need build on it with wins against Utah & Carolina this weekend.

I’d love for the #NJDevils to play a complete 60 min game where we dominate the Jackets physically & on the game sheet—we owe them some payback. It’s a chance to put ‘25 behind us & get serious going into ‘26. We need a lot of hard work & top tier hockey if we have a hope of sniffing the playoffs.

That’s the thing. Under Fitz’s tenure the #NJDevils have been constructed to address last season’s problems. Instead of building on strengths he has made wild overcorrections & incorrect bets that have left this team without a core identity or strength. There’s nothing the Devils are truly elite at.

On paper this was a winnable game but we’re down by two against a heavily depleted Leafs team on the road. I’d love to be pleasantly surprised but I’m going to stop watching & suggest you do too. I’m sure the #NJDevils haven’t won a game going into the third trailing & I doubt that changes tonight.

Not the start the #NJDevils needed but the start we deserve. Giving up 12 shots on goal and two power plays is not something a team determined to win does in first period on the road against a depleted opponent. We’re lucky to be down only by one. Show you give a damn and have a pulse.

Exactly! If the #NJDevils are serious about getting this season back on track & getting back into the playoff conversation, the boys absolutely have to show a killer instinct and take advantage of the Leafs’ deeply depleted lineup. Strike early and play a smart defensively tight road game.

The good news is the spin move actually worked & Luke scored so the #NJDevils won’t be shutout when we lose tonight. The bad news is everything else was absolutely putrid. I’m calling it a night because we didn’t show up ready & showed no signs that we’ll fight back & make it a respectable game.

It wasn’t pretty but the #NJDevils hung on & got a regulation win to break the losing skid. Credit to Markstrom for shutting the door when we needed it in the third. A huge game by Brown driving the offense w/ apples including setting up the game winner. Lots to improve but positives to build on.

Siegs may have saved the game. #NJDevils

Great play by Brown on the forecheck to make that happen and Glass driving the net to finish. We needed that after Nico rang it off the crossbar on that 2-on-1 with Bratt. #NJDevils

About time goalie interference was called after the Sens have been running Markstrom all night. This is a huge opportunity. The #NJDevils PP has to take advantage here.

If you could use a cathartic and constructive dive into the #NJDevils recent struggles give this a listen. There’s a very well considered trade proposal by @timwuud.bsky.social that could give the core jolt and transform us. It reminds me of the savvy and wily moves Lou made for us in his prime.

Penalty kill is now 0-for-3. Unacceptable. #NJDevils

Okay. A lead and all the scoring tonight is depth scoring. Another baby step forward. Follow it up with more. #NJDevils

Given the last five games I’ll take a two goal period with a 2-2 tied game going into the second as a positive despite giving up two on the PK—the bar is pretty low these days. Consider it small progress and build on it by tightening up defensively and finding the back of the net again. #NJDevils

Despite Timo’s late goal that was a disastrous period by the #NJDevils. We couldn’t convert on our many opportunities. We had very costly defensive breakdowns & didn’t get situational goaltending to stop the bleeding. That said we’re still behind only two. Get an early one, lock it down & chip away.

Who else but Mr. Clutch. This really brought the crowd to life. Time to build off it.

#NJDevils legend Kyle Palmieri 😢

…And just like that a Capitals win bumped them into third and knocked the Islanders down into Wild Card 1. With how tight the Metro is this season you really need to make sure you keep pace and get the two points. If you’re going to lose make sure you do it extra time & not regulation. #NJDevils

After the Nemo & Nico OT heroics the #NJDevils are back atop the Metro. A Canes loss to some team across the Hudson bumped them to second and the Bruins beating the Isles kept them in third. You love to see it. It’s was an extra nice night for the Devils.

Nemo the OT hero on a sneaky back door play from a beautiful cross crease setup by Nico. Happy the #NJDevils wore the Blues down in OT and got the two points. I’m also really glad Markstrom was able to settle down from the second on and shut the door especially during that four minute PK.

Thank you Nico. We really needed that PP goal to help get back on track. Use it as a springboard to a strong second half of the second. This was not been a good period for the #NJDevils

Good first period for the #NJDevils. Should be a 2-1 game in the opposite direction. Markstrom needs to be much better than this.

He’s fighting it tonight and Binnington at the other end is feeling it. When Markstrom starts I pretty much expect the other team is putting up three. It’s a tall order to have to potentially put up four or more to get two points. #NJDevils

Timo has been feeling it lately and is heating up. I like that he’s driving and making a living around the net. But more importantly I love that he’s finishing his chances. We really need him to be a goals leader with Jack’s injury. #NJDevils

I also loved how the #NJDevils stood tall, had each other’s backs & took no shit from the Wings when things got nasty in the third. That banding together & us against the world mentality is something you can use to snap out of a funk & rally behind. Bank the two points & let’s build on this boys.

Based on the metrics & stats the #NJDevils didn’t deserve to win tonight. There’s a lot to improve on. But Markstrom providing timely situational goaltending is hopefully a springboard to much better play from him. We need him to steal us some games over the next two weeks to weather our injuries.

It was far from drama free but the #NJDevils hung on and got a very needed regulation win. 3 takeaways: 1. We scored above expected & got opportunistic goals. 2. Markstrom saw a lot of shots & gave us timely goaltending. 3. We played tough, took no shit & stood-up for each other. Build on this.

Hopefully he’s okay and that woke us up. We’ve been playing passive garbage hockey for a period and half. It’s like we’re afraid to do anything because we think it’ll lead to a catastrophic mistake. The problem is standing still and letting them take the game over is even more dangerous. #NJDevils