{"id":435418,"date":"2026-01-28T20:04:08","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T20:04:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/435418\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T20:04:08","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T20:04:08","slug":"what-does-devils-legend-scott-stevens-think-of-n-j-s-current-team-theyre-in-a-tough-spot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/435418\/","title":{"rendered":"What does Devils legend Scott Stevens think of N.J.\u2019s current team? \u2018They\u2019re in a tough spot\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scott Stevnes<\/a> doesn\u2019t watch as many Devils<\/a> games as he once did. But even as a casual fan, he recognizes how dire the situation is for this 2025-26 club.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re in a tough spot right now,\u201d Stevens told NJ Advance Media in a brief Q&A Tuesday. \u201cThey\u2019ve got to play almost playoff hockey right now to get back in it. Everybody\u2019s gotta be on the same page and doing the right thing and playing the right way. They have goaltenders that are capable, so good things can happen as long as players play the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n

HAVE YOU JOINED OUR YOUTUBE PAGE? DEVILS REPORTER RYAN NOVOZINSKY BREAKS DOWN EVERY GAME \u2014 WITH YOUR HELP<\/a><\/p>\n

Stevens, along with 14 other legendary Devils alumni, watched as the current club dropped a winnable game to the 29th ranked Winnipeg Jets on their home ice Tuesday night. These legacy Devils were there to honor 1995 and 2003 Stanley Cup champion, John MacLean, who was inducted into the team\u2019s ring of honor before the game.<\/p>\n

Stevens watched his ex-team get out-hit (24-14), nearly out-shot (29-26) and outscored, 4-3. At one point, the Jets \u2014 who own a 21-24-7 record this season \u2014 had a 4-1 lead in the game. The loss dropped the Devils record to 27-24-2 on the season and 9-10-1 in their last 20 games. They are five points out of a playoff spot with two teams (the Flyers and Capitals) to leapfrog ahead of them.<\/p>\n

Devils moneyline is listed at -140 on Caesars<\/a> for Thursday night\u2019s game versus the Predators. Our list of the best NJ sportsbook promos<\/a> will help you determine which sportsbook to use.<\/p>\n

So, which players encapsulate Stevens\u2019 definition of \u201cplaying the right way?\u201d In other words, which player should each Devil try to emulate in their quest to dig out of this self-inflicted hole?<\/p>\n

Sign up for our Speaking of the Devils newsletter here<\/a>! Get 10 inside-Devils notes in your inbox each Monday at 10 a.m. ET!<\/p>\n

\u201cI like Nico Hischier,\u201d Stevens said. \u201cI think he plays the game the right way in all three zones. He\u2019s fun to watch and certainly plays the right way. He also does a great job being a leader of the team. Jesper Bratt\u2019s got quickness, good speed, tight turns and can lose people that way. Jack\u2019s a special player. I like Dillon and his physicality in front of the net. That\u2019s a place where you can still be physical and can control the front of the net. The teams that do control that area usually have a lot of success.\u201d <\/p>\n

If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement<\/a> and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and\/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Scott Stevnes doesn\u2019t watch as many Devils games as he once did. But even as a casual fan,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":435419,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[66],"tags":[385,99],"class_list":["post-435418","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-nhl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435418","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=435418"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/435418\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/435419"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=435418"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=435418"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=435418"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}