New Jersey Devils fight for playoff chances amid coaching shakeup
The Devils have lost five of their last seven games, leading to head coach Lindy Ruff’s firing.
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The New Jersey Devils took the ice Tuesday night in Newark for the first time since firing their head coach. Many of the fans at the Prudential Center said they were happy about that decision.
"Honestly, I think it was long overdue,” one fan told News 12 New Jersey.
Lindy Ruff is out and Travis Green is in as interim coach for the team. It was hard to find a fan who didn't agree that Ruff had to go and fans didn't hold back.
"It's a good change. It's a big adjustment and I'm looking forward to that adjustment ‘cause we really need that,” said a fan.
"In my opinion, he should have been gone two seasons ago,” said another.
RELATED: New Jersey Devils fire coach Lindy Ruff, name Travis Green interim replacement
It seems like just a few short months ago the Devils were on a quest for the Stanley Cup and celebrating their defeat over their longtime rivals the New York Rangers. Now they've fallen further out of playoff contention. But as they faced off against the Carolina Panthers, the players say it's on them to win and they're fighting for their lives.
"The runway's not that long so we’ve got to really be desperate we lose a couple more games we're out of the running we are playing with our lives right now,” said Devils center Jack Hughes.
"Everybody's got to look in the mirror. We've got 21 games left to give everything we got,” says right wing Timo Meier
This was Ruff's fourth season with the team. Fans say they are optimistic about Green stepping into the role, but they've got their own ideas of what the team needs to get back in their good graces.
"We don't need a coach, we need that goaltender,” said a fan.
The Devils have 20 games left. One fan said they were interested to see what this coach can do otherwise the team should consider looking for another coach over the summer.
The Devils lost to the Panthers 5-3.
