Sheldon Keefe on the Knies vs. Hischier fight: "Do I want our captain fighting when we are down in the third? Absolutely not, but do we need some guys to step up and show some balls? Yeah, we need more of that"

"I didn't talk to the team after the game. I'll talk to them in the morning. But it is more of the same. We have to find a way to get some pucks to fall in for us. We had to execute better on the chances that we do get. We had some really clean looks in really good spots, and we either missed the net or hit the goaltender in the chest. That is kind of the way it has been going."

"We have to keep working and find our way out of it. There is no use in feeling sorry for ourselves. We played a fine enough game, but there were two on the penalty kill, the power play doesn't get it over the line, and we had nothing to show at five-on-five for all of the puck time and chances we had, so you lose."

New Jersey lost 4-0 to Toronto, marking a fourth straight defeat. The team generated significant puck time and quality scoring chances but failed to convert, often missing the net or hitting the goaltender. A deflected own-goal and a couple of opponent power-play goals widened the gap. Special teams hurt the result, with the penalty kill facing two-man penalties and the power play unable to score. The team has cycled through similar slumps before and previously recovered. Players are urged to maintain belief, increase effort and smarter play, and finish scoring opportunities to reverse the skid.

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