New Jersey
Devils Head Coach Tears Into Newly-Extended Defenseman as Team Flounders
NEWARK—The New Jersey Devils are not playing well as of late. And although their struggles appear team-wide, Saturday’s loss to the Ottawa Senators was seemingly the straw that broke the camel’s back. In his postgame press conference with the New Jersey media, head coach Sheldon Keefe called out defenseman, Johnathan Kovacevic, for his poor play.
READ MORE: Bratt’s Historic Night Marred; Devils’ Struggles Persist in Loss to Senators
Following the 3-2 loss, Kovacevic explained the Devils need to have a playoff-like mentality for the rest of the season, with the advantage of playing most of their games at the Prudential Center down the stretch.
“We have a pretty home-heavy schedule the rest of the rest of the way here. We got to make this place a hard place to play and a hard place to beat us,” Kovacevic explained. “I think that’s something that we want to take pride in. We’re in a fight, and hopefully that gets us in that playoff mentality 10-11, games out, and we carry that into the playoffs. Obviously the results are tough, but we’re in a fight here, and we’re not going to back down.”
Kovacevic was the direct culprit of New Jersey heading into an early power play during the first period on Saturday. He sent a puck over the glass and sat for a two-minute delay-of-game minor infraction.
Fortunately, the Devils were able to kill it off.
No harm, no foul.
However, over the last week, Kovacevic has really seen his struggles. At 5-on-5, he’s been out-chanced 24-31, with a 40.95 CF% and 39.29 xGF%.
*Per Natural Stat Trick
Keefe’s recognized that the defenseman who once was one of the NHLs best shut-down players this season has tailed off.
When prompted with Kovacevic’s message about the Devils having a playoff mentality, Sheldon Keefe put his defenseman on blast.
“Kovacevic just needs to play better. That would help,” Keefe scathed.
The criticism is harsh, but fair.
New Jersey just extended Johnathan Kovacevic to a five-year, $20 million contract. The extension was a reward for his positive play through most of the season.
Yet, since his usual defense partner, Jonas Siegenthaler, has been out of the lineup with injury, Kovacevic’s game has certainly waned.
The 27-year-old defenseman has shown he can be both reliable and unreliable without Siegenthaler by his side. He has yet to find the consistency he once touted, and it’s hurting the Devils at a crucial point of the season.
Kovacevic isn’t alone among players who need to be better. However, he was in Keefe’s crosshairs on Saturday.
For the newly extended, and far richer defenseman, the Devils need Kovacevic to find his game from earlier this season.
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New Jersey
N.J. group demands review of Trenton immigration arrest operation at auto shop
U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-Mercer, said in a statement on Facebook that she has been briefed about the incident and her office is monitoring the situation.
Pazmino said her organization is calling on members of the community to come together.
“Brown and Black immigrant communities and nonimmigrant communities are welcome, and should be uniting against this force,” she said.
She is also calling on local officials to assist relatives of those taken into custody.
“We need to support families affected by these kidnappings, with mutual aid, donations and anything else you think will help each other,” Pazmino said.
A woman identified as Andrea, while holding her 1-year-old daughter, Genesis, tearfully spoke in Spanish about the anguish she feels and her fears about the future without her husband Christian, one of the men taken into custody. A friend, who translated her word into English, said Christian was a good and honest man.
“If he used to see a neighbor carrying something heavy, he would run to help them. If a friend needed a favor, he didn’t ask, he just did it,” she said.
She said “his daughter was his whole world. He would wake up to her and give her kisses every morning. He would play with her after a long day at work. He loved us and protected us. He didn’t do anything wrong, so why was he taken?”
The Rev. Erich Kussman, St. Bartholomew’s pastor, said the entire Lutheran Church stands with the family.
“Anything you need, you can come to us. I want you to know that. I will stand with you, and we will do what we can to protect you, because that’s the call of the gospel of Jesus Christ,” he said.
“Standing with ICE is antithetical to the gospel of Jesus Christ, hands down,” he added. “Fifty-one times the scriptures tell us to welcome the immigrant and foreigner as one of our own. If you’re not living true to that gospel, the words of Christ himself, you are not a Christian, no matter what you claim to be.”
With immigration enforcement activity on the rise in New Jersey, lawmakers have proposed several bills to expand protections for immigrant communities. One measure called the “Fight Unlawful Conduct and Keep Individuals and Communities Empowered Act” would allow individuals to file a lawsuit against ICE agents who violate their constitutional rights.
Another proposed bill would require any business that operates a private prison or detention facility in the state to pay a tax equal to 50% of the taxpayer’s gross receipts derived from the operation of the facility during the previous year. The bill also stipulates all revenues generated would go to an “immigration protection fund.”
Recently proposed legislation would prohibit ICE agents from ever holding a public job in the Garden State, and New Jersey U.S. Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim are proposing legislation to prevent new funding for the Department of Homeland Security from being used to purchase a warehouse in Roxbury, New Jersey.
Requests for comment from ICE and the U.S. Marshals Service were not immediately returned.
New Jersey
Spring’s coming; Sunny, warm Saturday and significant warm-up ahead NJ
A brief respite from cold weather is ahead of New Jersey this weekend, before temperatures continue to rise late next week, according to the National Weather Service.
Saturday, Feb. 28 will be sunny across the Garden State, and temperatures will be comfortable, reaching the high 40s and low 50s.
Then, a brief artic cold front is expected to move into the region late on Saturday night, bringing temps to low 30’s and some scattered snow showers on Sunday, especially in North Jersey.
During the week, a couple low pressure systems are in the NWS forecast. Little snow if any is expected from these systems, especially in the late week, when a significant warm-up is expected.
Asbury Park and Monmouth County weekend weather forecast
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 45.
Saturday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 33.
Sunday: Partly sunny and a chance of snow before 1 p.m. The high should be near 39. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.
Sunday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 22.
Wildwoods and Atlantic County weather forecast
Saturday: Partly sunny, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 56.
Saturday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 31.
Sunday: Partly sunny and a slight chance of rain before 1 p.m. The high should be near 44. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.
Sunday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 19.
Newark and Essex County weather forecast
Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 53.
Saturday night: Increasing clouds, with a low around 32.
Sunday: Cloudy and scattered snow showers before 1 p.m. Then gradual clearing of skies, with a high near 39. Chance of precipitation is 40%.
Sunday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 17.
Juan Carlos Castillo is a New Jersey-based trending reporter for the USA Today Network. Find him on Twitter at _JCCastillo.
New Jersey
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