<p>Over the weekend, <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/new-jersey-devils/line-combinations">New Jersey Devils</a> blueliner Johnathan Kovacevic answered a question about the team’s struggles and what they need to do to get back on the right foot with the playoffs on the horizon.</p>



<p>The Devils currently sit second in the Metropolitan Division with 80 points, seven ahead of the <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/new-york-rangers/line-combinations">New York Rangers</a>. So the Devils might be safe with 11 games to go, but with a 4-6-0 record over the past 10 games, things are starting to get ugly in New Jersey.</p>



<p>When Kovacevic’s name was brought up in a post-game press conference with Sheldon Keefe, the Devils coach was quick to call out his defenseman.</p>



<p>“Kovacevic just needs to play better. That would help,” Keefe said.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="550" data-dnt="true"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">.<a href="https://twitter.com/GabeCTrevino?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@GabeCTrevino</a>: Kovacevic just mentioned to us that the team needs to have a “playoff mindset” going down the stretch —<br><br>Sheldon Keefe: Kovacevic just needs to play better. That would help…<br><br>*Ends press conference* <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NJDevils?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NJDevils</a> <a href="https://t.co/McuwJqcu4j">pic.twitter.com/McuwJqcu4j</a></p><div class="injected-ad injected-video" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="0" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="153"></div>— Trey Matthews (@treymatt4) <a href="https://twitter.com/treymatt4/status/1903633191820239278?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 23, 2025</a></blockquote><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p><br>On Monday’s episode of Daily Faceoff Live, Tyler Yaremchuk and Frank Seravalli discussed the comments and whether Keefe was right for expressing his frustration:</p>



<p><strong>Tyler Yaremchuk:</strong> “Frank, was this garbage from Keefe?” </p>



<p><strong>Frank Seravalli:</strong> “It was. Why are you hitting your guy with some friendly fire? I don’t understand it. I’m all for like a hard quip every now and again from a coach to send a message, but that’s a guy standing in front of a microphone saying all the right things for your team, trying to drag your team into the fight. And you turn around, and you slap him in a clip that’s now gone viral. I don’t understand the thought process. I think a huge tactical error and one that I think speaks to the poor season that the devils have found themselves rolled into now. </p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="1" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="142"></div>



<p>“It hurts not having Jack Hughes, of course, and Dougie Hamilton. I get it. But that team has been a wreck since Christmas, and I don’t know, let’s flip it around. Maybe if the coach coached better, maybe they’d be in a different spot.”</p>



<p><strong>Tyler Yaremchuk:</strong> “Sheldon Keefe seems to be a guy who doesn’t mind doing a lot of finger-pointing. And I think my finger would point to his playoff record. And I’d go, “Really? Are you, are you really going to be throving shade at a guy like Kovacevic?”</p>



<p><strong>Frank Seravalli:</strong> “And they just gave him $20 million. He’s like, this guy’s not going anywhere. Why would you do it? Why embarrass your own player? I don’t ever see the point in doing that. It’s no different than what I said about Patrik Allvin and his comments about Brock Besser. The name of the game is don’t embarrass your players publicly.”</p><div class="injected-ad" data-nn-ad-tech-injection-count="2" data-nn-ad-tech-max-gap="130" data-nn-ad-tech-current-gap="153"></div>



<p><strong>Tyler Yaremchuk: </strong>“Yeah. I’m with you. They’re on a collision course with the <a href="https://www.dailyfaceoff.com/teams/carolina-hurricanes/line-combinations">Carolina Hurricanes</a>, who are 9-1-0 in their last 10. Are we tapping the old Daryl Sutter ‘waste of eight days’ sign here?” </p>



<p><strong>Frank Seravalli:</strong> “We’re getting close.”</p>



<p><em>You can watch the full episode below:</em></p>



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<div class="youtube-embed" data-video_id="YXfF5WUYF8o"><iframe loading="lazy" title="Flames vs Blues: Who Gets The Final Spot? | Daily Faceoff LIVE w/ Frank Seravalli" width="696" height="392" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/YXfF5WUYF8o?feature=oembed&amp;enablejsapi=1" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></div>
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Sheldon Keefe and Johnathan Kovacevic (Imagn Images)