Devils Insiders just revealed that some Devils skaters lobbed soft shots at Connor Hellebuyck in warmup to keep the Winnipeg crowd quiet.
It was the most awkward homecoming of the night. The Jets drafted Hellebuyck 130th overall in 2012, and he walked back into Winnipeg tonight wearing a Devils sweater, with a crowd that was never going to be neutral.
Devils Insiders noted that some of the guys were giving him "absolute muffins" so the building would have nothing to cheer.
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The idea is simple. A goalie who stops a few hard shots in warmup gets applause, and a fan base that wants to boo him doesn't get to hear a cheer for the guy in the other net. Take the cheers away at puck drop minus a few minutes and the tone of the building shifts.
We already covered the chaos around Hellebuyck's return, and the crowd made sure he heard it. A warmup gimmick from his own teammates is a different kind of story, and a friendlier one.
The Devils arrived on a five-game winning streak and a 13-5-0 record, both from before tonight's game. They left with a 4-2 loss to the Jets, which is final.
The post doesn't say who was doing the shooting or whether the coaching staff knew about it. Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe hasn't been quoted on it in anything we have.
Was the Devils' warmup move fair play?
Yes, and it's hard to see why anyone would object. Nobody got hurt, nobody crossed a line, and the only thing at stake was how loud a building could get while a former Jet took his warmup reps.
If anything, it's a sign of a locker room that wanted to look after its goalie on a night full of noise. Players who protect their netminder in a hostile rink tend to enjoy that, whatever the final score.
It also tells you how much attention this return drew, from the Jets side and the Devils side. We also noted that the Jets made a controversial call on Hellebuyck's tribute, so the pregame was never going to be quiet.
Hellebuyck now has five games in a Devils uniform this season. The next one is Thursday against the Capitals, in a building where the warmup shots probably won't need to be soft.
Quick hits
MONTREAL CANADIENS: Martin St-Louis and Josh Anderson both pushed back after the 2-1 overtime loss to the Wild, and neither held much back on the late slashing call against Caufield. That one is going to linger in Montreal.
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COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS: The Blue Jackets lost 4-1 to the Panthers at Nationwide Arena, and Mark Scheig says the problem is the offense and the pressure on the top players. Columbus needs its stars to answer.
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MILESTONE: Sam Reinhart's empty-net goal in Columbus was his 199th with the Panthers, second all-time in franchise history, according to David Dwork. Number 200 should come quickly.
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COLORADO AVALANCHE: Gabriel Landeskog scored twice as the Avalanche beat the Maple Leafs 6-3 in Toronto. A big shift from the captain flipped the game, and Toronto had no answer.
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GOALIE MATCHUP: RotoWire confirmed that Juuse Saros starts for the Predators in Los Angeles tonight against Anton Forsberg. Nashville gets its number one in the crease for a tough road test.
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This article was written with the help of artificial intelligence, based on public reports and official sources.
Was it fair for the Devils to fire soft warmup shots at Hellebuyck to quiet the Jets fans?
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