The New Jersey Devils have lost three of their last four games, and head coach Sheldon Keefe isn't happy about it.
After Johnathan Kovacevic told reporters that he thinks the team needs to adopt a "playoff mentality" down the stretch run of the regular season, Keefe bizarrely took a shot at the Devils' defenseman in his postgame presser after New Jersey's 3–2 loss to the Ottawa Senators.
Kovacevic said to reporters in the locker room that the Devils were "in a fight" and added he hopes that will get the team into a "playoff mentality" with 11 games left in the regular season.
When asked about those comments, Keefe crudely interrupted the reporter asking him a question by butting in and saying, "Kovacevic just needs to play better. How about that?"
Have a look:
Jonathan Kovacevic said the Devils need a playoff mentality. Sheldon Keefe responded by saying Kovacevic “just needs to play better” 😳 pic.twitter.com/sQoDPjk0xl
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) March 23, 2025
It's not particularly clear what prompted such a harsh dismissal of Kovacevic's remarks from Keefe. The 27-year-old, along with Luke Hughes, were the only Devils defenseman not to have a negative plus-minus during the defeat to the Senators. He did take a minor penalty in the loss, though it didn't lead to a power play goal for Ottawa. He's having a solid season, with 17 points on the year and +12 with an average time on the ice of 19:45. Still, his comments were not well received by his coach, who lashed out in his postgame media address.
New Jersey (37–28–6) sits in third in the Metropolitan Division with 80 points. They're six points ahead of the New York Rangers in the division and have managed to stay in the thick of the playoff race despite the loss of star forward Jack Hughes, who is out for the rest of the year with a shoulder injury.
More on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Sheldon Keefe Ripped His Own Player For Saying Devils Needs 'Playoff Mentality'.
