Depleted Devils Routed in Philadelphia | GAME STORY

Philadelphia's Cam Atkinson recorded a hat trick against a depleted Devils team in a 6-1 victory Tuesday night at Wells Fargo Center.
Atkinson was joined on the scoresheet by Travis Sanheim, Justin Braun and Oskar Lindblom.
New Jersey, which played despite many players being sick, received its lone goal scoring was P.K. Subban.

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The Devils return home to host the Vegas Golden Knights Thursday night. The game can be seen on MSG+ and heard on the Devils Hockey Network, including right here at NewJerseyDevils.com. Puck drop is 7:08 p.m. ET.
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Here are some observations from the game...
- There's no denying the Devils walked - or crawled - into Wells Fargo Center a wounded and battered team. A wave of illness, both COVID-19 and non-COVID related sickness, is making its way through the roster.

The wave already took out captain Nico Hischier, and defensemen Ryan Graves and Christian Jaros, all of whom are in the NHL's COVID protocol. Forward Janne Kuokkanen was also scratched due to illness. However, many of those who suited up for the game were nowhere near 100 percent.

The effects of the sickness were evident on the ice. Many of the players didn't have their usual game legs. They were slowed, sluggish and had little, if any, energy. The Devils canceled their morning skate and hoped that getting fluids, food and rest could help. It was the right move, but, it still was not enough.

"It really doesn't matter how sick you are, you have a responsiblity inside your zone to play your position," head coach Lindy Ruff said. "We had some players that didn't want to stop. When you don't have energy, you don't have legs, you don't want to stop. ... I find it hard to sit here and make excuses."

- The Devils knew they were drastically disadvantaged against the Flyers before the puck even dropped. And they also knew that in this game, more than ever, they needed to play smart. They couldn't afford costly turnovers, getting stuck in their own zone or exerting energy to make up for mistakes.

Yet, even knowing that, the Devils still committed their fair share of errors. New Jersey still forced plays that weren't there, gave the puck away at their own blue line and even tried to do too much - a spin-o-rama carry in the neutral zone. Instead of simplifying their game, the Devils tried to play as if all was normal. And, as expected, it cost them dearly.

"We made some plays with our feet standing still, some ill-advised passes again," Ruff said. "There were a few pucks we hung onto too long that led to odd-man situations. ... I thought we started the first five minutes the way we wanted. We just couldn't stay with it."

"We are shooting ourselves in the leg. We're doing individual mistakes that costs us goals," forward Tomas Tatar said. "We have to simplify."

- Goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood was one of the Devils playing at less than 100 percent. He sucked it up and tried to play through it, but it wasn't his best showing for the Devils. A couple squeakers managed to sneak through, and he wasn't able to carry the team the way he would have hoped. After allowing five goals on 22 shots. He was replaced by Akira Schmid for the third period.

"Blackwood was one of our sickest guys and he decided to give it a go," Ruff said. "He gave it everything he had. He was probably exhausted after two periods and we decided to take him out."

- The Devils power play surrendered another shorthanded goal. It's the second game in a row in which the club has allowed a shorty. What's more troubling, the Devils have consistently allowed Grade A shorthanded chances against with some frequency of late, though opponents don't always convert. New Jersey has been working to get its power play going all season long. Not scoring is one thing. Getting scored against is a momentum killer.

"I think the unit is totally going to have a shakeup," Ruff said. "The disappointing part for me is we were point blank on one of our power plays early and we missed the net, a wide open net. (Pavel Zacha) had a wide-open net. We wouldn't even be talking about a shorthanded goal if we put that (in)."

- The Devils aren't out of the woods yet. They still have three more games this week in a four-day span, and who knows where they'll be health-wise at that point. Every point is crucial for the club at this juncture. New Jersey is already behind where it wanted to be at this point in the season. Treading water won't help anymore. The team needs to start making advancements. And healthy or not, the time is now.