BLOG: Devils Working on Fixing Mental Mistakes

With just two games in a span of 11 days, the Devils need to find a way to keep their eye on the prize. Tampa Bay is looming and New Jersey would like to make progress toward banking two points when they next take the ice.

Coming off a 5-3 loss to Arizona, the Devils recognize that it's the mental mistakes that need to be eliminated.

"It's easy to maybe lose focus, but you know, our staff has done a good job of kind of narrowing in on some things we need to work on," Blake Coleman said of this break between games. "We've had some really good practice days. And for the most part, we executed everything we worked on last week in the game. It was more just mental mistakes that cost us."

In the game against Arizona, the Devils had some great looks and stretches of good play but any time they slipped it seemed the Coyotes were able to capitalize.

"That's the way things are going right now," said Coleman. "We're making a few mental mistakes a game and they're costing us. Not only are we making them, we're making them at key points in the game. A goal in the last minute. For whatever reason, it just seems to hold a little bit more weight than throughout the period. We've got to buckle down in specific times of the game and know the situations and just play a little bit smarter hockey."

The Lightning are in town on Wednesday.