"Don't remember him being so brash in Toronto": NHL fans react to Devils HC Sheldon Keefe blasting John Kovacevic for his post-game comments

After the New Jersey Devils were defated by the Ottawa Senators in Saturday's game at Prudential Center, coach Sheldon Keefe reacted to defenseman John Kovacevic's post-game comments.

Kovacevic told reporters that the Devils need to adopt a postseason mentality as the regular season winds down.

“We have a pretty home-heavy schedule the rest of the rest of the way here. We got to make this place a hard place to play and a hard place to beat us,” Kovacevic said.

“I think that’s something that we want to take pride in. We’re in a fight, and hopefully that gets us in that playoff mentality 10-11, games out, and we carry that into the playoffs. Obviously the results are tough, but we’re in a fight here, and we’re not going to back down.”

When asked about Kovacevic's comments, Keefe said before ending his postgame media availability.

"Kovacevic just needs to play better. That would help," Keefe said when asked about what Kovacevic said.

Fans on social media reacted to Keefe's remark, noting that Keefe wasn't that outpoken against his former Toronto Maple Leafs players.

"He’s a tough guy in NJ? Don’t remember him being so brash in Toronto," wrote @Jim54307649.

"He did once and pretty much had to apologize," responded @fatony67.

"The fragile Laffs? He didn’t want to hurt their fee-fees," added @Lamoosooki.

"You drive into new jersey and immediately become more outspoken and have better taste in food," added @raeziIla.

Kovacevic, who has posted a -3 rating over the last five games, has mostly played on New Jersey's top defensive pairing after the season-ending injury to Dougie Hamilton.

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The Devils lost to the Ottawa Senators at Prudential Center

The Devils, who are third in the Metropolitan Division, missed out on a chance to gain ground in the standings against the Senators.

After neither team scored in the opening 20 minutes, the Senators took a 2-0 lead in the second period, thanks to Brady Tkachuk and Drake Batherson goals less than 30 seconds apart.

The Devils halved the lead with a power-play goal from Nico Hischier, only for the Senators to respond with a power-play goal of their own from veteran David Perron.

The Devils pressed late in regulation with goaltender Jake Allen on the bench for a sixth skater, with Eric Haula cutting the deficit to one. However, they were unable to secure the tying marker and instead fell to 37-28-6.