Who are THESE New Jersey Devils?
Leon Draisaitl-less or not, the Devils rolled into Rodgers Place last night to take on the Edmonton Oilers in the second leg of a back-to-back and EARNED two points, collecting four in consecutive days.
It’s the second time this season the Devils have won back-to-back games, only doing it one other time amid their eight-game win streak earlier this season.
Except this time, they’re not scoring like they were. They’re keeping these games close.
Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald said they’re going to have to get used to winning the close games. At least until he gets them some scoring help.
They’re starting to figure out how to do that. It’s a welcomed change, for sure.
Let’s get to some observations from the 2-1 regulation win against the Oilers.
Observations
- I had a feeling it was going to be a good night when Johnathan Kovacevic stepped up against Connor McDavid and delivered a CLEAN hit to negate a scoring chance. I want to emphasize it was a clean hit, despite some claiming it looked high. Kovacevic’s gloves met McDavid’s shoulders. And it wasn’t even the biggest hit. It was just enough to push him off the puck. That’s the kind of defense the Devils missed from Kovacevic in his absence. And answering the bell when Vasily Podkolzin made a beeline for him was the cherry on top. Something tells me, if Dougie Hamilton sticks around, the Devils’ blue line will be able to manage losing Luke Hughes.
- One of the trends that continues to persist is on the Devils’ power play. It’s a bit of a maddening trend, too. There is far too much skill on New Jersey’s power play for them to continue to be as passive as they are. In the first period, particularly after Podkolzin took an instigator minor, Jack Hughes had a prime scoring opportunity in the hashes and below the dots while on the man advantage. Instead of shooting, he opted to force a pass to Nico Hischier in the slot. Except, it was intercepted, and the Devils’ power play was promptly killed. MORE SHOTS ON GOAL.
- The Devils found something with the Arseny Gritsyuk, Cody Glass, and Lenni Hämeenaho line. It was another solid showing for Hämeenaho, but the show stopped with Glass and Gritsyuk. Each had a goal and an assist. And the nerd numbers prove that line is dominating the opposition. Last night, they combined for a 3-0 scoring chance differential, bringing their total to 11-0 over the last two games. THAT’S depth scoring.
- Glass perhaps had my favorite moment of the night. It’s particularly funnier with the context that he’s probably the nicest person in the entire NHL. When Darnell Nurse had Glass pinned on the half wall, the Oilers defenseman—for whatever reason—became frustrated with Glass as if he was holding him illegally. Nurse gave Glass a good shove, which drew a confused reaction. Yet, Glass quickly recognized the improper change by Nurse, saw Gritsyuk leading a rush, and just seconds later, sniped the game-winning goal by Tristan Jarry on a perfect feed. And Glass’ celly was COLD, arms raised high, staring down the Oilers faithful. You have to love a solid revenge moment.
- And, of course, Jake Allen. At this point, he’s far and away the Devils’ most reliable goaltender. I understand Jacob Markstrom has begun to turn things around. However, the larger sample proves Allen is the one showing up in the big moments. The Oilers came out in the third period desperate. McDavid probably played 15 of the final 20 minutes, and it still didn’t matter. He stopped Podkolzin point-blank and Hyman backdoor in two high-pressure moments. In the second period, he made another sliding stop on Jake Walman on the Devils’ penalty kill. Allen was nails all night, making 2.22 saves above expected. He’s not a backup goaltender. He should be the Devils’ 1A.
