James Nichols
The New Jersey Devils secured a victory on the second leg of their road trip over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday evening. The Devils improve to 5-2-0 through seven games thus far, and have yet to really put it all together.
That’s a good thing.
Head coach Sheldon Keefe shuffled his forward lines on Thursday in search for more offense. What he received was a three-goal effort in a mixed bag of on-ice results, but enough to secure two points in regulation.
READ: Devils Sheldon Keefe Makes Big Changes to Lineup
The penalty kill (PK) was once again a difference maker, allowing a late goal but killing two of three penalties. Still, they provided a short-handed goal on the stick of Nathan Bastian. The power play didn’t convert, but created nine scoring chances on just two advantages.
It was an imperfect, yet effective effort that saw the Devils’ goaltending soar again, continued development in what very well might be the Devils’ new top defensive pairing, and expected rookie mistakes on the blue line.
Let’s get to some report card grades.
Jacob Markstrom: A
Jacob Markstrom was excellent, again. On Tuesday, he deserved to earn a victory over the Carolina Hurricanes, but the performance in front of him didn’t allow that to happen. However, the Devils were more sharp Thursday evening, even if it took playing out the opening frame to get there.
Yet, that’s the point. The Devils weren’t on their A-game in the first 20 minutes. Head coach Sheldon Keefe shuffled his forward lines and had only had one practice together to build chemistry. Markstrom made nine stops in the first period, and although the Devils started to get a hold of the game in the two later frames, the Senators are a skilled enough team to create dangerous chances with fewer touches.
He came up just short of a shutout when the Senators scored a power play goal with about one minute left in the third, but otherwise was nearly flawless.
“Outstanding,” Keefe said. “Terrible he doesn’t get the shutout that he deserves in this one here. You feel for him when they make that call, and you just kind of feel like it’s just going to give them a little extra life. But he was outstanding for us, no question. I thought in the early going of the game in the first period, he was really strong and really kind of let us get our legs going in the game. And that’s really what you want from your goaltenders, to give you a chance to hang around in the game, find your game, and once you have it, you have the confidence that he’s going to help you take care of it.”
Seamus Casey: D
This wasn’t one of Seamus Casey’s better displays.
Casey started fine as one of the Devils’ defensemen who went unnoticed. That’s not necessarily a bad thing as he didn’t stand out negatively… to start. However, a couple of blown coverages and mistakes in the defensive end of the ice led to limited minutes in the third period for the 20-year-old rookie.
Casey didn’t see much time on the power play as a result and was on the wrong side of a 2-7 scoring chance differential.
It’s one of those games for Casey to reflect on for a moment, learn from it, and move on. He’s got the hockey IQ to overcome this one.
Jonas Siegenthaler & Johnathan Kovacevic: B+
Is there a new top Devils defensive pairing?
The duo of Jonas Siegenthaler and Johnathan Kovacevic has been outstanding thus far. Defensively, they’ve shut down the opposition and Kovacevic’s puck-moving ability has given the duo an offensive upside to compliment Siegenthaler’s plus defending.
Kovacevic helped set up the Devils’ first goal on a shot from the blue line that was deflected past Senators’ goaltender Anton Forsberg. The duo created a 75.0 xGF% at even strength.
There were just two blips on the radar when Siegenthaler committed two infractions, one in the first period for holding and another in the second for interference. However, the 27-year-old defenseman was bailed out by the impeccable Devils penalty kill.
Paul Cotter: B
The Devils head coach wanted Paul Cotter to continue his simplistic, yet effective north-south game in his increased, top-six role with Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt.
Cotter did that for the most part, collecting a goal on two shots and making a home for himself in the Senators slot by winning physical battles against Ottawa’s defense in high danger areas.
He remained a pesky forechecker and defensively responsible in New Jersey’s end of the ice. His 46.64 xGF% was low, despite collecting a goal, and he was on the ice for a negative 7-9 scoring chance differential.
There was one individual blunder in the second period, when Cotter was skating the puck in transition out of the Devils’ zone. He was stripped of the puck in the neutral zone while past the red line rather than dump the puck deep into Ottawa’s zone. Fortunately, the Devils’ defense was able to regain control, negating a Senators rush.
Sheldon Keefe: A
Keefe pushed all the right buttons in this one. Cotter proved to be effective next to Hughes and Bratt. Timo Meier showed well next to Nico Hischier and Dawson Mercer. And Tomas Tatar remained effective in a third-line role with Erik Haula and Stefan Noesen.
It’s his job to know when to pull the reins back, and he did so when Casey needed to sit and watch, limiting his minutes in the third period following a rough middle frame. And when the Devils needed to severe Ottawa’s momentum, he stacked Hischier with Hughes and Bratt for a shift in the first period, which was single-handedly their best trio in the opening frame.
Keefe’s new line combinations are still a work in progress, but you can see his train of thought and why he made the changes he did.
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