It’s one thing to scratch and claw your way to a win against the San Jose Sharks. But, when the New Jersey Devils did it again against the Colorado Avalanche to win their eighth game in a row, it meant a lot more.
Crazy Eights: Jack Hughes Supremacy; Gritsyuk, Nemec Fuel Win over Avalanche
The Devils’ win streak is fueled on the back of Jack Hughes. He’s simply been incredible. Eight goals in right games is otherworldly.
However, Jack can’t do it alone, and the depth has proven to be the difference with this season’s team.
The defense, despite missing a key defender, clamped it down. And when they didn’t thank goodness for the reliable goaltending.
The Devils’ overtime win on Sunday was mighty impressive. They weren’t perfect, again. However, came away with two points, again.
It’s the mark of a good team.
Let’s talk takeaways.
Arseny Freakin’ Gritsyuk
It just seems like every game that Arseny Gritsyuk play’s in the NHL, he becomes more and more comfortable.
Skating against the Avalanche, it was Gritsyuk’s third game skating with Nico Hischier and Timo Meier. The Devils rookie forward opened the scoring for New Jersey just over nine minutes into the first period at even strength.
What was even more impressive was the work he put in to score the goal.
Gritsyuk battled with Avalanche forward, Artturi Lehkonen, who is better known as one of the NHLs better defensive forwards, at the Colorado blueline. The 24-year-old applied great pressure to Lehkonen with an outstanding forecheck, and forced him with the puck to the wall. Gritsyuk won the puck battle, allowing Timo Meier to bring the rubber deep in the Avalanche zone.
Gaining the slot uncontested, Gritsyuk picked up Meier’s pass with his toe, kicked it up to his stick, and rifled a shot past Trent Miner to give New Jersey the first lead.
Gritsyuk was buzzing in his ninth NHL game, and is seemingly getting better every day.
“Yeah, he’s been good,” Jack praised. “He’s come in here, and he’s played really good hockey. I think people probably didn’t know what to expect with him. And I know myself, and the guys in this room, are really pumped with how good he is. He’s a guy that can be a part of our core for a long time, hopefully. So I think he’s been playing great hockey for us, and it’s evident with how well he’s playing.”
Brett Pesce’s Absence Felt
When Brett Pesce became injured at the end of the first period, his lack of presence was felt throughout the rest of the blueline.
Simon Nemec double shifted, taking the ice with both Luke Hughes and Brenden Dillon.
The duo of Nemec and Hughes certainly had some polarizing moments. However, Pesce’s absence was more felt through the blueline as a whole, with everyone needing to step up for more minutes.
It resulted in a disjointed group that the Avalanche tried to take advantage of. Colorado hemmed New Jersey in their own end for quite some time in the second period. They feasted on tired Devils legs, and outshot New Jersey 11-3 while Sheldon Keefe and Co. tried to reconfigure their structure.
The Devils were lucky to come away with a one-goal lead in the middle frame, despite the 15-7 chance differential in favor of the Avalanche. They felt Miner’s instability in goal, and limited the Devils’ ability to get pucks on net.
The Devils figured it out in the third, but it’s a good thing Jake Allen was in goal. Speaking of…
Jake Allen, Man
How can you not be thrilled with Jake Allen in the absence of Jacob Markstrom.
The Devils’ No.1 goaltender returned to the team on Saturday for practice, and even dressed as Allen’s backup against Colorado. However, it’s hard to pull Allen out of the net right now.
The veteran Devils goaltender is performing like a true No.1. When the Avalanche smelled a bit of blood, they tried to step on the neck of the Devils, who were down one of their best defenders.
Yet, Allen made a plethora of quality saves to fend off the Avalanche attackers, who relentlessly peppered him with 11 shots and 25 attempts in the middle 20 minutes.
“Yeah, he’s been playing great for us,” Jack said. “We’re happy that he’s playing well, and we’re happy that [Jacob Markstrom’s] back. So we got a lot of belief in all three of our goalies, honestly, with [Nico Daws], too. So another great game by Jake, and we’re happy for him.”
No Panic, Back to Work
The thing that sets this Devils team apart from last year’s is the ability to bounce back.
No, it wasn’t a good second period. But, they weathered the storm and somehow came out on top. And in the final 20-plus minutes, the Devils adjusted and played much stronger.
It all goes back to the maturity, but the Devils don’t panic this season. That could make all the difference for a team who wants to go from playoff threat, to Stanley Cup Contender.
“I thought we played an excellent third period from a defensive standpoint,” Keefe explained. “They didn’t give up much. I think their goal at about the 14-minute mark is the third shot of the period. So you get 14 minutes of pretty clean hockey. You make one mistake and they score. That happens in one goal games. But again, we just got back to work. We got some chances late, and then obviously made good of it in overtime. It was what we thought it would be in terms of the challenge offensively for them. And there are two tired teams out there today. They’ve had a tough schedule, but this is four games in five and a half days for us as well. So it’s kind of a bit of a taste of what you’re going to deal with all season long.”
