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Five takeaways from New Jersey vs St. Louis:
1) While it was a one-goal game until the final minute, I don't think the Devils played overly well last night.
They were quite sloppy and went long stretches without mustering up quality looks as a result. The Blues weren't at their best yet they still controlled much of the game and it always felt like they were the more dangerous of the two sides.
When all was said and done, the Devils were outshot by 18 and out-chanced by 13. It's pretty hard to win under those circumstances.
2) I thought Cory Schneider was fantastic and one of the key reasons the Devils were able to stay in the game, which has become a lot more common of late with Schneider facing at least 37 shots in four consecutive starts. The defense is really starting to look vulnerable so it's imperative Schneider and Keith Kinkaid play well on a nightly basis. If they don't, the Devils are going to lose a lot of games.
3) Speaking of defense, I didn't like the decision to scratch Damon Severson. I'm not here to tell you he has been lights out and is playing the best hockey of his career, but I am here to tell you he leads the defense in shots, Corsi For% and has a better high-danger chance differential than anyone else on the back end. He has most certainly been better -- and is better -- than Mirco Mueller and Ben Lovejoy, for example, so I don't see how playing them over Severson gave the Devils a better chance against one of the league's best teams. I also don't see why he had to sit after being one of two defensemen, and four Devils overall, to post a positive chance differential vs Calgary.
4) Pavel Zacha's offensive struggles continued vs St. Louis as he failed to record a shot, scoring chance, or point. He's really laboring right now as he's found the scoresheet in just one of the last 11 games and has failed to record a shot in five of them. I know he's not playing with the best offensive players but he's also not facing stiff competition. The Devils really need more from him because Taylor Hall and, to a lesser extent, Nico Hischier can't carry the offense every night.
5) One thing that's become very apparent: the Devils don't have anyone who can hold their own against high-end competition. The Blues' top line of Jaden Schwartz, Brayden Schenn, and Vladimir Tarasenko had their way with the Devils scoring a goal apiece and combining for seven points, 13 shots, and 16 scoring chances.
Even when John Hynes was able to get his matchup pairing of Andy Greene and Steven Santini out against that unit, it was a disaster.
The Devils really need Travis Zajac back to help take some of the load off the defense because they're getting crushed against top lines right now.
I mean, the Devils control less than 40% of the attempts and chances with Santini on the ice. He's doing the best he can while playing incredibly tough minutes but he clearly needs some help.
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