Good morning Devils fans. Sorry for the delay. Paternity time is over for me so I’ll be writing up game reviews and general Devils news going forward, foregoing the preview articles for games. I’ll add the lines of the team in the review articles.
Last night, the Devils did the unthinkable as they scored first to win against the Minnesota Wild 4-3 at the Rock. Right off the bat, I saw some increased quality in 2-way defensive play from the forwards, particularly Dawson Mercer. He may be struggling to get on the scoresheet but he did well quite a few times to skate back, shut down chances, block shots, and help out the defense. Jesper Bratt opened the scoring from a cross ice John Marino pass to gain the Devils first 1st period starting lead all season. Vitek Vanacek made some great stops to help keep the lead for the most of the period. Later on, the Black and Red did a great job killing off a Dougie Hamilton penalty, showing a balanced approach to pressure and passing lane close offs. Unfortunately, former Devil Pat Maroon was able to beat Brendan Smith for a breakaway goal to even up the period 1-1.
Early in the 2nd, Erik Haula was called for a hooking penalty against another former Devil, Marcus Johansson. Pretty quickly after the ensuing faceoff, Ryan Hartman buried to give Minnesota a 2-1 lead. A Jesper Bratt goal getting called back for offsides following a coaching challenge didn’t help matters either. This would be justified with another solid powerplay chance finished up front by Tyler Toffoli, set up by Bratt and Luke Hughes. Quickly after that, as a way to make up for his penalty call earlier, Haula grabbed a loose puck at the blueline, bobbled by the Wild defensemen, to finish long distance with a slap shot gloveside against netminder Marc-Andre Fleury. Towards the end of the period, another solid power play was laid in by Bratt, following crisp passing from Luke Hughes and Timo Meier, ending the period 4-2.
The 3rd period was a gritty back and forth affair, resulting in a late Minnesota goal by Jake Middleton to cut the lead to 4-3. Near the end of the game, Kirill Kaprizov nearly leveled it on a rush through a defensive breakdown, only to be stopped by Vanacek, who showed some solid chops at net tonight despite the score.
It’s not just the eye test. It’s not just the stat sheet. It’s everything. Brendan Smith is detrimental to both ends of the ice for this team and needs to go. Per Ryan Novozinsky, his game score card for the year has him at -4.40 total for the year, looking at defensive and offensive attributes brought to each game. This ranks him 122nd out 127 active NHL defenseman this season. This is clearly not working out. Send him to the minors, bring up anyone else. Even if Simon Nemec, Santeri Hatakka, or Daniil Misyul struggle at first, it has to be better than running with Smith every night. I just don’t see what HC Lindy Ruff sees in him.
2. The Offense is (Mostly) Falling into Place
For me, the top 6 should have a solid idea of what it should be. Once Nico Hischier returns, this will push Mike Mcleod back to 4th center. The decision now remains what to do with the rest. Holtz needs to be at least 3rd line, if not 2nd. You could try putting Mercer on the 2nd line and see if that helps spark something in him offensively. You can also move Palat out of the top 6 because he just isn’t producing there. Special teams for the most part are getting things done so I wouldn’t change that too much. If we can tweak the offense and defense a bit, that should help close out chances and boost the stats and confidence of our netminders, particularly Akira Schmid who is seriously struggling this season.
3. Unrelated: Condolences to Adam Johnson’s Family
In case you haven’t heard, former Penguins prospect Adam Johnson was tragically killed during a game yesterday, playing for the Nottingham Panthers in England’s EIHL. During a collision, an opposing player had his feet leave the ice, hitting Johnson in the neck, who collapsed on the ice and was pronounced dead later on at a hospital. Multiple vigils and moments of silence have been held, both in England and in the NHL. A video of the incident unfortunately made its way through social media yesterday.
What are your thoughts? Any tweaks from this game you would make? Predictions for the next game?
The Devils (5-2-1) will hope to repeat their success against Minnesota (3-4-2) on the road this Thursday. Puck drops 8 PM/
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