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G1 Review: Hughes Shines in Sloppy Win |
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Good morning Devils fans. After an eventful and hopeful offseason, the Devils kicked off their regular season with a 4-3 win over Detroit last night at the Rock. While it’s great to start the season in the win column, the Devils left a lot to be desired as they mismanaged passes, rushes, clearances, and looked lackadaisical for over half the game. Some members of the team, namely Jack Hughes and Vitek Vanacek, were in fine form. While the star center nabbed two absolutely beautiful goals, the netminder did his best to stop the onslaught of shots and chances left on the table by a despondent defensive system.
The first period saw a back and forth effort between two teams who seemed to be a step behind their teammates with creating chances. Without the stalwart tactics of Vanacek, the 1st period could have easily belonged to the visitors. The Red Wings led in shots and high pressure chances. The 2nd period opened up with a Daniel Sprong goal following a sloppy clearance attempt by Jesper Bratt. From then on, that period became the Jack Hughes show. The young star center first lit the lamp with a left side power play drive, swinging the puck at an impossible angle to tip behind netminder Ville Husso’s head. This was followed a few minutes later by another beautiful Hughes goal. This time, he dragged defenders right to left, going top shelf on a pretty wrist shot. With steam in their engines, the Devils looked to be reinvigorated, albeit held up by questionable referee calls. The third period would be the most frustrating part of the night for Devils fans as Alex Debrincat capitalized on a controversial power play to tie it up. Dougie Hamilton grabbed a goal from the point off a nasty slap shot, followed by an Eric Haula empty netter. Things got dicey as Robby Fabri tied up the match with 30 seconds left, but the Devils locked it down to get the win.
Player Ratings Out of 10
Meier - 6, tried to factor in the game but looked a bit lost sometimes
Hischier - 7, no points, did alright to shut down defensively, needs to work on faceoffs
Mercer - 4, looked totally lost and defensive liability
Toffoli - 6, similar boat as Meier
J.Hughes - 10, welcome to the Jack Hughes Show
Bratt - 5, similar to Mercer but did have a few good rushes
Palat - 6, tried to create and keep the puck in their zone
Haula - 7, nice empty netter, heavy offensive involvement, lack of speed limited him
Holtz - 6, not bad overall but nothing to write home about
Nosek - 6, similar to Holtz
Mcleod - 7, solid faceoffs and consistently engaged in 2-way hockey
Lazar - 5, looking forward to Bastian returning
Sieganthaler - 7, good physical presence, dependable
Hamilton - 8, great goal, involved both ends
Bahl - 6, had some decent hits, mismanaged pucks here and there
Marino - 7, nice assist, balanced play
L. Hughes - 4, seriously needs to work on outlet passing under pressure, sloppy most of the night
Smith - 5, physical but otherwise not super effective
Vanacek - 8, don’t blame him for all the goals, made some serious stops and earned the name chants
Schmid - N/A
Game Score Impact Card:
The Devils will take on Arizona tonight at Rock. Puck drops at 7:30. I’m assuming they are running the same group, depending on Bastian’s recovery. Most likely, Schmid will get the start tonight.
What are your thoughts? Comments on the game? Did anyone catch it in person? Predictions for tonight’s Coyotes matchup?
Leave your thoughts and comments below. Raise Hell,
-Josh Biringer
New Jersey Devils Blogger • 
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