Good morning Devils fans. The Devils secured a resounding 5-2 victory against the Montreal Canadiens on the road last night. While not perfect, the Black and Red put their best effort all around last night, exploding offensively while shutting down chances against and boosting Vanacek’s performance and confidence. Each player for the most part either continued their strong play or worked through their struggles to display an overall improvement in production and comfortability on the ice. Despite the high goal total, I thought the young netminder Cayden Primeau made some serious stops against the Devils offense.
The 1st saw a familiar story play out with the Canadiens getting on the sheet first. A 3-on-2 rush led to a Justin Barron goal off of a cross ice Mike Penzzetta pass. A key reason for the goal was a lack of urgency for the forwards to backtrack. Quickly afterwards, Jesper Bratt used his speed to rush on the right, dragging the Habs’ defensive pair and creating space for a crashing Nico Hischier to slide into the puck, pushing it in off of the D-man for a goal which would be called back by the refs. Honestly, I disagree with the call back. Looking at the replay, the puck went more off of Johnathan Kovacevic and he pushed Nico more into the goal than Nico did himself. Primeau made a great stop later on during a Bratt-Palat 2-on-1. That same Habs defenseman would get called on a tripping penalty on Brendan Smith. Just as the man advantage was expiring, Dougie Hamilton sent in a shot at the point, whose rebound was brought down by Timo Meier and finished with an Alexander Holtz backhander to even up the score 1-1, earning the young forward his first goal of the season.
The 2nd kicked off with back and forth gritty play from both teams and strong stops made by each team’s netminder. Each team had an unsuccessful attempt at the power play whose chances came up short. Eventually, Tyler Toffoli began what would become his best Devils night with a snapshot in the slot, assisted by Jack Hughes, leading the score to wrap up for the period at 2-1.
The 3rd became a Devils showcase for the most part. Early in the period, Hischier would capitalize during the power play. Strong puck circulation around the zones would eventually lead to Bratt trying to put in the puck himself, whose rebound was grabbed by Jack Hughes behind the net to set up a waiting Nico at the faceoff circle for a one timer glove side, another first goal for a Devils player in this game. Later on, chaos after a faceoff scrum would see Jack Hughes again set up a goal to be finished by Toffoli, who swung it far side to bring the score 4-1. The Canadiens would cut the lead down with their own power play chances, finished by Mike Matheson. But a Tyler Toffoli empty netter, following multiple empty net misses, would seal the fate for the Habs and earn the Devils a 5-2 win.
Highlights from the game can be found below:
Player Ratings Out of 10:
Bastian - 5, physically active, had a few chances, didn’t get called on penalties which is a plus
Bratt - 7, 1 assist and 3 shots, super active for 3 periods, solid game
Haula - 6, 1 shot with a strong faceoff percentage, lack of speed and current age continues to show, needs to redefined his rush game to be more pass heavy in lieu of skating it in himself
Hischier - 8, 1 goal and 4 shots, strong defensive play, consistent in faceoff circle
Holtz - 7, got his first goal of the year, had good chemistry Timo, skated well and found gaps to attack
J. Hughes - 9, 4 assists with a +2 rating, constantly was the center of offense, skated around entire teams sometimes, still struggling at faceoffs
Lazar - 4, did fine defensively to gain a neutral zone, but nothing special here. I’m open to someone else slotting in for him. Doesn’t seem to gel too much with 4th linemates
Mcleod - 6, 1 shot and nearly 87% at faceoff, created some chances, exploded with speed a few times, could use a new player to play with
Meier - 7, 1 assist and a +2 with 2 hits, physically strong and active, finding chemistry with new linemates and power play unit
Mercer - 5, active but not super effective on both ends, still looking for him to find his game this season, more than willing to be patient given his previous years
Palat - 6, 2 shots, played a role in offensive chance creation and neutral zone entry but still waiting on more from him
Toffoli - 10, most complete game as a Devil, 3 goals and 6 shots with +2 rating, looked comfortable and dangerous every shift, great night for him
Bahl - 7, active in both zones, strong physical presence, shut down and isolated most strong chances while on ice
Hamilton - 7, 1 assist and 5 shots while blocking 2 shots against, quarterbacked strong power play chances
L. Hughes - 7, may not have factored into goals but did much better defensively to avoid giveaways and distribute the puck in both ends
Marino - 6, limited power play time but did alright, could use some more offensive production from him at 5v5
Sieganthaler - 7, led the defense in ice time, consistent in both ends and helped to avoid puck traps at the corners with quick clearings
Smith - 6, not a terrible night, had a +1 with blocked shots and hits, better than previous outings
Vanacek - 8, best night of the season so far, looked strong on tough chances, 2 goals allowed with a .931 save percentage
Schmid - N/A
I’m not trying to take anything away from Tyler Toffoli tonight, but Jack Hughes had a great night. 4 assists puts him at 14 points (4G, 10A) in 5 games, has him as the most points in the first 5 games of a season since 2010. His dominance is showing in multiple areas:
If he plays 82 games and continues at this pace, we could witness an unbelievable year this season with Jack Hughes
2. Primeau is Primed
Despite the scoreline, I thought Montreal’s young netminder did well for himself otherwise. If Montreal focused their roster building around a dynamite shutdown defensive system, I could see them being dangerous down the road with him in net.
3. Firsts and Growth Show Improvement
5 games and more Devils players are finding their feet. Nico Hischier and Alexander Holtz got their 1st goals of the season. Timo Meier got on the scoresheet again after a slow start. Vitek Vanacek had his best game of the year so far. While not the perfect product, this group is beginning to gel and the ice results are showing it. Whether crunching numbers or using the eye test, the Black and Red are looking a lot better than last week.
The Devils (3-1-1) take on the struggling Washington Capitals (1-3-1) as they return to the Rock tonight. Most likely, lines won’t change too much and Akira Schmid will mind the pipes to give Vanacek a rest. Info pending confirmation.
What are your thoughts? Will Toffoli and Hughes continue their play? How will the defense respond after an improved night out last night?
Leave your thoughts and comments below. Raise Hell,
New Jersey Devils Blogger • 
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