photo credit: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images
Capitals @ Devils 10/24
Coming into this game…
The Devils are currently riding a three-game winning streak, something they haven’t achieved since January 2021, about three months’ worth of games. This game can be considered a measuring stick or a prove-it type game for the Devils because one can argue that their schedule has been easier than most teams and that the Devils winning record of 3-2-0 could at least partly be attributed to this more manageable schedule. Of the five opponents that they’ve faced so far (Flyers, Red Wings, Ducks, Islanders, Sharks), none of them had even qualified for the postseason last year, so the Capitals, a team that’s looked at as a lock to make the playoffs every season these days, is no doubt the Devils most formidable foe they’ve had to face so far. A lot is riding on this game as the Devils are trying to continue their winning streak and prove to the rest of the league and its fans that they can beat any team in the NHL, not just the lower half of it.
1st Period Recap
Just a few minutes into the game, Blackwood makes his mark. Alex Ovechkin broke free on a breakaway and got a decent shot off, but Blackwood came up big, and this would soon give the Devils a big boost. Not long after, the 4th line for the Devils, made up of McLeod, Bastian, and Bahl, came up big for the Devils. And that wouldn’t be the last time they do it in the game. Soon after, the Devils would do something they struggled to avoid throughout the night, turning the puck over. Luckily, in this instance, Siegenthaler made sure the Capitals didn’t make them pay. But the Capitals scored, and even though it was an impressive display of hard work by the Capitals, Dawson Mercer was late to his defensive assignment. The Devils would be granted a power play near the end of the period, but it proved to be another case where the process looked fantastic, but there’s nothing to show for it.
2nd Period Recap
The Devils looked energetic right from the puck drop and had a lot of offensive zone time to show for it. Marino, among other Devils defensemen, tried to get involved in the play and contribute offensively. And Marino almost gets rewarded for his efforts but misses the shot on a grade-A opportunity. On the Devils next powerplay, the puck movement continues to look extremely sharp, but another turnover in their own zone almost leads to a Capitals goal. Luckily, Blackwood bailed the Devils out. A few minutes later, what looks like a nothing play at first, leads to a Capitals goal. The puck was on the half wall, moving out of the zone, but bouncing. And Severson, with the right intention, tries to chip it past the Capitals out of the zone, but Garnet Hathaway catches the puck and puts it in the back of the net on a quick slot shot. Severson could have been more careful with the puck, but it was mostly an unfortunate bounce that the Capitals made sure to pounce on. The Devils get another chance at the powerplay, which proves to be the same story as the second powerplay, but with a different ending. As early in the powerplay, Jesper Bratt, who most Devils fans would argue has been the Devils best player this year as he leads the team in points and assists with 8, turns the puck over on a careless pass up the middle. It led to the goal that started the Capitals takeover of the game and, ultimately, the Devils loss. The Capitals would pour it on for the rest of the period and go up 5-1 by the intermission. Lindy Ruff must have had a lot or very little to say, nothing in between, if most had to guess.
3rd Period Recap
The Devils decision to start Vanacek in the 3rd can be looked at in many different ways, but I understood it was that Lindy Ruff was trying to give Vanacek some playing time that he hasn’t had much of before he starts tomorrow’s game against the Red Wings. Lindy wanted Vanacek to get his feet wet if he had to start against the Wings. A few minutes into the period, Tomas Tatar, who has had many scoring chances this season but hasn’t been able to convert on any of them yet, scores a hard-working first goal of the season to give the Devils life. The goal gave the Devils much-needed energy and momentum and they followed it up with another goal by Jesper Bratt who also scored his first of the season. It doesn’t make up for his costly turnover earlier in the game, but it’s a positive nonetheless.
How Things Look Going Forward…
The Devils will play the Detroit Red Wings tomorrow in their home building in the second half of their first back-to-back of the season. While the Devils played well in their last match against the up-and-coming Red Wings, they still lost by a wide margin as the score ended up being 5-2. In that game, the Devils goaltending was what let them down, but Blackwood has bounced back since then. Even tonight, I thought he was solid, despite the number of goals that went past him officially. I expect Vanacek to start tomorrow, and the Devils will count on him to bounce back as Blackwood has. But tonight was not on the goalie but on the rest of the team. The offense, while they had so many opportunities and looked great overall throughout the game, didn’t convert nearly enough, and that’s the biggest thing that has to change if the Devils are going to succeed tomorrow and this season. They also need to play with more discipline with and without the puck, as they took too many penalties tonight and turned over too many pucks(in their own zone, especially). Even though this loss stings the fans and, I’m sure, the team, both have a lot to feel optimistic about going into the next game and beyond because the things that the Devils need to fix going forward are all things that are indeed fixable. As it’s not a lack of talent that they are suffering from, it needs more conversion and timely conversion. And it’s not what they’re doing most of the time, but the mistakes they’re sometimes making that’s costing them. If they can learn from these things and be mindful of them, there’s no reason why the Devils can’t bounce back with a win in Detroit.
Devils @ Red Wings 10/25
Coming Into This Game…
The Devils are looking to get themselves back in the win column against a Red Wings team that’s given them a lot of trouble over the last few seasons and earlier in the season as they lost 5-2 in their 1st meeting of the season. They will try to do so with Vanacek between the pipes, which is also looking to back on an individual level, as he’s only played one previous game this season, ironically against the Red Wings. He let in 5 goals on 22 shots in a game that the Devils deserved to win. The theme tonight for the Devils is redemption on an individual and, more importantly, a team level.
1st Period Recap:
The Red Wings make their mark early with high energy to start the game. When the Devils were coming up with their game plan, they were most likely very aware that they needed to make sure that Dylan Larkin was focused intensely after how much he hurt the Devils offensively the last time they met. But about 3 minutes into the game, the captain still finds a way to get on the board, putting Detroit in the lead very early. McLeod and Bastian continued right where they left off last game, as they significantly impacted the game throughout the 1st. A little more than halfway through the first period, John Marino, continuing right where he left off as well, jumps into the offense again to set up Dawson Mercer for a fade-away one-timer, making it a tie game. Just minutes later, Jack Hughes, who was virtually invisible last game, makes up for it, as he puts the Devils in the lead on a dirty goal from a sharp angle. Jack Hughes’ brother Luke Hughes, who most Devils fans anticipate could make the team next year, was at the game with his family and got to see Jack score a big goal. The goal was challenged for goaltender interference by the Red Wings, but ultimately it was deemed a good goal. If it was called off, that would have woken the Red Wings up, most likely, and could have deflated the Devils, as any team would be.
2nd Period Recap:
The Devils start the period off strong, as Tomas Tatar, gets himself a golden opportunity to score, but Nedeljkovic stops it. The Devils efforts are rewarded as they’re granted a power play. The power play has looked effective almost all season so far, but it has converted less than the Devils might like. But this time, the Devils strike, as Bratt scores his second goal of the season, assisted by Hughes who made a terrific pass through the middle of the Wings zone.
But the momentum of the Devils is put to a halt, as five minutes into the period, Siegenthaler takes a cross-checking penalty. On the penalty kill, Ryan Graves makes a great play to get it up to Sharangovich, who’s off to the races on a two-on-one. Yegor makes no mistake as he roofs it past Nedeljkovic. As Ken Daneyko(Devils color analyst and former Devils legend) continues to preach, Sharangovich’s greatest strength is his shot, and the more he uses it, the better. Sharangovich doesn’t stop there, though, as his hard work on the forecheck leads to an interception and a quality scoring chance for Mercer.
With 6 minutes left in the period, the shots were 28-12 in favor of New Jersey. This has been one of the Devils’ most notable strengths this season. That is their ability to dominate teams in the shot department, as they’ve outshot their opponents by 18 shots per game over the first six games. Alex Holtz takes an unfortunate penalty at the end of the 2nd period, but the Devils kill the 1st quarter off and go into the intermission unscathed.
3rd Period Recap:
The Devils started the period off right with a great penalty kill, with Siegenthaler, who took a penalty earlier in the game, leading the way with excellent work on the boards as he killed time and kept the action away from the Devils net. The Devils take another penalty not long after, but this time Vanecek stands tall. But the Red Wings score right after the power play ends to give themselves a living on an exceptional pass from Nick Hagg from behind the net to the slot. Later in the period, Dougie Hamilton gets a breakaway opportunity but whiffs on the shot. It was a great move that he made, but he couldn’t get the shot off the way he intended. The Devils played strong to the end of the game, as Hischier and Bratt got on the board to solidify the Devils lead, and Vanacek made sure not to let Detroit get back in the game.
How Things Look Going Forward…
The next game for the Devils will be their biggest challenge yet and can serve as a measuring stick for where they place in the league. One game does not define any team, but there’s no doubt that if the Devils were to pull off a win against the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche, that would give them a particular confidence that would be hard to recreate. If they continue where they left off in this game, there’s \no reason why they can’t at least give the Avs a run for their money on Friday night.
Avalanche @ Devils 10/28
Coming Into This Game…
The Devils are looking to continue the way they played last game into this one. If the Avalanche play like everyone knows they can, then the Devils most likely won’t be able to use the ample offensive zone time they’ve been getting as a way to avoid having to defend. They will have to bring their best effort defensively tonight and rely on their goalie to keep them in it and the offense to convert on whatever chances they can muster. Since Vanecek played the last game, Blackwood will most likely get the start and will be the most critical factor in the Devils pulling off a win against the high-powered offense of the Avalanche.
1st Period Recap:
The Avalanche started the period hot as they had a significant scoring chance from Makar, who hit the crossbar after the puck was deflected off Rantanen’s stick. For the rest of the period, though, the Devils peppered the Avalanche with shots and scoring chances. The Devils thought they were rewarded for their efforts when Miles Wood scored on a great pass off the rush from McLeod, but it was later called no goal because the play was offside. The Devils continued to play well even after this, showing mental toughness. The only hiccup for the Devils was at the period’s midpoint when Tomas Tatar turned the puck over in his own zone, but Vitek Vanecek came up big, as he would throughout the night.
2nd Period Recap:
The start of the second period felt like a continuation of the second, with the Devils getting most of the chances and the Avalanche getting their own. Nine minutes into the period, the Avalanche go on the power play. They get a great scoring opportunity, but Vanacek makes the pad save, Marino blocks the rebound by being in the right spot, and the Devils killed off the penalty. About a minute later, Nico Hischier almost scored on the rush. The Devils kept pushing offensively till the end of the period, but the game remained scoreless going into the 3rd.
3rd Period Recap
Three minutes into the period, Jack Hughes scores on a far-out five-hole shot on the powerplay. Nathan Bastian’s screen was the biggest reason for the goal, but Hughes was smart to shoot it low. Vanecek was the story for the rest of the period as he stopped a breakaway on Rodriguez and fought off the rest of the Avalanche’s chances.
How Things Look Going Forward…
This was an unbelievable win for the Devils as they proved they could win in more ways than one. They showed that they don’t have to outscore teams to win, they can win low-scoring games where defense and goaltending is the main factor. Going into their matchup against the Blue Jackets, a group that has given the Devils fits for many seasons in recent memory, the Devils have a chance to continue their positive play and show that this team is different from the previous ones that couldn’t beat the Blue Jackets.
