After a loss to the Coyotes on Saturday night, the Devils bounced back in the finest of fashion as they pummelled the Blues to the tune of 7-1.
The Devils scored two goals in the first three minutes and never looked back en route to their most convincing win of the season.
Seven different Devils scored and 13 players recorded at least a point in the win, while Cory Schneider was solid between the pipes stopping 26-27.
Alex Steen was the lone scorer for St. Louis.
10 notes:
1. I know the Blues played the night prior to their game against the Devils, but New Jersey deserves a lot of credit for their performance. They came out flying right from the word go and before the Blues got their legs underneath them it was 2-0 Devils.
By the end of the game the Blues had the advantage in terms of possession (shot attempts), however, the Devils had the lead in that regard until the 3rd period, when they were already up 5-1, so score effects took their toll on this game.
Overall it was an excellent effort from the Devils, who now have a few days of rest before taking on the Capitals and Rangers in two big divisional games this weekend.
2. I thought Travis Zajac played an excellent hockey game in the win. He didn't have to log a ton of minutes because the game was so far out of reach, but he did play quite a bit in all situations and certainly made his mark. He finished the night with two assists, one of which came on the man advantage, a 55% winning mark in the faceoff circle and he played a hair under 19 minutes. He continues to be a key cog for the Devils and is a big reason the Devils are only one point out of a playoff spot.
3. Speaking of Zajac, I came across this tweet last night from Justin Bourne of TheScore, which I strongly disagree with despite my fondness of Mike Santorelli as a player.
I'm guessing Bourne doesn't watch too much Devils hockey, and if he does then I'm lost for words as to how he came up with this conclusion. I believe Santorelli has four more points, so if Bourne's looking at just points I can't understand how he's out-performing Zajac "pretty handily on the year."
When you factor in Zajac plays against top competition on a nighty basis and plays on the power play, penalty kill, etc. while being one of the best in the league in terms of driving possession, that seems like quite a stretch.
I've been a big fan of Santorelli's game for years and for the most part I enjoy, and agree with much of Bourne's work. That said, if you take Zajac off the Devils and put Santorelli on the top line they're nowhere near a playoff spot right now.
It's not surprising to see people continually beating down on Zajac, though, because he has a big cap hit and isn't putting up a ton of points. His value goes far beyond points and there's evidence to back that statement up. This isn't fantasy hockey, folks.
4. Schneider didn't need to be all that good considering the amount of goal support he got, but I thought he quietly played a very strong game. He made several big stops and didn't leave much in terms of rebounds. No. 35 is now 3-0-2 in his last five starts with a .966 save percentage and .96 goals against average in that span. Translation: he's playing good hockey.
5. Damien Brunner looks like he hasn't skipped a beat from the way he was playing before he was injured. He jumped right back into the thick of things last night and contributed in a big way as he scored on the power play and added two assists in the win. He has eight points in his last six games dating back to before the injury.
6. Eric Gelinas also played a fine game against the Blues. He had two assists and scored a bit of a fluke goal from center ice to give him three points in the win. He has been red hot of late, after going through a bit of a dry spell offensively, as he has six points over his last five games. He now has 22 points in 40 games this season including a team-high of 13 points on the power play.
7. I thought Boucher also played well. He only had one assist, but he was one of the best players on the ice, in my opinion. Almost every shift he was creating offensively and easily could have had a couple of goals to go along with his assist. No. 15 was very confident with the puck and seems to be flourishing on a line with Jaromir Jagr and Zajac. Keep 'em there, Pete.
8. I cover the Devils, obviously, so my posts need to have a lot more Devils flavor than anything else, but I wouldn't be doing my job if I didn't comment on the play of the Alex Steen line last night.
As a line they drove possession at a 73% clip last night and accounted for the Blues' only goal. Much more often than not they spent their shifts in the offensive zone and they were quite a handful for the defense to try and contain. It's easy to see why Steen, Jaden Schwartz and David Backes are having such great seasons.
9. I certainly don't expect to see the Devils scoring seven goals on a nightly basis, but with a fully healthy forward core and the balance between lines the way they are set now, I think the Devils offense will be much better than it has been this season.
Scoring has been their achilles heel all year, but they should be OK in that regard as long as they stay healthy. They're not going to light up the league, but they probably won't be hovering around the bottom of the league in goals for too much longer.
10. In the off-season
I wrote that Ryane Clowe was an upgrade over David Clarkson and based on luck alone would post better numbers this season than last. Well, Clowe seems to be proving my theory right and has been a big boost for the Devils.
It's not all about points, obviously, but in this case I think their totals tell the story pretty well.
Clowe: 10 points in his last eight games.
Clarkson: eight points in 36 games.
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