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Devils need Palmieri’s finish / Red Fisher

February 23, 2018, 10:23 AM ET [8 Comments]
Guest Writer
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By Gilles Moncour

This year’s version of the Devils have shown marked improvements in many areas: team speed, passing ability, cohesiveness, and positional sense. One area that has not progressed as much as the others is the team’s ability to finish off chances.



In Devils history, despite some low scoring teams, Jersey always had players who seemed to come through when there was a scoring chance to be had : Kovalchuk, Parise, Gionta, Sykora, Mogilny, Richer, and Lemieux could pop the styrofoam targets with the best in the league — but even role-players or more defensive specialists like Madden, Clarkson, and Langenbrunner consistently came up with the goods in the clutch. The 2017-18 Devils are not measuring up, however, and as the games get tighter, the second-chances get fewer and the the team is losing its grip on the playoffs.



Taylor Hall is having a tremendous campaign, and there is certainly nothing negative to be written about him in this space. And no complaint can be made about Travis Zajac, playing some of his best hockey this past month, but never will be able to bulge the net consistently, as ten years’ worth of evidence suggests. As for Nico Hischier, the most disturbing aspect to an otherwise promising rookie season was the bit of nerves and lack of calm when presented with golden chances, which belied his coolness and spontaneity in the neutral zone and on the rush; hopefully the composure showed in his astounding Player-of-the-Week efforts is a portent of things to come. While Jesper Bratt may have the highest hockey IQ of anyone on the team, the needle on the “Fatigue” dial on his 170-pound frame is pushing into the red — Coach Hynes may need to push him down in the lineup or give him a few games off just to get him through the stretch run. Pavel Zacha is playing a good all-around game, but does not inspire fear when staring into the goalie’s eyes.



Which brings us to Kyle Palmieri. The Devils’ winger has a wicked top-shelf wrist shot, a cannon for a one-timer and the experience to make his shots count when it counts the most. However, despite being on pace to post similar numbers as he did in his past two seasons with the Devils, something seems off. With the improved transition game from the defense and the influx of creativity and playmaking ability from the rookies, Palmieri would be expected to revel on the open ice and clear chances afforded him this season… but it hasn’t worked out that way. True, the slap shot that broke his foot in November interrupted his season, but he has been back for two months, and unless there is something more to the injury than has been revealed, he should be at full strength.



When John Hynes rightfully broke up the Hall-Hischier-Bratt line that had been together for over a month, Palmieri could have been expected to feast on the opportunity, with Hall now playing at MVP-caliber and Nico finding a new level. Instead, Kyle is having trouble keeping up with the play, not getting many looks, and certainly not scaring anyone with his shot.



Palmieri has not been a detriment to the line — his work along the boards, physical presence, and defensive responsibility were needed for the balance of the unit, but has just seven shots in his last five games and seems almost incidental to the Hall-Hischier scoring connection. Hall has a shoot-first mentality, and is often first out of the zone; by the time Palmieri catches up, the defense has reset and the work is being done on the wall and not in the slot: Stefan Noesen could be doing the same job. If the Devils want to make the playoffs, and don’t want more games like last Tuesday’s versus Columbus, where a couple of mistakes doomed the team to defeat despite a dominating effort, Palmieri must do more.



Now that Mikael Grabner has been added to the Devils mix, it is up to Hynes to find a new combination that can better utilize Palmieri’s unique assets and balances the Devil’s scoring potential. Palmieri, for his part, needs to keep up with the quicker pace of play, find the open ice for his shot, and hit the net (or the goalie) instead of the high glass. The Devils have sacrificed key assets in the trade for Grabner signaling a strong desire to make the playoffs. After Saturday night’s Patrick Elias banner-raiser, the Devils will embark on two road trips in the next month — including a six-game western swing that has spelled disaster in the recent past. Taylor Hall cannot be the only driving force on offense — they need Palmieri’s goals to make a difference.



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Top 5: The Devils’ Best Finishers:



1. Palmieri

2. Hall

3. Severson

4. Boyle

5. Stafford



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I wanted to depart from Devils talk for a moment to pay homage to a man who had a tremendous impact not only on everyone who writes about hockey, but on everyone who reads about it as well: Red Fisher.



To say that Mr. Fisher, who passed away last month, was “the last of the great, old-time hockey writers” would do him a disservice. Red Fisher’s first assignment was to cover the Richard Riot in 1955, a time when writers were as much a part of the team as coaches and trainers, all the way through to the new millennium and the Bettman era, covering 17 of the Canadiens’ 24 Stanley Cups for the Montreal Gazette and Star. It was a career like no one else before or since.



On a personal note, when the internet allowed easy access to sports writers around the world, Mr. Fisher’s articles were always something special... always more than X’s and O’s: they were missives that were as much a pleasure to read for their aesthetic quality as for their informational authenticity. Mr. Fisher remains an inspiration to me as a chronicler of hockey, a champion of the press, a purveyor of wit, and, perhaps most of all, a man whose words could touch your heart. Au revoir, Mr. Fisher… tres bien.
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