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A few notes from New Jersey v Dallas, a game that resulted in the Devils losing for the 15th time in 17 games:
1) The Devils may have led for the majority of the game but I don't think that was at all indicative of the way things went. The Stars controlled play, essentially from the word go, and seemed to get better as the game progressed. They just kept coming and the Devils didn't really have an answer for it.
Ales Hemsky, who has been hot of late, scored a power play marker to even things up and the Stars' best players came through in extra time.
Wins don't matter to the Devils right now but that one still left a bit of a sour taste. The Stars aren't very good, they were on the road, and still were clearly the better team (chances were 22-11 Dallas at 5v5, 28-13 overall).
2) I agree with John Hynes' assessment the skaters, not Keith Kinkaid, were to blame for the loss. As mentioned above, the Devils didn't play a strong game but they still managed to squeeze out a point because, for the most part, Keith Kinkaid was solid and came up with a few stops he probably shouldn't have. He is playing his ass off right now -- he wants a new contract -- and you can tell.
3) Blake Coleman, Blake Pietila, and Pavel Zacha all logged at least three minutes of ice on the penalty kill. Stefan Noesen (1:17) is the only other forward to play more than one minute. It's clear Hynes wants to use these games to evaluate what the kids are capable of.
4) I know I'm beating a dead horse with the Damon Severson praise but he continues to get good results. The Devils out-chanced the Stars with Severson on the ice (that wasn't the case with any other Devil on the ice) and it was nice to see him stick up for himself when Curtis McKenzie came after him following a clean hit.
5) The Dalton Prout experiment has to come to an end this April. He can't move the puck and bad things tend to happen when he is on the ice. The Devils have enough defensemen on the roster that meet that description, they don't need another one kicking around. I'll never question his effort -- you can see he is really trying -- but the skill level just isn't there.
6) If Taylor Hall is fighting an injury, as Pierre LeBrun tweeted out a few days back, I think the Devils should seriously consider shutting him down for the season. I know he is a guy who sells tickets and he is still playing solid hockey but there is no point in risking his (likely) minor injury turning into a serious one. They have lost 15 of 17 and sit last in the Eastern Conference. What good is having Hall play through an injury, minor or not, for the final seven games?
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