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The revamped New Jersey Devils opened their season against the Florida Panthers on Thursday night and, for the Devils, it was much of the same we've seen in years past.
The Devils are certainly a more talented group than they have been but it didn't show in this contest as the Devils mustered up just 24 in almost 63 minutes of play. Shockingly that wasn't good enough to get the job done.
The Good
- If there was any concern about Cory Schneider after a subpar preseason he certainly erased that with his performance. Schneider was fantastic from start to finish as he stopped 32-34, including all 16 shots he faced in the 3rd period to get the Devils to overtime in the first place. Schneider has routinely stole points for the Devils since coming over from Vancouver and it appears he's ready to do that again this season.
- Yohann Auvitu had some hiccups in the defensive zone, and will need to be a little stronger on the puck, but I thought he was fairly good in his debut. He moved the puck well, was one of four Devils to post a positive shot attempt differential at 5 v 5 and picked up his first career point on the only goal New Jersey scored.
- Kyle Quincey also had a pretty good debut. Like Auvitu, he was one of the few Devils to post positive possession numbers and he brought a much needed physical presence on the back end. He had four hits, including a couple solid ones, and a shot while playing logging 19 minutes of ice.
- Travis Zajac doesn't bring enough to the table offensively to be worth the money he makes but his defensive play continues to impress. He was effective on the penalty kill and disrupted a few Panthers' rushes with strong pressure on the back check. Most importantly he was always back down low to support the defense, which will be especially important this season.
The Bad
- The John Moore - Ben Lovejoy pairing was far from good against the Panthers. They were routinely hemmed in the defensive zone and it showed in the numbers as they posted game-worst minus-11 shot attempt differentials at 5 v 5. I imagine they'll be better next time out but it's pretty clear they don't make up a reliable 2nd unit.
- I didn't like Devante Smith-Pelly's game on the top line. He seems a step too slow to play with Taylor Hall and Adam Henrique. I get putting a grinder-type who can muck it up in the corners with a pair of skill guys but I don't think he has the foot speed to be effective in that role. Also: why was he on the ice during 3 v 3 play? He is useful 5 v 5 player; the same can not be said at 3 v 3.
- The Devils started slow but fought back in the 2nd and held their own in the first 40 minutes. After that the wheels fell off completely and they were dominated for the final ~23 minutes. They really need to go on the attack more in close games because they won't get results sitting on their hands even with Schneider in goal.
- A couple times Damon Severson started blowing the zone and thinking offense before the Devils safely got the puck out. He can't be doing that if he's playing big minutes on the top pairing against opposing team's best players.
As a whole I definitely think people were a little too hard on him for his game last night - he was far from a disaster - but there are certainly some things he can clean up. Keep putting him out there, show some faith in him and he'll learn on the job just like Adam Larsson did. Experience is the best teacher.
Stat Of The Game
Jaromir Jagr recorded seven shots on goal and was on the ice for a game-high 11(!) scoring chances at 5 v 5 alone. He gave the Devils fits.
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