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Devils snap losing streak, pick up dramatic win over Predators |
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The New Jersey Devils snapped their four-game losing streak in dramatic fashion on Saturday afternoon as they came from 4-1 down en route to a 5-4 overtime win over the Nashville Predators.
A few thoughts:
1) As impressive as it is to fight back from a three-goal deficit on the road, I'd be careful of giving the Devils too much credit. The end result was great, obviously, but how they reached said result was not encouraging. The Devils were out-shot 13-4 in the 3rd period and barely touched the puck prior to scoring in overtime. As a whole, they were out-shot by 20, out-chanced by 15 and won because they somehow scored on four of their last five shots(!). Take the two points, but the Devils are not going to come from three goals down again if they play like that.
2) It flew under the radar a bit because of victory, but the Devils allowed three goals or more for the ninth consecutive game on Saturday. It was the first time the Devils have done such since 2010.
They're not going to win many games if that trend continues, even with a much more potent offense than we've seen in recent years.
3) It's amazing how quickly Taylor Hall can turn nothing into something. He didn't get a ton of chances -- the Devils spent most of their time chasing play in the defensive zone -- but sure made the most of the opportunities he did get. Hall scored on his lone shot and made nice passes prior to the game-tying-goal and the game-winning-goal.
The Devils miss Adam Larsson's steady presence on defense, but Hall was certainly worth the price the Devils paid. He's a true game breaker and has the ability to single-handedly win hockey games. That's what he did in Nashville.
4) One thing I've picked up on over the last couple weeks: the Devils have been screening Cory Schneider/Keith Kinkaid on a lot of the goals they've given up. They've had a tough time clearing the net and have been directly in front of the sight lines on numerous goals as a result. If you can't clear your man, at least step to the side a little bit and give Schneider/Kinkaid a chance of seeing what's happening in front of them.
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