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Hall leads Devils to dramatic win over Flyers

February 14, 2018, 11:14 AM ET [42 Comments]
Todd Cordell
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Five observations from New Jersey vs Philadelphia:

1. Taylor Hall hit another level

If you had to pick one game to show voters why Hall deserves serious consideration for the Hart Trophy, last night may have been it.

Despite missing a good chunk of time – as he should have – getting checked out and going through concussion protocol, he was still the best and most impactful player in a game featuring plenty of star-power.

He seemed to have the puck on a string throughout and could do whatever he wanted regardless if Sean Couturier and/or Ivan Provorov were on the ice, which was far from the case last time these teams met in Philadelphia.

Hall posted game-highs in shot attempt differential (plus-14), shots (7), attempts (11), chances (5), high-danger chances (4) and had a couple goals to show for it, including a late one to tie the game and help ensure a desperate Devils team picked up at least a point.

All Hall's teammates sung his praises after the game and rightfully so. He was spectacular. Again.

2. Nico stepped up

I thought Nico Hischier looked as good as he has in a while. He just seemed to have more pep in his step. His passes were crisp – the give-and-go with Jesper Bratt was a thing of beauty – and he was flying through the neutral zone. He really put the Flyers on their heels and forced defenders to back off and give him space, which he took advantage of while piling up controlled entries.



3. The officiating was terrible

I'm normally not one to complain about officiating but, man, the refs are making it difficult on me these days. Almost every night there seems to be a couple calls, or non-calls, that are completely wrong regardless of which side of the spectrum you're looking at it from. That was the case again last night.

It worked both ways but I think the Devils still managed to get the worst of it. I mean, Travis Zajac was sticked in the face and it drew blood. The Devils, who were trailing at the time and could have really used a power play, should have been up a man for four minutes. They got nothing out of it.

There were penalties that shouldn't have been penalties, penalties that weren't called penalties, messed up icings, the whole nine yards. It was brutal to see that in a game featuring two teams in the thick of a heated playoff race. The refs have to be better.

4. Goaltending concerns remain

Another game, another slow start from Keith Kinkaid. He once again put the Devils behind the 8-ball early by allowing a goal on a shot he should have stopped. To Kinkaid's credit he rebounded fairly well after that but when all was said and done it was still another night of sub .900 goaltending, which has been the case in five straight games and eight of the last 10.

The Devils aren't going to score their way out of trouble every night – just ask the Islanders how difficult that is – so they're going to need some quality starts sooner than later. Cory Schneider can't return soon enough.

5. A nice response from John Moore

Moore is either really good or really bad – sometimes both the same night! – but last night we saw the good John Moore.

He chipped in a goal, was a positive in possession, and did a nice job of getting the puck up ice and out of the defensive zone.



It wasn't exactly a banner night for the Will Butcher - Ben Lovejoy pairing. With Moore playing well, it allowed John Hynes to really lean on the top-4.

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