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Five observations from New Jersey vs Carolina:
1. The Devils were out-classed
One of the keys to making the playoffs in such a tight-knit, parity driven league is winning games you don't deserve. That's what the Devils did last night.
Coming off consecutive losses against teams around them in the standings, you knew the desperate Hurricanes would put forth their best effort. You also knew there'd be little resistance from a fatigued Devils team playing in the latter half of a back-to-back without several key players.
From puck drop to the final whistle – in regulation, anyway – the Hurricanes were the better team. They out-chanced the Devils 44-17 (72.13%), won the high-danger battle 23-9 (71.88%), and it always felt like they were in control of the game.
The Devils managed to capitalize on the few chances they did get while, again, the Hurricanes struggled to score against a backup despite piling up quality looks. Finishing their chances has been a problem for years and it appears nothing has changed in that regard. The Devils were the beneficiaries of that last night.
2. Keith Kinkaid was excellent
Kinkaid has had an up and down season – with more downs than ups – but he deserves a lot of credit for his performance vs the Hurricanes. The Devils looked completely overwhelmed for the vast majority of the game and things actually got worse as it wore on and fatigue started to become more of a factor.
Essentially, the team said 'the net is yours, win us the game' and he did just that stopping an impressive 40-42 and picking up an assist in the process.
3. The Hurricanes slowed the top line
In my game preview, I mentioned the top line could have a hard time generating offense going up against Jaccob Slavin's pairing on a shift-to-shift basis.
In almost 11 minutes of Hall vs Slavin at 5v5, the Devils generated just two scoring chances. They gave up 15.
To the top line's credit, they took advantage of their few chances during different game states (5v4, 3v3, etc.) but they were certainly nowhere near their best.
4. Sami Vatanen stays hot
The Vatman™ contributed another two assists last night, giving him 17 points in 35 games as a member of the Devils. That equates to a 40-point pace over the course of 82 games. For perspective, only 23 defenseman hit that total a season ago.
Vatanen has managed to be very productive, and posted positive relative possession numbers, despite playing big minutes on the shutdown pairing many nights.
Contrary to what some will have you believe, he's been really good.
5. Nico continues to score
Nico Hischier has been somewhat snake bitten all season long. He's piled up the chances on a nightly basis but hasn't been rewarded as much as you'd expect given the quality of opportunities he generates. That is finally starting to change.
He has scored four goals on seven shots over the last four games and his shooting percentage has almost reached 10%, which seems a lot more reasonable for a player of his talents.
He has a deceptive release, and good accuracy, but the power isn't necessarily there just yet. I think as he grows into his body and puts on a little more muscle he'll be able to get more zip on his shot, which should help him fill the net with more regularity.
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