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Five observations from New Jersey vs Carolina:
1. The Devils were opportunistic
Heading into last night's game, the Devils had 64 points to their name and a minus-6 goal differential. The Hurricanes entered play with 63 points and a minus-11 goal differential. Their places in the standings suggested we'd be in for a pretty evenly matched game and I think that's what we saw.
Both teams played well in stretches but one team was never really dictating play, as evident by the chance numbers (17-16 in favour of Carolina). The difference was the Devils actually capitalized on their opportunities.
For years the Hurricanes have lost games due to a) a lack of finishing talent and; b) goaltending so it's only fitting they struggled to bury their chances and a goaltender making $4.15 million was out-dueled by a struggling backup.
2. The top line came through
The Taylor Hall - Nico Hischier - Kyle Palmieri line was as dominant as you'd expect them to be given it features a pair of 1st overall picks and a high-end sniper.
From start to finish they tilted the ice in New Jersey's favor despite the fact Carolina was able to get their shutdown center (Jordan Staal) out there for about half of their minutes at 5v5.
Hall didn't generate many chances himself but he distributed the puck well. He recorded an assist and hit Sami Vatanen backdoor for what would have been an easy goal if the puck didn't bounce on him.
Hischier was his usual self moving like a jitter bug in the offensive zone and giving the Hurricanes defense a heck of a time trying to contain him in tight spaces. He also scored off the rush, which is becoming a common theme with him these days.
Palmieri did what Palmieri does – score goals. He finished tied for the team-lead in chances and banged in his best one from the slot.
On top of contributing to three of the team's five goals, each player posted a Corsi For of 68% or higher. The Hurricanes had no answer for them.
3. Damon $everson stood out
Severson has played a lot of strong games this season, especially over the last 6-8 weeks. Last night's was at or near the top of the list.
The Jeff Skinner goal seemed to take some of the wind out of the Devils' sails. They needed a boost and Severson gave it to them by taking the ice available to him and scoring on a perfectly placed shot prior to the end of the 1st period.
He also drew one of two penalties the extremely disciplined Hurricanes took, and chipped in an assist late on Stefan Noesen's goal.
For some reason his contract was met with mixed emotions from a lot of the fan base but I don't think there's any question he's worth the money. His underlying numbers are strong and only P.K. Subban (11) and Matt Dumba (10) have scored more even-strength goals than Severson (9) this season.
4. A quality start!
Keith Kinkaid finally provided the Devils with a much needed quality start. He stopped 27-29 (.931SV%), marking just the 3rd time in 14 games the Devils have had .910 goaltending or better.
Kinkaid wasn't peppered with high quality looks but he made the saves he had to and looked a lot more confident and collected than he has over the previous couple weeks. It was a definite step in the right direction.
Now he has to try and replicate that performance against the *checks schedule* powerhouse Tampa Bay Lightning!
5. The 4th line was a disaster
With four forwards nursing injuries – Marcus Johansson, John Quenneville, Brian Gibbons and Brian Boyle – the Devils were forced to trot out a 4th line of Jimmy Hayes, Blake Coleman, and Drew Stafford.
There are many words to describe how that experiment went and good is certainly not one of them.
They spent the majority (all?) of their time chasing play in the defensive zone. It was literally a shooting gallery for the Hurricanes when they were out there.
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