Five observations from New Jersey vs Vegas:
1. Taylor Hall is unbelievable I'm running out of words to describe Hall's play. It's absolutely ludicrous. Hall is scorching hot and the Devils are getting *no* secondary scoring right now so he's being keyed on like never before.
Look at how much attention he draws when rushing the puck through the neutral zone.
So I guess Vegas didn't want Taylor Hall rushing the puck up ice pic.twitter.com/6D3lzJHquK
— Todd Cordell (@ToddCordell) March 5, 2018
Teams are sending so much help to try and slow him down and yet he continues to find the scoresheet each and every night. He legitimately is the Devils' entire offense right now.
I think dinosaurs were around the last time he failed to get on the scoresheet. That's no fluke, either, as Hall seemingly leads the Devils in shots, chances, and/or shot contributions by a large margin on a nightly basis. Sunday's game vs Vegas was no exception.
Here are the 5v5 primary shot contributions for New Jersey forwards vs Vegas. Hall was a monster again. pic.twitter.com/Frv3qta22X
— Todd Cordell (@ToddCordell) March 5, 2018
2. Goaltending was the difference Cory Schneider was fine yesterday. There was maybe one goal he'd like to have back but he mostly made the saves he was supposed to. He also came up with a couple big stops on William Karlsson breakaways when the game would have been all but iced with a goal.
The Devils didn't lose because Schneider was bad. They lost because Schneider wasn't great. I know it's unfair to rely that much on one player but goaltending is so important, especially when secondary scoring isn't there.
Marc-Andre Fleury was *great* and Schneider was not. That was the difference.
3. Sami Vatanen stayed hot There are three certainties in Devils games these days: the officiating will be questionable, Taylor Hall will record a point, and Sami Vatanen will do the same.
He logged a *ton* of ice – 23:51, to be exact – and tied Damon Severson for the defense lead in 5v5 shot contributions with seven.
Here are the 5v5 primary shot contribution numbers for New Jersey defensemen vs Vegas. Severson and Vatanen were very involved. pic.twitter.com/ljr4IKqz6W
— Todd Cordell (@ToddCordell) March 5, 2018
Vatanen also chipped in a power play goal, which gave him his 11th point in 12 games.
I can't help but wonder where the Devils would be without Vatanen. I think he is unquestionably one of the three or four most valuable players on the team right now. The Devils ask so much of him – perhaps too much – and he continues to come up big on a nightly basis.
4. The secondary scoring wasn't there While Hall is scorching hot, the rest of the forward core has found a way to go cold.
Nico Hischier has one point in his last six. Jesper Bratt has three points in his last 16. Miles Wood has zero points in his last five. Pavel Zacha has zero points in his last seven. Travis Zajac has three points in his last nine. Michael Grabner has not found the scoresheet in five games as a Devil. By now, you get the point.
Very few players are contributing offensively on a remotely consistent basis. With that being the case, the Devils can only win if a) Hall goes nuclear or; b) they get great goaltending. They haven't been getting great goaltending, so right now it's all on Hall. Despite his remarkable efforts, that hasn't been enough on many nights. And it won't be. The Devils need some guys to step up and produce like they're supposed to.
If that doesn't happen, they'll be a quick out come playoff time – if they make it.
5. Blake Coleman didn't help his cause He's been in John Hynes' dog house, so to speak, over the last little while and I don't think last night's performance is going to get him out of it.
He logged less ice than every player at 5v5 and still managed to be on the ice for a couple goals against, one of which came as a direct result of him failing to clear the puck.
I expect Bratt to return to the lineup next time out and it'll most likely be in place of Coleman.
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