The New Jersey Devils picked up their third win of the preseason on Saturday night as they beat squeezed out a 2-1 victory over the New York Rangers.
Some takeaways from the game:
1) Jesper Bratt was very impressive once again. He led the Devils in controlled entries with five and continued to make plays even when he had little space to work with.
Another nice sequence for Bratt. Creates space for himself rather than dumping the puck in and it leads to a chance. pic.twitter.com/5ebNeNfgQH
— Todd Cordell (@ToddCordell) September 24, 2017
He was the same way exiting the zone. Rather than dumping the puck out and throwing away a possession, he moved it to his teammates and attacked the space that opened up after doing so.
One more Bratt clip for good measure. Uses give-and-go to exit zone, gains line with possession, dishes to open Stafford. pic.twitter.com/sYu4qs7LB9
— Todd Cordell (@ToddCordell) September 24, 2017
And, finally, his relentless pursuit for the puck caused all kinds of problems while killing penalties.
Jesper Bratt is a relentless little bugger. pic.twitter.com/xf5ouRGEZK
— Todd Cordell (@ToddCordell) September 24, 2017
Bratt is quickly changing the outlook from 'he's a promising prospect who could be a good player down the road' to 'wow, he may be able to help win games come October.'
2) Pavel Zacha looks like a guy poised for a breakout season. He's moving the puck effectively, he's powering through contact, he's playing with pace, and he's creating chances on a pretty consistent basis. Against the Rangers, he finished 2nd only to Bratt in controlled entries.
Devils 5v5 zone entry numbers vs the Rangers. Bratt led the way in controlled entries, Quenneville in dump-ins. pic.twitter.com/lmB650YNqN
— Todd Cordell (@ToddCordell) September 24, 2017
3) Joseph Blandisi hasn't gotten a ton of ice in the preseason but he's certainly made the most of it. Blandisi's tallied four points in three games while averaging just over 12 minutes per night. It's not just his production that's been impressive, though. The Devils have also outshot, and out-chanced, their opponents with Blandisi on the ice and he's brought some physicality to the table as well. I think he deserves a spot.
4) Michael McLeod was decent against the Rangers but he still hasn't really shown he belongs with the big club. Neutral zone play is his bread and butter and he's struggling to drive play up ice and find space in that area (he had one controlled entry). He hasn't created anything offensively, either, as he has zero points, two shots and four chances in almost 35 minutes of ice thus far. At this point, it seems like a pretty good bet he'll return to Mississauga for one more season in the OHL.
5) Steve Santini looked good against the Rangers. He was really steady defensively and actually had more success breaking the puck out than his partner Will Butcher.
Devils 5v5 zone exit numbers vs the Rangers. Moore had a ton of attempts, but only one more possession exit than Santini and Strait. pic.twitter.com/hZCA1oDneZ
— Todd Cordell (@ToddCordell) September 24, 2017
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