Five observations from New Jersey vs Tampa Bay:
1. The Devils defended much better New Jersey may have beaten Pittsburgh on Friday night but they didn't play their best hockey. Far from it. Beyond a solid 2nd period, the Devils spent a lot of time on their heels and handed way too many easy scoring opportunities to a Penguins team loaded with firepower.
With the Devils playing in the latter half of a back-to-back against the league's highest scoring team, it was easy to envision that happening again. But it didn't.
The Devils were much more structured defensively. They were smarter with the puck. They didn't turn it over in dangerous areas and let the Lightning's speed take over.
On Friday night the Devils conceded 18(!) Grade A chances at 5v5. Last night that total was cut in half.
Given the circumstances, I think the Devils defended as well as possible. They earned the win.
2. Keith Kinkaid stayed hot As Brian Boyle mentioned in his post-game interview, the Devils mostly did a good job of regrouping after a chance and not allowing the Lightning to generate multiple quality looks in quick succession. There were some lapses, though, and Keith Kinkaid once again was steady and held down the fort.
Since February 14th, Kinkaid has won 10 of 13 starts and posted a .935 save percentage.
He owns a career .912 save percentage over 104 games, which is actually a hair below league average, so he's clearly playing over his head. He's picking a great time to get hot, though.
3. Sami Vatanen was solid again The Finnish blue liner spent more than 12 minutes at 5v5 shadowing Nikita Kucherov and Tampa Bay's top line. They didn't find the scoresheet in that time and generated only one more shot attempt than the Devils did. Realistically speaking, that's the best you can do against that kind of competition.
For Vatanen to slow Kucherov and co. down the night after logging 24:19 against the back-to-back champions is insane.
The Devils are getting their money's worth with Vatanen.
4. Pavel Zacha is making a difference Zacha has managed to find the scoresheet in both games since returning – he assisted on Kyle Palmieri's game-winning-goal last night – and the 2nd line has looked more threatening with him on it.
Not only does he improve the 2nd line, but he pushes Travis Zajac down the another spot and allows No. 19 to focus more on the defensive side of the game, which is what he is best at.
I think his return gives the forward group a lot more balance.
5. Nico is the GOAT I don't want to get ahead of myself here. I don't. But Nico Hischier may be the best player of all-time in the history of sports. Okay, maybe I'm taking it a little too far. He is really good, though!
He was relentless after the puck and won more than his share of puck battles along the wall. He led the team in shots and scoring chances. He scored his fifth goal in eight games. All that came against a team tied for the league-lead in points.
Hischier is already so damn good and he shouldn't even hit his peak for another handful of years. The Devils hit the lottery (literally) getting him.
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