Five takeaways from New Jersey vs Edmonton:
1) I was really impressed with how the Devils came out of the gate. They dominated play early on and barely allowed an Oilers team desperate for points to touch the puck. Though the Devils only had one goal to show for their efforts, I thought it was the best 10-15 minute stretch they've played all season.
The Oilers found their footing and fought back in the final 40 minutes of regulation but, prior to overtime, there wasn't a stretch where the Devils were really on their heels and overwhelmed. They played a (mostly) solid game and earned their point.
2) Should Cory Schneider have stopped the Milan Lucic goal? Probably, but I think it's unfair to blame him for the loss. In regulation, he posted a solid .923 save percentage and he made a couple flurries of saves in overtime prior to the Oilers breaking through. They skated circles around the Devils for 3-4 minutes and generated eight scoring chances in the extra frame so the Devils were lucky Schneider even held them in that long. Generally speaking, it's tough to fault a goaltender for a loss when you score twice in a hair under 65 minutes.
3) I thought Damon Severson was terrific in his return to the lineup. He made smart, quick decisions with the puck and didn't get himself into much -- any? -- trouble defensively. The Devils allowed just three scoring chances in almost 17 minutes of 5v5 play with Severson on the ice, which is as good as it gets. Only Will Butcher and Brian Boyle were on for fewer chances against at 5v5 (two each), but they both played at least 5:40 less than Severson. It wasn't as if Severson was protected with soft minutes, either. He played primarily against Ryan Nugent-Hopkins' unit and gave them nothing when he was out there.
4) I've been on Mirco Mueller's case since the preseason concluded so it's only fair I give him credit when he plays well. With Mueller on the ice at 5v5, the Devils dominated play territorially to the tune of a 15-3 scoring chance differential. He wasn't just a passenger, either, as he recorded two shots on goal after tallying just two in his first 10 games of the season. He skated well, he was active, and he looked as confident as I've seen him since September. Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come as the Devils really need someone on the backend to step up.
5) Good news: the Andy Greene - Steven Santini pairing, which has had its share of struggles lately, played primarily against Connor McDavid's unit and held the trio pointless at 5v5.
Bad news: the ice was still severely tilted in Edmonton's favor during that matchup.
Anyone care to guess which pairing was matched up against McDavid's line? pic.twitter.com/sCqNBTMnq8
— Todd Cordell (@ToddCordell) November 10, 2017
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