1) Seemingly any time Cory Schneider allows a questionable goal, or has an off night, my timeline gets filled with people criticizing him and suggesting he's not playing as well as a goaltender of his stature, or salary, should be. That couldn't be further from the truth.
Using Corsica's Expected Save Percentage statistic, which factors in shot volume and location, we see that Schneider has been a top-5 goaltender this season in terms of outperforming his xSV% at 5v5 – and he's keeping damn good company.
As is the case with any player, there will be bad moments or bad nights but he's mostly done a very good job of erasing mistakes made in front of him. After Taylor Hall, I'd argue Schneider is the biggest reason the Devils are just three points back of Washington for top spot in the Metro.
2) Speaking of Hall, it really is hard to put into words just how important he is to the Devils. He may not be the best player in the league, but he's at or near the top of the list in terms of most valuable.
Hall ranks 2nd on the Devils in Corsi For% and Scoring Chance For% – behind only Will Butcher, who sees very sheltered minutes – and leads the way in goals, assists, points, primary points, shots, shot attempts, scoring chances, high-danger chances, and pretty much anything else you could possibly think of.
He doesn't get a ton of help, either, as he's 16 points and 54 scoring chances ahead of Nico Hischier, who ranks 2nd on the team in both categories. The difference in chances is actually the 2nd largest in the league.
A lot of depth guys have stepped up and played over their heads for the Devils this season but they'd still be absolutely nowhere without Hall.