For the second time in as many games, the New Jersey Devils took on an Eastern Conference foe ahead of them in the standings and managed to leave with two points.
As a result the Devils, who recently came out of a streak where they won just five times in 22 games, are now only six points out of a Wild Card spot.
A few notes:
1) Cory Schneider has had a very down season but he's starting to show signs of life. While starting on consecutive nights Schneider stopped 51 of 52 shots (.980SV%) and made several 'wow' saves in the process. We haven't seen a lot of that from him this season so perhaps he is finally turning a corner. If Schneider really is back on his game he could single-handedly keep the Devils in the race until the end.
2) It's only been two games but I've been very impressed with what I've seen from Steven Santini, particularly in the defensive zone. He has been glued to his man and hasn't given anyone an inch of breathing room to make plays. The Devils have been loose defensively all year and have shown no resistance in terms of letting opposing players get to the paint and post up. Over the last couple games, they've been much better in that regard and Santini is a big reason why. The Devils aren't going to rush him, but if he continues playing like this he may just stick around.
3 The Devils were by no means perfect, or anything close, but there were a lot of positives to take away from last night's game beyond just winning.
Mike Cammalleri, Adam Henrique, and Kyle Palmieri, all of whom have been very inconsistent offensively this season, accounted for all three of the team's goals.
Schneider, who has had a rough go this year, was fantastic once again and Pavel Zacha, Miles Wood and Steve Santini, the three most important kids in the lineup, all finished positive in possession.
Once again the Devils were led by Hall-Zacha-Parenteau up front and Santini on defense. Encouraging. pic.twitter.com/B5DToJR6zh
— Todd Cordell (@ToddCordell) January 4, 2017
If the Devils can get good performances from their kids, and guys who will be here for the long haul like Taylor Hall/Schneider, it'll be pretty tough to get upset even in defeat. As much as all parties involved want to make the playoffs, this is a rebuilding year and about setting things up for the future as much as anything.
4) Though John Moore can be a disaster in the defensive zone at times, I think the Devils really miss him in the lineup. In his absence, Damon Severson is the lone blueliner capable of rushing the puck up ice and bringing anything to the table offensively. It's pretty bad when you see Kyle Quincey, whose high in points over the last five years is 18, on the power play.
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