Five takeaways from the New Jersey Devils' opening day victory over the Colorado Avalanche:
1) During the preseason Jesper Bratt was consistently one of the best players on the ice and he carried that into Saturday's opener. His speed and relentlessness on the forecheck caused all kinds of problems for the Avalanche at both even-strength and on the penalty kill. He was dynamic and creative with the puck, as he was able to slip through checks and make plays on a shift-to-shift basis. He picked up a beautiful assist on John Moore's short-handed marker, showed good patience out-waiting Jonathan Bernier on his first NHL goal, was a positive in possession at evens, and logged almost five minutes of ice on the PK in what was his NHL debut. If he continues playing like this, he won't be going anywhere.
2) Nico Hischier didn't get on the scoresheet, but I thought he was spectacular from start to finish. He created a game-high five scoring chances at even-strength and was seemingly a threat every time he touched the ice. His passing was crisp, his decision making was perfect, he was skating really well, and the confidence he showed while handling the puck was remarkable.
The best of Nico Hischier's puckhandling in his NHL debut. Super slick. pic.twitter.com/x0b8zjpJ2C
— Brady Trettenero (@BradyTrett) October 7, 2017
3) Will Butcher didn't get a ton of ice -- he played 12:45 -- but he sure made the most of it tallying three assists in his debut. His passes were accurate and his decision making was really good, particularly on the power play. The Devils really need him to be a solid contributor for them and so far, so good.
4) Cory Schneider was spectacular against the Avs. The Devils looked good, no doubt, but they gave up their share of chances and Schneider was always there to close the door. His positioning was good, his side-to-side movement was good, he didn't leave many rebounds for the taking, and he looked very sharp and dialed in overall. If the Devils are going to be remotely competitive this year, they need the Schneider from 2015-16 to show up on a nightly basis. He did on Saturday.
5) I was excited to see the Mirco Mueller - Steve Santini pairing at work, but I didn't necessarily like what I saw from them. The Devils were out-chanced 8-1 at 5v5 with that duo together and they really struggled breaking the puck out of the zone, exiting with possession just five times in 19 attempts (John Moore had a tough night, too, with one possession exit on nine tries).
5v5 zone exits for the Devils vs the Avs. Greene was very efficient, Moore...was not. pic.twitter.com/6miwW93dCy
— Todd Cordell (@ToddCordell) October 7, 2017
There will be growing pains with young players but they need to get that cleaned up, especially when the Devils are on the road and John Hynes can't control the matchups.
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