Five observations from New Jersey vs Carolina:
1. The Devils weren't good enough The Devils did not play well by any stretch of the imagination. They were sloppy with the puck and at times they struggled to complete consecutive passes. They just looked off.
After a pretty lifeless first 40 minutes, the Devils showed a pulse in the final frame and were able to spend more time in the offensive zone. Even still, they struggled to generate any chances of consequence and it was mostly an easy path to the finish for Cam Ward, who was starting for the second night in a row.
Though the Devils entered play with a 2-0 record against the Hurricanes this season, they've had their hands full with them and have largely been outplayed. Surprisingly good goaltending from Keith Kinkaid and some timely/lucky breaks have let them off the hook but that wasn't the case last night. The better team won.
2. Power play usage I know more goes into a successful power play than throwing five players of any style over the boards but I just can't get behind the personnel decisions. I can't.
Stefan Noesen is a nice player and Brian Boyle is a great story. That doesn't mean they should be on the power play.
Michael Grabner has 52 goals since the beginning of 2016-17. Pavel Zacha has been much better the last couple months and he has a nice mix of size and skill, meaning he can play on the half-wall or be a net front presence. Miles Wood ranks 4th on the team in goals. Jesper Bratt has excellent puck skills and ranks 3rd on the team in points.
I don't see how you can sit every single one of those guys while Noesen (31 points in 102 NHL games) and Boyle (two points in 27 games) skate a regular shift out there.
3. Where is the offense? The Devils have scored 14 goals over the last seven games (2.0 per) and 11 over the last six (1.83 per). That's pretty underwhelming when you have a Hart Trophy candidate on the team who has picked up a point in each of those games. Even with the additions up front, the Devils still haven't shown the ability to score with any consistency if Taylor Hall is not involved. That needs to change or they're going to be an easy out come playoff time – assuming they get in.
4. Hiding Hischier One thing I liked last night was John Hynes' decision to swap Nico Hischier and Travis Zajac. You knew Jordan Staal's line and Jaccob Slavin's pairing would be attached at the hip to Hall all night long so by dropping Hischier down the lineup, Hynes was able to get one of his best offensive talents more favorable matchups to try and create offense. It didn't amount to any goals but I thought the move made a lot of sense. That kind of things seems optimal when on the road against teams like Boston, Philadelphia, etc. with high-end shutdown forwards and/or defense pairings.
5. Keith Kinkaid did his part It wasn't pretty at times – it never is with Kinkaid – but when all was said and done he stopped 27-29 and kept the Devils in a game they didn't necessarily deserve to be in.
He has allowed two or less in six consecutive games and posted a .941 save percentage during that stretch. Those kind of numbers won't continue but it's encouraging he finally seems to be finding his game.
Cory Schneider can't start every night, especially coming off an injury, so they're going to need some good outings from Kinkaid down the stretch.
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