The New Jersey Devils kicked off their annual Western Canada road trip on Tuesday night and their start was anything but ideal.
The Devils surrendered the game's first two goals and were playing catch-up the rest of the way.
They closed the gap to 2-1 and 3-2 but were unable to square things up and eventually fell to a struggling Calgary Flames team as a result.
Some thoughts:
1) From start to finish the Devils just didn't seem to have it in this game. There were too many defensive breakdowns, mental lapses and they simply couldn't convert on their chances. The Devils only had 20 shots but they had more scoring chances at 5 vs 5 and all purpose. They failed to take advantage of that and it cost them. Realistically the Devils didn't deserve a point in this game but they had no shortage of opportunities to grab at least one.
2) As each game passes Sergei Kalinin seems to be getting more comfortable and making more of an impact. He didn't get on the scoresheet but he had four scoring chances, was the Devils' best possession player at even-strength and he drew a penalty by using his size on a net drive.
I say keep Kalinin on L2 when Patrik Elias returns - at least to start - and roll the following top-9:
Cammalleri - Henrique - Stempniak Kalinin - Zajac - Palmieri Elias - Josefson - Tlusty
3) If it felt like Kyle Palmieri was generating a ton of chances that's because he was. He had a game-high five scoring chances, a game-high five shots and looked dangerous almost every time he touched the ice. He's looked really good playing alongside Travis Zajac and now Kalinin on the second line.
4) For the first time in six contests - and fourth in 17 - Damon Severson logged 19+ minutes in a game. There were a couple hiccups throughout but I thought he looked pretty comfortable on the back end. It is taking a while for him to fully gain the trust of John Hynes but I think he's starting to do just that. Hopefully that's the case because the Devils need Severson to be a key piece for them moving forward.
5) Cory Schneider seemed to be off his game all night as he left a handful of rebounds out for the Flames to pounce on and was fighting the puck a lot more than usual. In saying that he still made 27 saves and managed to keet the Devils in the game until the final buzzer. That's what elite goaltenders do.
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