The New Jersey Devils' played some poor hockey on their three-game road trip through Western Canada but they aren't coming home empty handed.
After Mike Cammalleri opened the scoring early in the 2nd the Devils and Vancouver Canucks traded goals the rest of the way en route to what eventually turned into a 3-2 win for New Jersey.
Notes:
1) Cory Schneider's giveaway that led to a Henrik Sedin short-handed goal wasn't exactly a banner moment for him but, that aside, I thought he played a spectacular game. On several occasions the Devils were hemmed into their own zone for minutes at a time and he came up with big save after big save. He also made some excellent sprawling stops on the PK and was as big of a reason as any that the Devils killed off six of their seven penalties.
Schneider stopped 36-38 in the win and has now posted a .900 save percentage or better in nine straight starts and a .923SV% or better in eight of nine. I don't know where the Devils would be without him but they certainly wouldn't be sitting in the top wild card spot as they are right now.
2) Travis Zajac was once again a rock for the Devils from start to finish. He tallied an assist, was defensively sound and the Devils always seemed to be in Vancouver's end when he was on the ice. The numbers back that up, too, as the Devils generated 72% of the shot attempts with No. 19 out there during 5 vs 5 play.
3) After an off night in Edmonton the Mike Cammalleri - Adam Henrique - Lee Stempniak line rebounded in a back way combining for two goals, five points and eight shots against the Canucks. Despite Cammalleri's three-point night I thought Henrique was the best of the bunch, although all were very good at even-strength and on special teams.
4) The shift Kyle Palmieri had leading up to New Jersey's first goal was nothing short of incredible. He was all over the ice in the offensive zone and won several battles - including one while sitting on his ass - which led directly to Cammalleri's goal. He's playing some excellent hockey.
5) The Bobby Farnham experiment was fun for a while but I think it may be time to pull the plug. It's certainly not for a lack of effort but he's been getting caved in at even-strength and bad things tend to happen when that's the case. In 10 games with the Devils they generated 36.5% of the shot attempts with him on the ice and 48.2% when he's not. That's a substantial difference.
I'd like to see Tyler Kennedy get a contract and be put into the lineup in Farnham's place.
6) I'm pretty sure Jacob Josefson was one more minor penalty away from being fired into the son by John Hynes. Josefson is normally very disciplined but that was far from the case Sunday night. He's lucky his penalties didn't cost the Devils.
Prospect Updates
1) Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 39-42 (.928SV%) in Barrie's 5-3 win over Saginaw. Blackwood has started all but one game this season while posting a 15-6-0 record and .931 save percentage on the year. He's been the best goaltender in the OHL this season and I'm not sure it is close.
2) Connor Chatham did not register a point or a shot in Flint's 6-5 win over Erie. Chatham has 15 points in 21 games on the year.
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