The New Jersey Devils picked up their second win in as many outings as they surprisingly beat the Los Angeles Kings 2-1 in their own building.
The Good
- Keith Kinkaid wasn't tested a ton - the Devils did a nice job of limiting LA's shots and chances - but he was good when called upon and made the saves he had to. When all was said and done Kinkaid stopped 22-23. Over his last two starts (@ SJ, @ LA) Kinkaid is 2-0-0 with a .981SV% and a .50 goals against average. Those are impressive totals against anyone; especially two of the best teams in the Western Conference.
- Everything Devante Smith-Pelly touches continues to turn into a goal. He picked up a bit of a fluky assist early on giving him five points in five games as a Devil. DSP also finished positive in possession and chipped in with two shots on goal.
- Joseph Blandisi snapped a seven-game pointless streak and put forth his best performance over the last 7-10 days. He picked up an assist on the OT winner - he can thank John Moore for that - and looked dangerous coming down the wing all night long. He had three shots, a pair of scoring chances and was rewarded with a hair less than 16 minutes of ice.
- Kyle Palmieri had six scoring chances in this game. He didn't score, obviously, but if he continues to get good looks they'll start to go in. Also: playing well but not scoring probably helps the Devils in contract negotiations because his counting totals aren't as high as they could be.
The Bad
- The Devils were frequently hemmed into their own zone with the Seth Helgeson - David Warsofsky pairing on the ice and that shows in the numbers as they were the worst possession pairing the Devils had. On one shift they were stuck out there for more than three minutes prior to LA's first and only goal. It was a rough night for those two.
- The Devils took five penalties and only had one power play. It didn't cost them last night but they're not going to win a lot of games when they're taking a handful of penalties more than their opponents.
- Despite wins over San Jose and Los Angeles the Devils have ~3% chance of making the playoffs and need to go 9-2-2 to have ~40% chance of getting in. That's going to be extremely tough to do and if the Devils pull it off there is still a better chance than not they fall short of the playoffs.
Stat Of The Game
Stephen Gionta was the only Devil not to record a shot attempt against the Kings.
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