Some off-day thoughts as the New Jersey Devils prepare for Tuesday's game against the Calgary Flames:
1) Joseph Blandisi has dressed in just seven games this season but he's been awfully impressive by all measurements. With Blandisi on the ice at 5 v 5 the Devils are a 52.5% possession team. Without him they get just 45.3% of all shot attempts. With Blandisi on the ice the Devils get a 53.1% share of the scoring chances while they get just 45.9% without him.
To this point he has two assists in his seven games but he's played well and it's only a matter of time before his counting totals reflect that.
2) For the season all of Jordin Tootoo, Bobby Farnham and Stephen Gionta have struggled in possession - the latter two especially - but they've been oddly effective as a unit.
The sample size is small as they've only played ~60 minutes together at 5 v 5 but in that span the Devils generate 57.5% of the shot attempts and 60% of the scoring chances.
I very much doubt they can remotely sustain those numbers over time if and when they're put back together but it's worth noting how surprisingly good they've played.
3) Cory Schneider leads the league in games played, is tied for 3rd with a .929 save percentage (Braden Holtby leads with a .931SV%) and he's 2nd to only Corey Crawford in quality start percentage. If he continues his strong play he's going to get serious consideration for the Vezina; at least he should.
4) The Devils have been treading water for a while now but they have a good chance to make some noise over the next week or so. Their next three games are against non playoff teams in Calgary, Ottawa and Winnipeg. They need to take advantage of that.
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