Prior to the season the New Jersey Devils were a popular choice to be a finalist in the Auston Matthews sweepstakes.
While that could end up being the case to this point the Devils look much closer to a playoff team than a bottom feeder.
After dropping three straight to open the season the Devils have recorded points in five consecutive games and won four straight in the process.
Some thoughts on what we've seen in the first 10% of the season:
1) I don't think I can stress just how good the Mike Cammalleri - Adam Henrique duo has been.
At full-strength the Devils generate 57% of the shot attempts with them on the ice. When they are not on the ice the Devils generate just 47% of the shot attempts. That's a significant difference.
Their production has matched the possession numbers, too, as they've combined to score six of of the team's seven 5 vs 5 goals this year.
2) As encouraging as the play of Cammalleri and Henrique has been there are some red flags. The biggest of which is that David Schlemko is the only other player on the team with a 5 vs 5 goal. If players not named Cammalleri or Henrique are only contributing one goal every eight games the Devils are not going to win very often. They need more from the rest of the team at 5 vs 5.
The good news is they're scoring on an unsustainably low 4.5% of their shots at 5 vs 5 so it is bound to trend upwards (at least a little bit) as the season progresses.
3) The Devils are 7th in the NHL in 5 vs 5 save percentage. They have been getting quality goaltending almost every night and as a result they're tied for a wild card spot. I know it's early but if they want to stay in the race for any amount of time they're going to need to need to remain in the top-10.
4) With Damon Severson on the ice the Devils generate 27 scoring chances per 60 minutes of 5 vs 5. That leads the team. An offensively starved team should not take this guy out of the lineup.
Prospect Updates - Mackenzie Blackwood continues to look the part of the OHL's best goaltender. The Colts were outshot 41-20 by the Generals on Sunday but Barrie picked up a 5-3 win as Blackwood stopped 38-41 in a winning effort. He owns an 8-3-0 record and a league-best (minimum 6 games) .934 save percentage on the year.
- John Quenneville was held pointless in a 5-0 loss to Portland. The Wheat Kings outshot the Winterhawks 45-26 but obviously ran into a hot goaltender. Quenneville has seven goals and 15 points in 10 games.
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