The New Jersey Devils concluded their four-game home stand in fine fashion Saturday night as they picked up a win over an excellent Tampa Bay Lightning team.
Adam Henrique scored less than four minutes into the game and the Devils led the rest of the way en route to an eventual 3-1 win.
The Good
- Henrique started the season very slowly but showed his first signs of life offensively last night tallying a goal, an assist and two shots on goal. He still isn't shooting the puck enough, which is part of the reason his goal scoring is drying up a bit, but this was a step in the right direction. He has an excellent shot and would definitely benefit from shooting more.
- Damon Severson continues to hold his own while logging big minutes on the top pairing. His defensive play, even relative to opening night, seems to be a lot better and the points are really starting to pile up. After putting up a pair against the Bolts he is up to six in eight games thus far. This is probably the best offensive stretch the Devils have had from a defenseman in years.
- Taylor Hall, Kyle Palmieri, Pavel Zacha and P.A. Parenteau, four of the Devils' top-6 forwards, failed to register a point and they still managed to score three goals and win the game. This team has come a long way.
- Cory Schneider's numbers through seven: 4-2-1 with a 1.86 goals against average and .941 save percentage. I'm feeling pretty confident in my Vezina pick.
The Bad
- Score effects certainly played a role - the Devils were playing with a lead for more than 56 minutes - but you're not going to win many games when you get out chanced by 15. The Devils could definitely tighten things up defensively.
- Mike Cammalleri had a few excellent chances and still couldn't manage to pot one. The good news is he has 19 shots on the year, quite a few of them of quality, and he hasn't scored once. The Devils continue to win games despite this.
- The Devils had a -3 penalty differential. It didn't end up hurting the Devils but they won't win many games against high-end teams like Tampa Bay and Chicago if they spoon feed extra opportunities.
Stat Of The Game
The two opposing players Severson shared the ice most with at 5 v 5: Victor Hedman and Steven Stamkos. The Devils out shot/chanced the Lightning with those match-ups despite playing with the lead all game. Right now John Hynes is all in on Severson as a legitimate top pairing guy and No. 28 is giving him every reason to be.