It was the most important game of the season to date, and the Devils couldn't have asked for a better start.
In large part due to Patrik Elias and Jaromir Jagr, the Devils jumped out to a 3-1 lead in the 1st period over the Rangers in front of 50,000 fans, and a worldwide audience watching at home.
Late in the 1st period a Marc Staal shot squeaked through Brodeur, which seemed to deflate the Devils, and the rest is history.
Staal's goal was the first of six unanswered and seven goals total, which was more than enough goal support for Henrik Lundqvist to come away with a win.
Dominic Moore, Carl Hagelin, Rick Nash, Derek Stepan, Mats Zuccarello (2) and Staal were the goal scorers for New York while Lundqvist stopped 19-22.
Elias (2) and Travis Zajac were the scorers for New Jersey.
10 notes:
1. The Rangers played a good hockey game and Alain Vigneault did a good job of coaching them up and making adjustments after the first 20 minutes, but this loss was more so on the Devils self-destructing than anything else. After the 1st period, the Devils made mistake after mistake, many of which were unnecessary or unforced. When you spoon feed the opposition with chances like the Devils did, you're going to pay for it. The end result was a regulation loss to a division rival who, along with a handful of other teams, the Devils could have passed with a win yesterday.
2. The biggest issue for the Devils was bad pinches that led directly to odd man rushes. See an example below.
This pinch was probably the worst of the game. Eric Gelinas saw Benoit Pouliot coming his way, and rather than surveying the ice to see where his players were, as well as the play that was developing, Gelinas stepped up to make a hit and take out a man. At times that's the right play, but not when you're in the neutral zone and the opposition has numbers coming the other way.
After Gelinas stepped up, the puck was left sitting afloat for Derick Brassard. He scooped it up and had a darting Zuccarello flying down his opposite wing, along with a smooth-skating defenseman in John Moore jumping into the play to ensure an odd man rush, even if Adam Henrique was able to get back.
The end result was Brassard sliding it past Volchenkov, who was caught in no mans land, to Zuccarello for a goal that gave the Rangers the lead and all momentum in this game.
Gelinas was caught on plays like that two or three times, and some other Devils defenseman did it as well. The Devils don't get caught doing that often, as typically they clog up the neutral zone and allow the play to come to them, but for whatever reason they couldn't stop with the bad pinches and it burned them in a big way.
CBC's broadcast showed Pete DeBoer a couple times after plays such as this occurred and he looked stunned. Perplexed, even. He doesn't teach that and that's not the way he wants the team to play. I'm sure he let his players know that.
3. I don't know if Andy Greene was injured or what the issue was, but something was up in the Stadium Series game. Greene, who leads the team in ice and averages almost 25 minutes a game, played just 17:14, which was last among defenseman on the team. He usually eats up a big chunk of the Devils minutes while shorthanded, as well, and he only played a little over one minute of the six.
4. Mark Fayne doesn't get much credit from fans or media, and many suggest trading him to clear a spot for Jon Merrill and/or Adam Larsson, but I think he's a big part of the team and is continually getting better. No. 7 had an assist, two shots, a few blocked shots and was a 62.5% possession player in 18+ minutes against New York.
I'm not a big believer in +/-, but Fayne has been even or better in every game since January 3rd against Chicago. When you're playing about 20 minutes a night almost exclusively against opposing team's top-6 forwards and you do that, it's usually a good thing.
5. The score was 6-3 and there was only about 10 minutes left in the game, so it probably wouldn't have mattered, but the call made that gave Derek Stepan a penalty shot was absolutely terrible. About a second before the call was made, Stepan's free hand was clearly on Travis Zajac's stick. It doesn't matter if Zajac mugged him afterwords, the ref should have whistled down the play and given Stepan a two-minute minor for holding the stick. Had the correct call been made, the Devils would have had a power play to try and get within two goals with 10 minutes to go. What is done is done, but the evidence is quite clear.
6. I thought Zajac played an excellent game against New York. Going up primarily against Ryan McDonagh's pairing, Zajac and his linemates, Jagr and Jacob Josefson, were able to consistently generate scoring chances and keep play in the offensive zone. Zajac finished the game with a goal, which was his 300th career point, four shots and won 63% of his faceoffs. He has points in three straight games.
7. Sticking with Zajac, his possession numbers were exceptional against New York. As you'd expect, Jagr and Josefson also posted solid numbers in that regard.
5 vs 5 shot attempts for/against:
Zajac 18/6 Jagr 16/5 Josefson 14/5
The line combined for a goal and two assists.
8. Josefson played OK on the top line with Zajac and Jagr. He did help create some scoring chances and had a few very good shifts, but he looked a little uncomfortable and wasn't overly impressive. He blindly forced a few passes that led to turnovers and seemed to be pressing when plays weren't there. It was his first game back in the lineup after a long layoff so I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, but ideally you'd like to see more from him.
9. Ryane Clowe may not be a great skater, or even a good one, but he's a very smart player. He knows how to find open space on the ice and is good with the puck on his stick. The play he made setting up Patrik Elias' first goal was exceptional. His playmaking ability is truly underrated. If he kept this pace for a full 82 game season, he'd be on pace for 40 assists.
10. I like Brodeur and respect everything he has done in his career for the Devils organization, but it's time to give him a smaller role on the team. He's had good stretches, but on the year his save percentage is sub .900 while Cory Schneider has played like one of the best goaltenders in hockey. The numbers speak for themselves.
Brodeur: 2.52 goals against average, .899 save percentage. Schneider: 1.86 goals against average, .927 save percentage.
No. 30 may be the best goaltender of all-time, but he isn't the best goaltender on his team anymore. It's time to give Schneider more starts.
**
- I recently posted my midseason rankings for the top-30 first-year NHL draft eligible players from the OHL. You can view that here.
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