It wasn't pretty, but they won the game.
Despite being outplayed for the better part of over 60 minutes, the Devils managed to squeeze out two points in Los Angeles.
The Devils have now won three consecutive games including wins over Los Angeles and Anaheim to kick off a tough west coast road trip.
Jaromir Jagr and Ryan Carter were the Devils goal scorers while Cory Schneider masterfully stopped 34-35 in the win.
Some notes:
- I have to give Schneider a ton of credit for what he did. Once again he didn't get much goal support, but he took it upon himself to carry the team to victory. The Devils were outshot 27-5 in the first 40 minutes and they entered the 3rd period tied. Without Schneider's unbelievably strong performance it would've been a blow out.
- Sticking with Schneider, it's pretty remarkable that he has just two wins in 10 starts despite sporting a 1.87 goals against average and .925 save percentage.
- The Devils improved to 6-1-1 over their last eight games with their win over LA. It hasn't always been pretty, but they've had timely scoring, excellent goaltending and have beat some very good teams in that span. As a result, they currently sit in playoff position and are over .500 for the first time this season.
- It was another milestone night for the great Jaromir Jagr. His game-winning goal not only tied him with Gordie Howe for 1st all time with 121, but he also tied Mario Lemieux for 9th all-time in goals. He's playing fantastic hockey right now and it's really fun to watch.
- More 68: after a bit of a slow start, Jagr has recorded 16 points over his last 15 games.
- I really liked Eric Gelinas' game last night. He seemed to be playing with more bite to his game, as evident by his five hits, and didn't seem intimidated by a Kings team that features many big, talented forwards. He was winning a lot of battles on the boards and he made quite a few nice, smooth transitions out of the defensive zone. His possession numbers were pretty good, too, considering the Kings took over 60% of the shot attempts and outshot New Jersey by 20.
- I also liked what I saw from Adam Larsson. He was strong defensively, made some good outlet passes and logged some pretty tough minutes. He played just less than 20, including almost four while short handed, and ended the night with a couple hits and seven blocked shots.
- A fun Pete Harrold stat, because you all love Pete Harrold: He has a -59 hit differential in 17 games, by far the worst in the league. He has seven hits, and has been hit 66 times. Those numbers are pretty staggering if you think about it.
- Next up the Devils have perhaps their toughest task as they enter the Shark Tank for a date with San Jose. Even if the Devils lose in regulation, I'd say two out of three against Anaheim, LA and San Jose would be considered a big win.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Be sure to follow Todd on Twitter @ToddCordell!
Email: NHLToddCordell@Gmail.com