The Devils couldn't have drawn up a better start.
After a solid preseason, the team has come out of the gates flying to the tune of a 2-0-0 record with 11 goals for and a plus-6 goal differential.
There's room for improvement, but their early season success leaves room to be optimistic.
Some thoughts:
- Through two games the Devils overall possession numbers haven't been great, which has led some to wonder if they can sustain the success they're having and actually become a playoff team.
They won't score 5.5 goals per game, obviously, and at first glance the question seems legitimate, but after going deeper into the numbers there's no reason to be concerned.
We're dealing with small sample sizes here but New Jersey is a 54% possession team in 5 vs 5 close situations, which is in the top 1/3 of the league. What has made their overall numbers sink is that they've gotten out to excellent starts (3-0 and 5-0 leads) and then score effects have taken over.
What that means is that they've been up big, and have sat back and been fed their lunch in possession after getting these leads. That's completely normal, though, as not one team in the NHL was a positive possession team (generated 50% or more of the shot attempts) while leading last season.
Again, small sample size but there start has been encouraging.
- The biggest reason for New Jersey's early season success: offense from the defense.
Through two games, the defense has contributed nine points, and Bryce Salvador is the only defenseman without one.
Marek Zidlicky has three, Eric Gelinas and Damon Severson have two, while Andy Greene and Jon Merrill have one each.
New Jersey's going with a much more mobile and offensive blue line this year, and early on they've been reaping the rewards.
These guys are hitting forwards with good outlets to jump start the rush, and in the offensive zone they're creating (and shooting) a lot, which is obviously why they've contributed so much offense early on.
The balanced scoring up front certainly helps, but to produce you need guys to get them the puck, and this defensive unit is quite capable of doing so.
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