The much awaited return of Jack Hughes was met with little resistance from a skeleton crew Islanders squad on Tuesday in Jersey. A mostly NHL Devils roster dominated a minor league looking NY team 6-2. It was a good tune up for an NJ team of vets looking to get their feet moving and timing down after a long summer.
Notes:
Simon Nemec
Simon Nemec was blasted in the corner early in the first period by the offspring of Devils' great John MacLean. Johnny Mac's son, Kyle knocked then rust off Nemec, who held the puck a second too long in his own end. A solid and clean hit by the fringe Isle trying to cement himself with the big club for another year, was met with dissent by both Brendan Dillon and Nemec himself. Both players chased down MacLean and a brief skirmish ensued at center ice. Good to see the Devils standing up for themselves and their teammates without hesitation so early on. Despite the thunderous hit, Nemec would finish the game and not miss any time.
Ethan Edwards
The former Michigan D-man and Luke Hughes teammate, Edwards has showed some upside in his first two contests. Heady decisions in both the O and D zones combined with timely and responsible pinches on offense have impressed me thus far. The 23-year old rookie has shown to play a much more mature game than his age/NHL experience would suggest. A nice one time snap on one of his many smartly timed dips into the offensive zone gave him his first tally of the preseason. With a log jam of great offensive defensemen with Jersey, Edwards will get plenty of minutes honing his game in Utica, and can be a big difference maker in the future.
Triple A, The Arsen-ist, The Ars-assin...
Shoot, shoot, shoot! Arseniy Grtisyuk's shoot first mentality seemed to be magnified in this contest. Whether feeding off of the confidence gained on Sunday or coach's edict, the Russian winger was firing the puck at every opportunity. A good sign to see that will surely pay dividends as he navigates year one in the NHL. Downgraded linemates saw #81 with a little less on high-end opportunity however, all considered it was an encouraging and solid effort.
Overall this was exactly the result you would want in this type of matchup. The Devils top guns showed up all over the score sheet, depsite clearly playing at a scrimmage style pace for the most part. How do you feel about the young Devils thus far? Let me know in the comments.
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