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Stars 2, Devils 0: Strong showing from Blackwood goes to waste

December 11, 2019, 10:52 AM ET [66 Comments]
Todd Cordell
New Jersey Devils Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
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Four notes from New Jersey vs Dallas:

1. The Devils were lifeless

They’ve garnered some much worse results on the scoreboard but, quite honestly, I thought that was one of their worst performances of the season. The Devils were absolutely terrible.

Dallas entered play with very leaky defensive numbers over the last couple of weeks. They also were playing under a new head coach on very short notice. You’d think the Devils would have some teeth and capitalize. Apparently not.

It’s an understatement to say the Devils came out of the gate slowly. They didn’t come out of the gate at all. At one point shot attempts were 45-15 Dallas, which is downright embarrassing. The end totals weren’t much better, especially zeroing in on full-strength play. The Stars held a 56-28 advantage and out-chanced the Devils 31-10. 31-10!

Call me crazy but I don’t think being caved in to that extent is a good recipe for success, particularly when shooting on Ben Bishop.

A great showing from Mackenzie Blackwood ensured the Devils were *never* out of the game but, really, they were never in it.

2. New lows at 5v5

Kyle Palmieri finished with a 44.93 Expected Goals For% and 38.46 Scoring Chance For% at 5v5. Both of those are horrendous numbers. They were also the best on the team. No, seriously.

Not a single player came close to breaking even in either category and there were some shockingly poor performances along the way.

Pavel Zacha, for example, owned a 4.08 xGF%. The Jespers also finished below 7%. In terms of scoring chances, P.K. Subban posted a team-worst -10 differential. Kevin Rooney wasn’t on for a single Devils chance. Four other forwards only saw the team generate one. It was pathetic.

At this point we all know the Devils will be bad and pile up losses. I don’t think anyone even has a problem with that. But these kind of lifeless efforts absolutely have to stop. Give the opponents two points – that’s fine. Nobody cares. At least try to make them earn it, though.

3. Mackenzie Blackwood was spectacular

Blackwood can be inconsistent. That’s not all that surprising – or concerning – given he’s still finding his footing in the league and the Devils generally play terrible hockey in front of him.

When he allowed an absolute squeaker early in the 1st period, I thought it was a sign we were going to see the poor version of Blackwood. That certainly wasn’t the case.

Despite conceding 37 scoring chances, the team’s 3rd highest total of the season, Blackwood only gave up two goals.

He made some awesome post-to-post saves and left very few rebounds in front. He was locked in.

Unfortunately, the Devils took it upon themselves to make Blackwood’s excellent showing completely worthless. Maybe next time!

4. It’s time to move on

Taylor Hall was a great player. Taylor Hall is a great player. He gave the Devils some truly fantastic hockey and did everything he could to bring them success. It didn’t work out as well as anyone hoped, and that sucks, but he’s not to blame and doesn’t deserve some of the heat he’s taking.

With that said, it’s time for the era to end. He’s clearly not going to be a part of the future. The Devils need to invest everything into players that will be. The sooner they can do that, the better.

This isn’t some BS Hall take where I pretend he’s part of the problem and they’ll be better without him. That’s not the case. But the writing is on the wall and I think everyone would benefit from the cord being cut promptly.

Hall just doesn’t look like Hall right now. He doesn’t have the same sort of engagement or flare and, honestly, I don’t blame him. It’s hard to invest absolutely everything you have into a team when a) your efforts will go to waste regardless and; b) you’re not going to be sticking around. I’m sure a lot of you can relate.

Let’s say you’re changing jobs next week. You’re moving up in your field and going somewhere you can enjoy more success. You’re getting a raise. Everything will be perfect. But, first, you have to finish out these next few days at your current job. As much as you want to try and be professional, you’re probably not giving every drop of energy you have into doing the best job imaginable. You’re not skipping lunch break to get an extra assignment done. You’re not staying late, etc, etc. I think that’s where Hall is at right now.

He knows he’s going to a contender. He knows he’s in line for a big raise. The boss he loved was just fired. He just doesn’t have it in him to give more to the organization and, quite frankly, they’re in a spot where they don’t even need or want it.

I think that's what we're seeing on the ice and last night was another good example.

Numbers via naturalstattrick.com

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