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Devils 3, Kings 0: Blackwood perfect again

February 9, 2020, 10:44 AM ET [13 Comments]
Todd Cordell
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A few notes from New Jersey vs Los Angeles:

1) Mackenzie Blackwood can be somewhat inconsistent, which I guess should be expected of a young goaltender playing behind a bad defense. Blackwood’s ceiling games are top tier, though, making it easy to get excited about what he could be down the road.

The Kings are not a good offensive team. They’re not a good team at all. They can generate shots but, Anze Kopitar, Tyler Toffoli, and a declining Jeff Carter aside, they don’t have many guys who can finish them. Even so, Blackwood’s performance last night was nothing short of impressive.

LA registered 37 shots on goal and 12 high-danger chances, which amounted to 3.14 expected goals. They scored zero (obviously).

This performance came on the back of a 46-save shutout in Philadelphia, where he was expected to concede 3.33 goals.

So, over the last two starts, Blackwood stopped 83 shots and didn’t allow a single goal while expected to give up 6.47. Remarkable.

2) I’m honestly running out of words to describe Blake Coleman. In the span of a few years he has somehow gone from a fringe NHLer to one of the better two-way wingers in the league. Seriously.

Very few can score goals like Coleman can at 5v5 – he is tied with Leon Draisaitl, Max Pacioretty, Jack Eichel and Sebastian Aho – and his defensive impact, be it at 5v5 or on the penalty kill, is elite.

That two-way prowess was once again on full display vs Los Angeles. Offensively, Coleman posted game highs in shots on goal (7), scoring chances (6) and expected goals (.75). He also led Devils forwards in Corsi For%, was all over the ice on the penalty kill, and generated a better chance while shorthanded than LA did in six minutes with an extra man.

I get asked about Coleman a lot. Personally, I don’t think the Devils should trade him unless they’re met with an awesome offer they simply can’t refuse. Ownership wants this thing turned around sooner than later and I think they have a much better chance of bouncing back next season with Coleman in the mix. If they struggle again next season, entertain offers then.

I see the ‘sell high’ argument a lot and get where it’s coming from. Generally, I would agree. But Coleman was also a strong 5v5 goal scorer, and penalty killer, a year ago. He might be up another notch this season but he was damn good last season too. It’s not something entirely new where you have reason to believe it’s not for real.

3) Don’t look now but Damon Severson is riding a six-game point streak and has amassed nine over his last 12 games. Severson’s total matches Roman Josi, Erik Karlsson and Alex Pietrangelo over that span. Not bad! I know Severson is far from perfect but he is a really useful player and I think some of his struggles, at times, go back to the fact that he’s asked to play over his head because the Devils don’t really have anybody else. I mean, 81 defenders make more money than him – including three on his own team – and he still has to be treated as a No. 1 defenseman.

4) I think Jack Hughes took a step in the right direction vs LA. It was hardly a jaw dropping performance but it was better than many we’ve seen in recent weeks. He generated three chances at 5v5 – Coleman was the lone Devil with more – and picked up a primary assist on Kyle Palmieri’s goal. It was his first primary point since the calendar turned so we’ll take it. Now let’s hope he can build on it.

numbers via NaturalStatTrick.com and CapFriendly.com

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