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Five observations from New Jersey vs Boston:
1. A perfect road game
Playing without Taylor Hall and Marcus Johansson, the Devils were never going to go into Boston, pile up chances, and score at will. The recipe for success was grinding it out on offense, trying to limit Grade A chances, and getting excellent goaltending when the defense did break down. That's what we saw Thursday night.
Andy Greene hit a pinching Damon Severson in stride and the latter made no mistake converting on the first shift of the game. The Devils kept their foot on the gas and later scored on the power play, although they were lucky to do so.
By the end of the opening frame, they held a 2-0 lead and were able to play a little more conservative. Not that they didn't attack, but they weren't forced to call the defense into action and have them up in the play pinching all the time. They could focus on bottling up the Bruins, which is exactly what they did.
Though the Bruins controlled much of the territorial play in the final 40, they didn't muster up a ton in the way of quality chances.
The Devils actually won the high-danger battle 12-10 (10-7 at 5v5) despite leading for the entirety of the game. They were stingy around the net, as evidenced by the heatmap.
Realistically speaking, they could not have played a better game in Boston. Now the key is building on this effort Saturday against Carolina.
2. Miles Wood was dominant
That was easily his best game of the season – perhaps his career. He was absolutely flying from the word go. He won countless races for loose pucks. He used his size effectively to body opponents off of the puck and gain extra possessions. He drew a penalty on a net-drive. Wood was also extremely involved offensively firing eight pucks towards the net. He found the scoresheet, too, recording a beautiful assist by fighting off a defender to win a battle prior feeding it to an open Nico Hischier in front. He was seemingly involved in everything and anything that was positive for the Devils. In my game preview, I noted the Devils really needed him to step up and he certainly answered the bell.
3. Mackenzie Blackwood stayed hot
Admittedly, the shot clock probably made Blackwood's night look more difficult than it was. He still deserves a lot of credit for another strong performance, though. He can only face the shots opponents throw at him and, while there weren't a ton of really dangerous pucks coming his way, he did a great job of that. Blackwood turned aside 40 of 42 pucks and, once again, looked quite good in the process. His side-to-side movement was strong. He didn't give out many rebounds. He looked confident, calm, and in control even when the Bruins pressured most. Suffice to say, he deserves the nod in goal Saturday afternoon.
4. Pavel Zacha played well
It's unfortunate he didn't find a way onto the scoresheet because I thought he was one of the game's best players. He led the Devils in shots on goal (7), scoring chances (6), high-danger looks (3), 5v5 Corsi (68%), and was strong at both ends of the ice. Defensively, the effort was there, as was the positioning. Offensively, he used his size well to consistently get to the net and the chances piled up accordingly. Many people – myself included – are quick to point things out when he's struggling so it is only fair he gets credit when the opposite is true. I thought he looked good.
5. The top line was awful
New Jersey's top line was always in for a tough night against Boston's. When word got out Taylor Hall would not play, that became even more evident.
It was hardly a surprise to check the numbers post-game and see the Jesper Bratt, Nico Hischier, Kyle Palmieri line was absolutely cratered at 5v5. They did play more against the Patrice Bergeron line than any other, after all.
Numbers via NaturalStatTrick.com
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