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Five observations from New Jersey vs Buffalo:
1. The Devils were...not good
When several players made their unexpected returns from injury on Saturday, the Devils looked legitimately good against a Coyotes team fighting for its playoff lives. That was far from the case against the Sabres on Monday night.
Though the lineup had more established NHLers than we've been accustomed to seeing in recent months, the on-ice performance didn't reflect that.
After a pretty even opening 20 minutes, the Devils were significantly outplayed by a team that has won just one of its last 11 games.
The Sabres piled up the chances – they had 24 over the final 40 – and the Devils showed little pushback. They struggled to defend the Sabres' highly pedestrian attack, and they couldn't generate any offense of their own. It looked a lot like the games where Kevin Rooney, Eric Tangradi, Nick Lappin, and co. were featured in the top-9, which were not pretty.
When all was said and done, the Sabres won the shot battle by 25 and were one chance away from doubling up the Devils (31-16). They had no business winning.
2. Cory Schneider stole two points
If you're facing 46 shots, and 31 chances, in regulation, it's a very difficult night at the office regardless of opponent. I know the Sabres aren't the scariest offensive team but they do have some high-end weapons, and those weapons were very involved in the attack. Jeff Skinner had six shots (six chances). Sam Reinhart had five shots (three chances). Rasmus Dahlin had five shots (two chances). Jack Eichel had four shots (four chances). Alex Nylander, one of the team's top prospects, had four shots (three chances). The players who threatened the most were legitimately all of Buffalo's top talents. And Reinhart's fluky dump-in aside, Schneider looked very sharp while stopping every one of them.
Losses are certainly preferred to wins at this point but it's still encouraging to see Schneider consistently stringing together quality performances. His save percentage is up to .933 since February 15th, which slots him 8th among 50 eligible goaltenders (300+ minutes) in that time.
3. Pavel Zacha stayed hot
Don't look now but No. 37 is currently riding a four-game point streak dating back prior to his injury. He scored the eventual game-winning goal on a beautiful power play snipe and assisted on Miles Wood's empty-netter to ice the game. He didn't have a great night in terms of 5v5 possession – Nico Hischier was the only Devil to finish with a positive differential – but he was very effective during his non-even strength minutes, which is more than a lot of Devils can say.
4. Mikey McLeod was quiet
He played his worst game in weeks, finishing with a 30 Corsi For% at 5v5, recording just one shot attempt, and not being on for one Devils chance in 11:30 of ice. I would get on the guy but, whether you convert or not, it's difficult to pile up the chances every night and McLeod's been doing so with Kurtis Gabriel and/or Eric Tangradi riding shotgun each time out. He's entitled to a down game. Also, I get not wanting to throw the kid to the wolves but can we see him play with a skill player or two at some point? He's not a natural finisher and he isn't playing with anyone capable of scoring so I'm not sure how he's expected to produce any offense. It doesn't make sense that waiver claims (Kenny Agostino) and fringe NHLers (Kevin Rooney) are getting, or have gotten, better opportunities than a 1st round pick. Give him a chance.
5. The tank rolls on
Despite winning again, the Devils didn't lose any ground in the tank battle. Why? The LA Kings went into Calgary and blanked the Western Conference's leaders, while Detroit managed to grind out a surprising win over San Jose. Losing last night would have really helped but let's be realistic. New Jersey's game was a toss-up, while LA and Detroit were both massive, massive underdogs. Those teams matching each other in points is far from a disaster. The Devils really need to start losing, though.
Numbers via NaturalStatTrick.com
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