Good morning Devils fans. The Devils grabbed an overtime winner against the Isles on the road 5-4. The offense looked stronger tonight but overall defense and goaltending struggles continue to plague the Black and Red. The 1st period kicked off with a strong penalty kill following a Jonas Sieganthaler cross check. The Isles kicked off the scoresheet with a strong 3-on-2 rush against the Marino-Bahl tandem, finished by Brock Nelson. The defensive pair got pinched out of position trying to defend, with Marino ending up opening a slot on the left for Nelson. Jack Hughes tried to respond with a quick breakaway, only to be stopped by a strong glove hand from Ilya Sorokin. The Devils would tie it up with a minute left in the first. Akira Schmid outletted to Timo Meier who drove it through the Islander zone during a power play, finding a wide open rushing Dougie Hamilton for a bomb of a shot, leaving the score 1-1.
The 2nd period saw the Devils go on the man advantage after an Adam Pelech clearance earned a delay of game penalty. The ensuing power play saw a darting Jack Hughes dish it to Tyler Toffoli, going top shelf blocker side to convert. New York would respond following a poor Luke Hughes clearance to set up Nelson for his second of the evening. The Devils would again draw a penalty, leading to Luke Hughes’s first goal of the season at the blueline. The Isles would get revenge with Bo Horvat capitalizing on an out of place Sieganthaler to even it up 3-3. Sorokin would shine later on, stealing what could have been a Nathan Bastian rebound goal gloveside.
The 3rd would be another back and forth affair. Jack Hughes finished a power play chance sent up front from tic-tac passes between Ondrej Palat and Jesper Bratt. Following consistent two way action, the Isles would tie the game with nearly a minute left, seeing Bo Horvat shovel one past Schmid following a defensive breakdown all around him. Overtime would witness Jack Hughes be the hero, finishing while skating through the Islander zone, going up-top with a wrister.
Highlights from the game can be found below:
Player Ratings Out of 10:
Bastian - 6, active on offense, physically engaged, nearly had a goal in the 3rd.
Bratt - 8, 3 assists, super impactful tonight, engaged with new line well
Hischier - 6, still looking for his first point, 61% faceoff success, played decently but still needs to find his scoring touch
Holtz - 5, 2 shots, held his own but nothing too crazy to write home about, played decently 2-way
J. Hughes - 9, a pair of goals and assists, consistently dangerous all game, some minor defensive mistakes but overall, on a great path this season. Currently top point getting in the NHL.
Lazar - 6, did alright on the 4th line with the shuffling, could end up having decent chemistry with Bastian
Mcleod - 5, left some to be desired defensively, underperformed at the faceoff circle
Meier - 7, much improved from last game, may have a -3 rating but got a pair of assists and found his groove
Mercer - 6, well balanced game but needs to find his scoring touch as well
Palat - 7, grabbed a point from the power play, looked strong with new lines
Tierney - 5, played limited time, nothing special
Toffoli - 7, grabbed a goal and 5 shots, super active offensively, looking good at the top line
Bahl - 6, could have been better defensively and more engaged physically, breakdown with linemate led to a goal
Hamilton - 7, strong slap shot goal, regularly sending in shots
L. Hughes - 7, grabbed a great goal but will have to work on clearances and defensive decisions
Marino - 6, improvement from last few games but will still have to play better on his own end
Sieganthaler - 5, needs to improve two way play and positioning
Smith - 6, above average offensively, still a bit of a defensive liability
Schmid - 6, Made some decent stops against a dangerous Islanders offense, shouldn’t be blamed for all goals but will need to stop more chances. Did get an assist, which is pretty cool.
Vanacek - N/A
It wasn’t a perfect night for the Swiss winger, but Timo Meier looked more confident, played effectively, and shook off some early season jitters. He used his frame and speed to drive into the offensive zone, creating chances and space for his teammates. Regarding his linemates, he looked to benefit from some of that Jack Hughes magic to get on the scoresheet. Meier will now have the opportunity to build on that in upcoming games and improve upon his campaign.
2. Jack Hughes is Not Human
The young center has exponentially improved every season. This year, he has 10 points in 4 games, leading the NHL in this early start to the year. I understand that we as fans have to temper expectations, given the fact that we have a long season ahead of us. However, if Jack remains healthy producing at this pace, he could easily get over 150 points. It’s unreal to think that we have this type of forward on our roster at $8M a year until 2031.
3. Hot Take: Travis Green is the Best Offseason Addition
I’m not trying to take away from the contributions of Tyler Toffoli, who is really starting to look strong with his snapshot. However, with our power play ranking 2nd in the league with a rate of 42.9% (9/21), I have to say that the best move we made in the offseason may have been bringing in Travis Green as the power play coach. The skating, movement, pass decisions, and chances all look leagues ahead of previous seasons. Additionally, knock on wood, they haven’t let in a short handed goal if I have my stats correct. Once this team solves its defensive issues and goaltending struggles, we can truly have a complete package on the ice.
The Devils will next take on the Canadiens on the road next Tuesday, 10/24. Puck drops 7:15.
What are your thoughts? Observations about the game? Areas of growth?
Leave your thoughts and comments below. Raise Hell,
New Jersey Devils Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»