Devils' Allen Stands on Head in 3-0 Win vs. Oilers
New Jersey Devils netminder Jake Allen put forth his best start of the season in the shutout victory of the Edmonton Oilers
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The New Jersey Devils needed a win against the Connor McDavid-less Edmonton Oilers last night. Fortunately, they got exactly that with a 3-0 shutout victory led by Jake Allen's 31-save performance.
No, the Devils weren't at their best last night. But they did play sound defensively, especially over the final two periods, to come away with four of six points on their Western Canada trip. It was a sign that perhaps this team is different than last season's.
Allen Was on His Game
I was surprised when Allen led the Devils onto the ice for warmups. Based on how Jacob Markström has been playing lately, I figured Sheldon Keefe would turn to him to conclude the trip. At the same time, it made sense to start Allen, given he hadn't played since the 4-3 OT loss to the New York Islanders.
Obviously, Keefe knows what he's doing because Allen was fantastic. In a similar fashion to the 3-0 loss to the Calgary Flames, the Devils came out slow last night. But Allen stood on his head early in the game and kept it at 0-0.
There was one sequence in the first period where Allen made a couple of sprawling saves on the doorstep to keep it 0-0. And just before I could tweet that out, Stefan Noesen scored to make it 1-0 seconds after Allen's saves.
Not to beat a dead horse, but those timely saves were few and far between last season. Chances are the Devils would've given up one or two goals and found themselves down quickly. After all, they did give up the first goal 57 times.
Allen was particularly excellent in the first period, saving 1.62 goals above expected. That was the Oilers' best 20 minutes, as they created eight high-danger chances at five-on-five alone.
Fortunately for Allen, the Devils' defense settled down over the final 40 minutes. After allowing 1.38 expected goals in the first period, they gave up just 1.36 combined over the final 40 minutes at five-on-five.
The Devils eventually took advantage, scoring a power-play goal from Jesper Bratt and a beautiful highlight-reel goal between Dawson Mercer and Timo Meier.
That's all the Devils needed to support Allen, who saved an outstanding 3.45 goals above expected when the final horn sounded. Had it not been for him, especially early in the game, there could have been a different outcome.
Devils Defense Showed Up Again
Allen mentioned it in his post-game interview with Ken Daneyko and Rachel Herzog, but the Devils' defense made life easier for him. Sure, the first period wasn't great, but the Devils' defense improved as the game progressed.
Aside from expected goals, the Devils allowed five high-danger chances in the second period and not a single one in the third. And every defense pair played well down the stretch.
Johnathan Kovacevic was intercepting cross-ice passes in the third period and clearing pucks to the neutral zone, while Jonas Siegenthaler was blocking shots. Their on-ice metrics weren't great; they finished with an expected goals share (xG%) just above 24 percent but were also on the ice for just 0.41 expected goals against.
The Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce pair was excellent, finishing with an xG% of 69.36 percent. That was arguably Hughes' best defensive performance of the season since returning from an offseason injury a couple of weeks ago.
It was a weird trip for the Devils, as all three games were shutouts (2-1-0). However, I see that as a positive. They dominated the Canucks in all facets of the game, and even in defeat, they played an excellent defensive game against the Flames.
I'd credit Allen more for the shutout than the Devils' team defense against the Oilers, but their defense improving as the game went on is another sign that this team may be different. They're not beating the Oilers 3-0 last season. That's for sure, and I only expect them to improve as the season progresses.
Bratt Led the Way Offensively
Jesper Bratt had a two-point night, but it felt like it could have been more. He had a couple of glorious opportunities early in the game, specifically when he had an open net, but Evan Bouchard blocked the shot by being in the right spot at the right time.
Bratt converted on the power play to make it 2-0, which proved crucial; Keefe alluded to it in his post-game press conference. The Oilers were generating chances and missed a couple of glorious open nets earlier in the game. All they needed was one bounce to change the game, but it felt like Bratt's goal was the back-breaker.
Once Bratt made it 2-0, the Oilers had zero high-danger chances for the remainder of the game. I'm not the biggest believer in momentum, but you can break a team's will. And it felt like Bratt's goal did break the Oilers' will.
Aside from the back-breaking goal, Bratt was perhaps the Devils' best offensive facilitator last night. He led Devils forwards with a 55.85 xG% at five-on-five and had four scoring chances and two high-danger chances at all strengths. It feels like the goal-scoring is coming for him.
Quick Hits
That Meier goal in the third period was probably the Devils' prettiest goal of the season. Meier had the finish, but the lob pass from Mercer was something we saw from him during the 2022-23 season when he was nearly a 30/30 player. I won't proclaim him back just yet, but he looks much improved to start this season.
The Oilers' special teams have struggled, which was the case last night. They didn't score on their lone man advantage, and took the Devils ten seconds (if that) to score on their power play. Edmonton was the better team at five-on-five, but once again, special teams did them in.
Ondřej Palát might not be cooked yet. No, he isn't scoring much, but his five-on-five numbers are improving. He finished with a 55.85 xG% last night and seems to be fitting in well on a line with Jack Hughes and Bratt. He might not be scoring much, but at least he's not the liability he was early in the season. Progress.
Game Score Chart
Advanced stats from Natural Stat Trick
It's insane that Palát didn't end up with an assist, the way he was whipping the puck around the offensive zone. That one pass to Bratt in particular, that somehow didn't go in the net...