Devils All About the Details in 4-1 Win vs. Blues
The New Jersey Devils played another detail-oriented defensive game in a 4-1 win over the St. Louis Blues
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The New Jersey Devils are playing some tight hockey these days. For the sixth game in a row, they held an opponent to under 30 shots on goal en route to a 4-1 win over the St. Louis Blues. The victory moved the Devils to 21-10-3 on the season and into first place in the Metropolitan Division, though the Washington Capitals have three games in hand.
It wasn't always the prettiest game, but the Devils got it done in all facets. Here are three takeaways ahead of tomorrow's matchup against the Columbus Blue Jackets.
The Devils' Defensive Details
It's the Devils in the details lately. The Devils showed during their five-game homestand that their defense is emerging as one of the NHL's elite this season.
No one will mistake the Blues for one of the league's offensive powerhouses, but they have some talent up front with Jordan Kyrou, Robert Thomas and Pavel Buchnevich. They made their impact felt in the teams' first matchup a few weeks ago when the Blues won 3-0.
This time, the Devils made sure they did not get torched by those players. Jacob Markström made a couple of quality saves in the first, but the Devils' defense was the story, as they held the Blues to five shots on goal at all strengths and 0.41 expected goals at five-on-five.
The Devils' defensive effort carried over into the second period. Jonas Siegenthaler was eating up pucks in the slot and preventing passes from reaching high-danger areas. Meanwhile, Luke Hughes used his elite skating to break up what could have been a breakaway chance from Oskar Sundqvist.
Even in the third period, when the Blues began to push back after the Devils took a 3-0 lead, the Devils' defense stood strong. Shots were 10-1 for New Jersey through the first media timeout, and even though the Blues scored later in the period, they managed just three high-danger chances at five-on-five.
It might be a cliché to say defense wins championships, especially with goal-scoring continuing to trend upward and changing how teams win in the playoffs. But at the very least, the Devils will win plenty of games this regular season defending the way they have through 34 contests.
Jack Hughes and Co. Led the Way on Offense
Maybe Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt don't need a scoring winger after all? We'll see if Ondřej Palát can keep this up, but he's playing some of his best hockey as a Devil over the last couple of weeks.
Palát opened up the scoring on what seemed to be a great set play from Luke Hughes, who banked a stretch pass perfectly off the boards. Palát beat it out, negating an icing, then ripping a shot past Jordan Binnington for a 1-0 Devils lead.
Palát nearly got his second goal when he made a great move in tight on Binnington late in the first period, but Binnington made the save to keep it 1-0.
It wasn't just Palát who shined on that line, though. Bratt led Devils skaters in Game Score and expected goals share (xG%) at 75.26 percent. He iced the game away with a sweet empty-net goal by dusting Cam Fowler out of his skates.
Jack Hughes was Jack Hughes, as he had two assists, ten shot attempts, and five scoring chances. Peanut butter and jelly aren't going anywhere, but Palát is now becoming a valuable contributor on that line. Everything is firing on all cylinders, and it's coming at the right time as the Metropolitan Division playoff picture is becoming quite clear.
Markström Continues to Play Well
Markström will give up the occasional bad goal; he'd probably like back the lone goal he gave up last night. But it's hard to complain about it when he's stopping everything else. Sure, the Devils' defense is helping him out, but don't make the mistake of not giving him his credit.
Though the Devils did limit the Blues, they still had a few quality chances. Markström made timely saves again, with his best coming late in the second period on Dylan Holloway after Brayden Schenn set him up with a great cross-ice pass; he also stopped Holloway on a breakaway in the first.
Markström remained dialed in during the third period when the Blues had some of their best chances of the game. His stop on Fowler after Kyrou made a great seam pass was emblematic of the quality saves he's been making lately.
Markström only faced 21 shots, but stopped 20 while saving 0.69 goals above expected. The win moved him to 8-1-1 over his last ten starts, and he has a .913 save percentage across that stretch. The Devils have clamored for that type of goaltending for years, and they finally seem to have it.
Quick Hits
Luke Hughes overrated? That was a thing before the season started for some reason. It never should have been a thing, and it certainly isn't anymore. He's been terrific and is trending toward star status. Aside from the pass on Palát's goal, there were a couple of instances where I thought Hughes would put Binnington in a blender and come away with a wraparound goal, but there were too many bodies in the crease. He was second on the team in xG% (62.43 percent) and played excellent defense again, using his skating and long reach to break up plays.
The Devils broke a long power-play drought that dated back to the team's 5-1 win over the New York Rangers on Dec. 2. Stefan Noesen, as he's done plenty, cleaned up a rebound on a scramble in front of Binnington to give the Devils a 2-0 lead. Their penalty kill also did well on their lone kill, allowing no shots on goal to move to ten for its last ten. Special teams continue to be a difference-maker for the Devils.
Paul Cotter, Erik Haula and Noesen are still looking to find some chemistry as the third line. Cotter had a couple of quality chances, but the line finished with an xG% of 31.17 percent. I still think Tomáš Tatar is the best fit for that unit over Cotter, who’s also probably a better fit with Curtis Lazar and Nathan Bastian. We'll see if Sheldon Keefe makes that change.
Game Score Chart
Advanced stats from Natural Stat Trick
We don’t need a Palat replacement - the chemistry with Jack and Bratt is great - but that third line scoring winger need is glaring, IMO.