Devils' 6-2 Win vs. Ducks: Trust the Process

The New Jersey Devils played another strong game at five-on-five and finally got a deserved result.

The New Jersey Devils needed that 6-2 win against the Anaheim Ducks, didn't they? After two solid performances against the Detroit Red Wings and New York Islanders that only netted them one point, the Devils took care of business against the Ducks.

For a while, it looked like the Devils were on the verge of getting goalie'd. But they stuck with the process and came away with a convincing win ahead of their Western Canada trip, which kicks off with The Hughes Cup on Wednesday.

Devils’ Process Continuing to Improve

Yesterday's Devils game had a bit of a familiar feeling: an OK start, but a bad goal given up by Jacob Markström, and the team was quickly trailing 1-0.

More on Markström in a minute, but the Devils didn't get deflated and let the weak goal against affect their play. They were unrelenting, controlling play and hemming in the Ducks in the defensive zone.

Jack Hughes, in particular, was making things happen in the first period, along with his linemates — Jesper Bratt and Ondřej Palát. But they and the rest of the Devils ran into a brick wall in James Reimer, who made 17 saves in the first period.

Given the number of chances the Devils generated in the first, it was only a matter of time before they scored. They had 14 scoring chances to three for the Ducks and generated 1.6 expected goals at five-on-five in the first.

Eventually, the dam was going to break, and it did at the start of the second period. The Devils scored two quick goals, one courtesy of Jack Hughes and another from Stefan Noesen, to go up 2-1.

Noesen scored his second goal of the night, this on the power play, to put the Devils up 3-1, and they never looked back from there. The Devils notched four goals in the second period, and it's hard to argue they didn't deserve it based on how they were playing.

They may not have gotten the results against the Red Wings and Islanders, but the process was there. Eventually, you'll get the desired results if you have the right process, and that was the case against the Ducks.

Of course, you need saves, which Markström did after giving up his first goal. He finished with a .923 save percentage and gave up two goals on 1.85 expected goals, essentially stopping what was expected of him.

As long as the Devils get that kind of goaltending, they should be fine if they continue to play as they have in the last three games.

Luke Hughes & Pesce Beginning to Gel

Bill Spaulding and the Devils broadcast crew mentioned it at some point during the third period, but there was a time during the game when the Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce pairing was on the ice for nine shots on goal and zero against.

Whichever stats site you look at, that defense pairing was arguably the best on a night where no Devils skater had a particularly bad performance. Shot attempts were 17-3 Devils when Hughes and Pesce were on the ice, and they controlled just over 94 percent of the expected goals (xG%).

Pesce has a knack for killing plays before they even get started. There were a few occasions where he'd knock a puck out of mid-air, whether on a saucer pass or chip-in, that'd prevent the Ducks from gaining the zone offensive zone and starting their forecheck.

Hughes was at his best both ways, too. He made some plays in the offensive zone, but broke up rush chances and took the middle of the ice away in the defensive zone. Even with the game essentially iced in the third, he intercepted passes in the slot and killed anything the Ducks tried to generate.

Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe seemed to love what they provided, as Hughes and Pesce played 16:08 and 18:19 at five-on-five; only Jonas Siegenthaler logged more five-on-five ice time than Pesce.

It was just the third game back for each player after recovering from offseason injuries, but that was easily their best performance. The Devils will need them at their best while in Western Canada.

Noesen Shines

Noesen has been nothing short of superb to begin his second stint with the Devils. His two goals brought him up to 11 points in 12 games — a 75-point pace over 82 games. Will he continue scoring at that rate? Probably not, but he's been awesome regardless.

Noesen's two goals yesterday were typical Noesen goals. His first was finding open space in the slot and rifling a shot past Reimer, while his second came via a beautiful setup from Jesper Bratt to the net front on the power play.

The Devils' power play looks like it'll be a problem for teams to defend, and part of that is that Noesen is making a difference in front of the net. Not only does he add that to the power play, but he's great on the forecheck and setting up chances from behind the net.

It's still early, but he looks like the Devils' best offseason signing as we near November.

Quick Hits

• Curtis Lazar got injured on a questionable hit from Radko Gudas early in the game and will miss some time. The Devils' center depth in the AHL is not great, so it'll be interesting to see how they fill Lazar's spot. Nathan Bastian can probably play center if Keefe needs him to, but I’d expect a call-up ahead of the Western Canada trip.

• Palát made a poor play that led to the Ducks' second goal, but he had a good game overall. He also made up for the poor play with the little touch pass on Erik Haula's goal that made it a 6-2 contest. He finished the night with an xG% of 59.6 percent. Baby steps.

• Dougie Hamilton had also gotten off to a slow start, but it appears his game is coming around. He finished with five shots on goal and two assists, one of which was a beautiful stretch pass from the defensive zone to set up Nico Hischier's rush goal. He has six points in his last six games and is trending in the right direction.

Game Score Chart

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Advanced stats from Natural Stat Trick

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