Devils Make a Statement With 6-2 Win vs. Panthers
The New Jersey Devils may have put the NHL on notice with a 6-2 win vs. the Florida Panthers to sweep the 2-game set.
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The New Jersey Devils have made a statement that'll surely make them the talk of the town. After defeating the Florida Panthers 4-1 on Tuesday night, they followed it up with an even more impressive 6-2 beatdown of the reigning Stanley Cup champs.
I said at the outset of this five-game swing that we'd learn plenty about these Devils. While there are still three more games to go against playoff-caliber teams, they showed us plenty in these two wins against the Panthers.
Devils Played a Complete Game
Even though the Devils defeated the Panthers 4-1 in their first matchup, it didn't come without its nail-biting moments. Jacob Markström kept them in the game until they shifted the tides about halfway through and took over the contest.
But that was not the case against the Panthers yesterday. The Devils came out of the gate ready to play after getting run over for the first 20-30 minutes on Tuesday. They finished the first period with an expected goals share (xG%) of 71.99 percent and looked like the better team.
Nor was it just the first period where the Devils were the better team, and it wasn't just at five-on-five, either. The power play was a significant reason the Devils scored six goals and put the game out of reach, as they went 3/5 with the man advantage.
Two of the Devils' power-play goals came within the final ten seconds of the first and second periods, with Jesper Bratt's power-play goal beating the buzzer (1.4 seconds) at the end of the first to give the Devils a 2-1 lead.
Not only did the power play thrive, but the Devils' penalty kill got the job done, too. The Panthers had five power plays but did not score on a single one of them. The Devils did a tremendous job on the kill, allowing just five shot attempts and 0.63 expected goals in 5:20 while down a man.
Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe mentioned it after the game when asked by Rachel Herzog and Bryce Salvador, but that was up there as one of the Devils' most complete performances of the season.
They were the better five-on-five team, dominated on the power play, and shut it down on the penalty kill. Against a team as good as the Panthers, that's about as big a statement as you can make, especially since the Panthers came into this two-game set on a seven-game winning streak.
Hughes & Pesce Pair Elevated Their Game
One of my keys to the Devils coming out of this current five-game stretch in a favorable position was they'd need the Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce pairing to play better than they had in their previous few games. They had a solid first outing against the Panthers but followed it up with an even better performance yesterday.
Let's start with Hughes, who looks like a different defenseman from a season ago. The offense hasn't quite been there yet, but it sure looks like it's coming around. He was dancing in the offensive zone and consistently created time and space to generate scoring chances.
Hughes only had an assist, but there'll be more points for him if he continues playing that way. But perhaps more importantly, he looks like a much-improved defender from a season ago. His elite skating ability allows him to make defensive plays out of nothing, but he also looks stronger, which seems to be making a difference in the defensive zone.
Hughes finished with an xG% of 78.7 percent, second among Devils skaters to his defense partner, Pesce. This may come as a shock, but Pesce is not the flashy player that Hughes is. He doesn't need to be with the style he plays, and that's what makes him so effective.
Pesce was on the ice for just 0.17 expected goals against. The Devils are locking down any opponent when Jonas Siegenthaler and Johnathan Kovacevic are on the ice. But if they start doing it consistently in Pesce's minutes, it'll be difficult for any team to score on them.
Bratt's Big Night
It took a little while for Bratt to start finding the back of the net, but it's come around in a big way over the last few games. He has five goals in his previous five games and eight in 20 contests, putting him on pace to finish with 33 goals.
Aside from last night's hat trick, Bratt was one of the Devils' most explosive players. Right from the get-go, he had one of the team's best scoring chances when he split the defense and got open for a grade-A chance on Sergei Bobrovsky.
We know what the Devils will get from Bratt offensively on most nights, but he's also becoming a significant contributor on the penalty kill. He played a bit of a role there last season under Lindy Ruff, but Keefe seems to be expanding Bratt's presence on the kill this season. He's turned into an all-situations player the Devils can rely on, which isn't something we always could have said in the past.
Quick Hits
Jake Allen quietly had a very solid night for the Devils again, making 25 saves on 27 shots while stopping 0.83 goals above expected. He only faced five high-danger shots but saved four of them. He's up to a .916 save percentage in seven appearances, and that's after having given up eight goals against the Tampa Bay Lightning a few weeks ago. He's generally been excellent when Keefe calls upon him.
The new iteration of the Nico Hischier line had another impressive outing. Timo Meier, Hischier and Stefan Noesen finished with an xG% of 86.21 percent and out-chanced the Panthers 8-3 in their ice time. Noesen continues to shine, as he collected two goals, one at five-on-five and one on the power play. Noesen seems to be a perfect complement for Meier and Hischier, and with the Jack Hughes line rolling, the Devils' top six looks more threatening with the Hischier line excelling.
Dawson Mercer got demoted to the third line when Keefe promoted Noesen to Hischier's unit, but he's looked good in his two games with Paul Cotter and Erik Haula. Mercer finished last night with a 60.7 xG% at five-on-five and scored one of the Devils' power play goals. He set up Meier's game-winning tally against the Panthers on Tuesday, so the demotion hasn't affected him at all.
Game Score Chart
Advanced stats from Natural Stat Trick