Devils' 5-4 Win vs. Red Wings: Bouncing Back
The New Jersey Devils took care of business against the Red Wings after getting shut out by the Blues on Nov. 27
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The New Jersey Devils have done well to bounce back from losses this season. Yesterday was no different, as they battled back from an early 2-0 deficit to defeat the Detroit Red Wings 5-4 in a wild affair on Black Friday.
Though it wasn't the prettiest game, the Devils found a way to win. They've shown they can win low-scoring defensive affairs but that they can also light the lamp in a high-scoring tilt if needed. That's the sign of a good team.
Devils' 5-on-5 Offense Starting to Complement Power Play
We're getting a bit too familiar with "1-0, them" again, as yesterday was the sixth game in a row where the Devils have gone down 1-0. But to their credit, they have won four of those.
The Devils did not start this game well. The first 10-11 minutes of the first period belonged to the Red Wings, and it wasn't particularly close. Shots were 8-1 Red Wings at one point, but the Devils started to find their legs about halfway through the opening frame.
They started sustaining more offensive zone time at five-on-five, putting the Red Wings on their heels. That led to the Devils drawing a power play, which they capitalized on via a Dougie Hamilton rip. The Red Wings challenged for goalie interference but lost, putting the Devils back on the power play.
The Red Wings' penalty kill has been terrible this season, and it's easy to see why. Timo Meier ripped a one-timer past Cam Talbot, and the game was suddenly tied at 2-2.
From there, the Devils played very well, specifically at five-on-five. They generated 27 scoring chances and 12 high-danger chances in the second period, though some of that was getting four to six high-danger opportunities in the sequence that led to Stefan Noesen's goal.
Still, the Devils started to take over and capitalize on their chances. They'd add another power-play goal from Jack Hughes in the third period, their third of the game, to go up 5-3; that ultimately proved to be the game-winning goal.
The Devils' power play is giving opponents fits, but their five-on-five offense is starting to come around. Perhaps it's because of the quality of opponents over the last few games, but they're generating more grade-A chances at five-on-five, which could help them draw more power plays.
They need to clean up the slow starts, but the Devils will be a very difficult out if their five-on-five offense continues generating this many chances and complementing the power play.
Luke Hughes Is on Fire
Luke Hughes hasn't gotten his payday yet, but it's coming if he keeps this up. The 21-year-old defender was arguably the Devils' best player against the Blues on Wednesday night, and he followed that up with an even better performance against the Red Wings.
There's no question at this point that Hughes is a significantly better defender than he was a season ago. He's stronger, but his defensive improvement goes beyond getting stronger.
Hughes' reach is turning him into an elite rush defender. Maybe that shouldn't be a surprise since he's 6-foot-3 and nearly 200 pounds, but it's made a big difference in the neutral zone and defending the blue line, especially with his skating. He'll still have his defensive hiccups, but those are becoming less frequent.
Hughes isn't scoring much, but it's not for a lack of trying. He and Nico Hischier helped create the sequence off the rush that led to Noesen's go-ahead goal. He didn't record a point because Andrew Copp shot the puck off Noesen, but Hughes was the facilitator on that tally.
His numbers were a bit crazy because he was on the ice for the Noesen goal, but it doesn't take away from Hughes' game:
2.99 - 0.93 expected goals (76.23 xG%)
21-7 scoring chances (75 percent SCF%)
12-2 high-danger chances (85.71 HDCF%)
As I mentioned after the Blues game, points will start coming in bunches for Hughes if he continues playing like this. It's only a matter of time.
Meier Was a Menace
It feels like it's starting to come around for Timo Meier. He collected an assist on Hischier's first goal against the Nashville Predators earlier this week and had a goal and an assist against the Red Wings yesterday.
Meier was arguably the Devils' best forward in Detroit. He was constantly creating quality chances, as evidenced by his assist on Hischier's goal that tied the game at 3-3.
If it fell like the Devils caved in the Red Wings every time Meier was on the ice, it's because they did:
40-7 shot attempts
2.61 - 0.3 expected goals (89.7 xG%)
23-2 scoring chances (90.9 SCF%)
12-2 high-danger chances (85.71 HDCF%)
The shutout loss to the Blues may have been a good example of why Meier is so important to the Devils. Even when he's not scoring, that line of Meier, Hischier and Noesen puts opponents on their heels. That, in turn, opens things up for the Jack Hughes line.
The Devils did not have that threat against the Blues since Meier had to serve a one-game suspension for cross-checking Zachary L'Heureux in the face. Paul Cotter was fine enough filling in for Meier on that line, but it shows how important Meier is, and it looks like he's starting to break out of a recent cold stretch.
Quick Hits
Jonas Siegenthaler finished last night with an xG% of 24.9 percent, the worst among Devils skaters. I'm not concerned about him, even though he's had a couple of tough games lately. Some regression was probably inevitable, but it's something to keep an eye on over the next few games. He and Johnathan Kovacevic have been instrumental in the Devils' early-season success, so you don't want too much of a dropoff in his play.
That was a bit of a weird game for Jacob Markström. He gave up 0.78 goals above expected but also made some incredible saves. Remember those stops on Tyler Motte on the Devils' power play to keep it a 2-1 deficit? Soon afterward, Meier scored. Or what about some of the saves on Christian Fischer in the third when the lead was just 5-4? The numbers may not have looked great, and he should have stopped Vladimir Tarasenko's goal, but there was generally more good in Markström's game than bad.
Game Score Chart
Advanced stats from Natural Stat Trick