Devils' 6-2 Win vs. Senators: Big Guns Showed Up

The New Jersey Devils came away with a comfortable 6-2 win over the Ottawa Senators, thanks to their big guns and Nico Daws.

Follow us on Twitter: @AlexC_NJD, @NJD_OnTheRush

There have been plenty of "we may win, but I may die" New Jersey Devils games this season, but last night was not one of them. Though the Devils gave up the first goal again, they came away with a comfortable 6-2 win against the Ottawa Senators. Here are three takeaways from the victory. 

Daws Shows His Potential

The Devils will likely need to make an external addition in net at some point. But they'll have to rely on what they have internally for now. With Akira Schmid back in the AHL with the Utica Comets, it was Nico Daws' turn to show he could provide the Devils with reliable netminding. 

Not only did Daws provide the Devils with reliable goaltending, but he made more than a few timely and momentum-changing saves. Take his left-pad save on Mark Kastelic with about 50 seconds remaining in the first period. 

After that save on Kastelic, the Devils would take a 2-1 lead on a power-play goal from Jesper Bratt with seven seconds remaining in the first period. And that was far from the only timely save he made on the night. 

Daws got just enough of a piece of Brady Tkachuk's shot on a breakaway to keep the game at 2-1 in the second. He later made a key save on Dominik Kubalik when it was 3-1 before Tyler Toffoli scored on a one-timer to give the Devils a 4-1 lead. 

Even in the third period, when the Devils had the game well in hand, Daws made timely saves to ensure the Senators never got within striking distance. He finished the night making 25 saves on 27 shots while saving 0.56 goals above expected. And most notably, he stopped all six high-danger shots he faced. 

The Devils may need to trade for a goalie at some point. But if Daws plays like this whenever coach Lindy Ruff calls upon him, he could buy them some time. 

Hughes & Bratt's Big Nights

In the preview for yesterday's game, I wrote about how the Senators were an ideal spot for Jack Hughes to get back on his game. They were giving up 3.45 expected goals per 60 at five-on-five under interim coach Jacques Martin, and that didn't include penalty-kill struggles. 

Hughes did collect an assist at five-on-five, but most of his damage came on the power play. He scored a PPG to open the scoring for the Devils, but he was just getting started on the man advantage.