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A few New Jersey Devils notes on this off-day:
1) I get not wanting to rush Steve Santini into more than he can handle, but I think the Devils should give him a bit of a boost in time on ice, especially with Andy Greene out.
Over the last two games, Santini leads the team with a plus-11 shot attempt differential, a plus-8 scoring chance differential, and a plus-5 high-danger scoring chance differential at 5v5.
He hasn't really been sheltered, at least in terms of zone starts, yet he leads the team in all those categories. Obviously, the sample size is small, but I don't see the harm in giving him a bit of a boost when he's playing well considering how poorly the defense has played for a large chunk of the season.
If he gets a couple more minutes and can't handle it, pull the rope back a bit. No harm, no foul.
2) Gather 'round, everyone. We need to talk about Beau Bennett again.
No, he doesn't score a lot of goals. No, he doesn't tally a lot of points. That doesn't mean he isn't a useful player.
At 5v5, the Devils record a larger percentage of the shot attempts, shots on net, and scoring chances with Bennett on the ice than any other player. Further to that point, Bennett ranks 1st in shot attempt suppression, shot suppression, and 2nd in scoring chance suppression (he falls a hair behind Sergey Kalinin).
He may not produce a ton but the Devils spend more time in the offensive zone than defensive zone when he's on the ice. That has value, especially given the team's inability to defend this season.
3) Hall leads the Devils in on-ice scoring chances per 60, on-ice high-danger chances per 60, and is producing at a 71-point pace over an 82-game span. He has been everything the Devils could have hoped for and more. He's just not getting any help. Sounds familiar, doesn't it?
4) Devils prospect Yegor Rykov was named one of Russia's three best players of the tournament. The 6'2' defenseman has six points in six games and leads Russia in ice time heading into the Bronze medal contest. He's looking like a steal in the 5th round.
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