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A few notes from New Jersey vs Ottawa:
1) Nico Hischier started the season somewhat slowly – at least from a raw production standpoint. His level of play has steadily improved in recent weeks, though, and he’s now looking like the star we all expected him to be. I don’t think there is a better example than last night’s performance vs the Senators.
Simply put, Hischier was dominant. He had the puck on a string throughout and seemed unphased by contact or stick checks trying to pick his pocket. He powered through everything.
Hischier was dynamic through the neutral zone, his passing (as usual) was crisp, and No. 13 was surprisingly a one-man shooting gallery. He led all skaters in shot attempts (11), chances (8), and finished tied for 1st in Grade A looks (4).
Hischier was not remotely trigger shy, which makes sense when you look at the locations he was able to shoot from. Almost all of them were straight in front of the net, be it in the slot or just above it.
2) I thought Jack Hughes was awesome and not just because he scored, although his beautiful touch finish on an overtime ‘b-way’ certainly helped the cause. He was just very involved in the attack.
Beyond netting the overtime winner, Hughes assisted on a power play marker, and the Devils generated more shot attempts + chances with him on the ice than anyone else. This despite finishing 9th among Devils skaters in minutes. Impressive.
I know the points disappeared for a while but he was still getting chances so there really was never a real cause for concern. He’s an 18-year-old kid on a bad team playing with iffy, let’s call it, linemates. There are going to be slumps. Don’t worry and save all the ridiculous bust comments.
3) The Devils did a lot of things well, especially offensively. One blemish was their power play. Not the top unit – it was very good. I’m referring to the 2nd unit which, well, wasn’t.
PP1 would go out there for a minute, completely pin Ottawa in their own zone, and generate shot after shot. They looked very dangerous.
Then PP2 took the ice and the offense would completely die. PP2 actually saw more 5v4 time than PP1 did. They still generated *seven* fewer scoring chances.
Nikita Gusev aside, PP2 is essentially littered with guys who have done nothing on the man advantage all year (if not longer). If they’re stacking PP1, which is completely fine, the ice time should probably reflect that.
4) The Devils are going to take some bad penalties. It’s in the makeup of the team. Blake Coleman and Miles Wood headline the group but there are a few guys who frequent the box with unnecessary penalties. It is what it is. But please, for the love of god, can we cut out the too many men nonsense?
I’m completely fine watching the Devils lose games, especially in relatively entertaining fashion (mostly the case under Alain Nasreddine). That doesn’t mean I want to watch them lose because they don’t know how to hop over the boards at the proper time.
numbers, and screen grab, via NaturalStatTrick.com
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