The New Jersey Devils returned to action on Thursday evening as they aimed for a much-needed bounce back. They took on the Pittsburgh Penguins: a squad they went a perfect 4-0-0 against last season. Thankfully for the Devils, their good fortune continued as they played arguably their best game of the season in a 5-2 victory, thus ending their three-game skid.
Complete 60 Minutes
For basically the entire season, an emphasis has been placed on playing a full 60 minutes as a team. Very often, the Devils have played really well for two-thirds of a game, but one specific period would haunt them.
With Timo Meier out of the lineup because he was “banged up”, attention to detail had to be extraordinary. And it was.
The Devils played strongly in every aspect of the game. The penalty kill was a perfect 3-for-3. Everything from zone entries to breakouts, to execution was done to a tee. The scoreboard reflected that effort in the end.
While they mostly kept chances to the outside, they got the big save when they needed it…something they have lacked for most of the season. Vitek Vanecek stopped 21 of 23 (.913 save percentage – SV%) to notch his first victory since Nov. 5.
You could sense the relief from the players in their media availability afterward. Curtis Lazar summed it up perfectly. “We’ve talked about playing this way, and now we finally showed it…if we do that consistently we’re gonna be a hard team to beat…it was the best full 60 minutes we’ve had this year…we harped on it enough. It was about time we got it done.”
Head coach Lindy Ruff was equally pleased. “Tonight we capitalized on the good opportunities. We’re not talking about missed opportunities finally…we got rewarded for doing the right thing. We need to continue to play that way.”
The word execution has been a staple in Ruff’s vocabulary lately. The Devils finally got some of their finishing luck back at even-strength, potting four in the final two periods. Their recent struggles haven’t been due to a lack of chances. If anything, they actually created slightly less in this one than in some of their recent games. But they executed way better, and that’s all that matters.
Many Players Step Up
The absences of Nico Hischier, Jack Hughes, and Meier meant that some lesser-known players needed to impact the scoresheet. A total of ten different Devils players recorded a point.
Lazar in particular had one of his best games of the season. He scored a shorthanded goal in the first to knot the game at one and give the Devils back some momentum. He also added an assist, which was his 100th career point. When the season started, it was unclear whether he’d have a place in the lineup. However, 15 games in, he is a top-five forward on the team in even-strength expected goals-for (xGF) – 57.75%. The team has created 30 more chances this season than they’ve given up with Lazar on the ice. For someone who is disciplined, kills penalties well and plays physical, the sudden offensive boost is just an added bonus.
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Jesper Bratt and Luke Hughes both had multi-point showings as they continued to drive offense all night. Hughes specifically was absolutely dominant, with an xGF of 89.76% (via Natural Stat Trick). Overall chances were 19-5 in favor of the Devils with Hughes on the ice, and high-danger chances were 6-0.
Nate Bastian chipped in with his first goal of the season to knot things at two just 38 seconds after Pittsburgh scored.
Alexander Holtz has been given time in the top-six lately in a crucial opportunity to prove himself. And he has done exactly that thus far. He scored a clutch goal in the third to give the Devils a much-needed cushion. Coach Ruff has made it clear that Holtz needs to be strong in his decision-making and in his puck battles, and he was last night. The result was a career-high 18:39 of ice time.
Colin Miller Debut
One of the biggest talking points amongst the Devils’ fanbase has been the defensive struggles of Brendan Smith. Colin Miller was on injured reserve since Oct. 29, so the Devils hadn’t been able to get a chance to see if he could potentially overtake Smith’s lineup spot.
Miller was finally healthy enough to play in this contest, and the absence of Meier allowed Ruff to deploy a lineup of 11 forwards and seven defensemen – giving Miller his first chance.
Most people would have been happy if he just held his own, but that wouldn’t be doing it justice. He was superb. Chances were 19-8 in favor of New Jersey when Miller was on the ice (70.37 Corsi for percentage – CF%). Not only that, but the play of Hughes seemed to elevate when the two were paired together. Their xGF as a pairing was a whopping 86.73%. For reference, the xGF of Smith and Hughes together is 39.48%. It’s not even close.
It comes as no surprise when you consider the fact that Miller often played on the Dallas Stars’ top-pairing last season alongside elite defenseman Miro Heiskanen. In 76 games played together and over 720 minutes of ice time, the Stars scored 37 goals and only gave up 23 with them on the ice. Their total chance differential was plus-122 for the season.
While playing solid defense, Miller also boasted a great ability to get pucks to the net, and showcased his cannon of a slapshot which clocks up to 101.13 miles per hour (per NHL Edge). It’s in the 98th percentile of the league.
For some reason, one bad preseason game made almost everybody forget that Miller is supposed to be a very good NHL-caliber option for the Devils on their bottom pairing.
Miller’s plus-23 rating last season was top-five on the Stars. Some even gave him credit for the transformation of the entire Stars’ defense. It would not be a shock if Ruff begins to scratch Smith in the near future in favor of Miller.
If anything, they can continue to run 11 forwards and seven defensemen, and keep Smith to a primarily penalty-killing role where he thrives. There’s no justifiable logic to pull Hughes away from Miller after how this game went. Yes, it’s only a one-game sample, but it’s hard not to get excited about Miller’s play after how abysmal the Devils’ defense has been.
Huge Win
The Devils have now improved their record to 8-6-1, which is still very respectable given how many negatives there have been. They now sit a point behind the Carolina Hurricanes for third place in the Metropolitan Division. What’s most important, though, is that they’ve weathered the storm with J. Hughes out. It appears likely that he’ll make his return for a colossal matchup against their rival New York Rangers on Saturday (Nov. 18).