DEVILS vs BRUINS | PRE-SCOUT | GAME #35

Hey everyone,

Another big win for the Devils last night in OTT! Anytime the Devils put 6+ on the board, there's a lot to discuss — here are a few of my takeaways before I preview tonight's game in BOS.I had talked about the Devils' power play in the pregame show and the fact that they had only scored 2 goals on their last 26 attempts, despite their overall process actually being slightly better through the last 10 games. Well, the Devils came out, executed, and matched that 2-goal total in just 3 opportunities in the 1st period. Hopefully, the PP1 unit scoring that pair last night gets them back in a groove and one step closer to the level we all know it can get to.

Tonight will be a perfect test to see if they can stay hot, as they face the Bruins and their #2 ranked PK (#1 at home), while also giving up the #2 most PP opportunities per game.
Nico Daws' effort was outstanding last night, and, for me, it was the most significant takeaway from an individual player standpoint. I was fortunate to have the best seat in the house for the 1st and 3rd periods, right behind Daws. I was super impressed with just how calm he was on the big stage, especially considering he had only played 3 games in the AHL this season coming off his hip labrum surgery. 
To come in and make the Grade-A, breakaway/partial breakaway saves that he did (on guys like Tkachuk, Norris, and Batherson!) was quite remarkable. I'm excited to watch him get another look between the pipes, whenever that time comes.
Before I move on to tonight's game, I have to take a moment and give credit to Brendan Smith for his beauty first goal as a Devil! For context, it took Smitty the 5th most games of any skater in franchise history (0 goals in first 86 GP with NJD) to get his first goal with the Devils. This image tells the whole story:In all seriousness, it was great to see a guy like Smith, who defends hard and plays big minutes on the PK, have a moment like that!
Well, Devils fans, here we go again. For me, the Devils' consistent struggle in 2nd half of back-to-backs this season is one of, if not the most prominent storyline and necessary fix for this team, especially because they still have 8 of these sets remaining after tonight. The Devils' .214 PTS% in the second game of a back-to-back is the 4th worst in the NHL entering tonight, while their .673 PTS% with a 1+ day gap between games is the 4th best in the NHL. The difference is night and day, and, for me, what hurts most is that the poor effort in these games is killing the momentum that they're building coming into them.

Currently riding a 3-game win streak, the Devils are previously 0-3-0 on the 4th game of 3-game W streaks they've had (in STL Nov. 3; vs SJS Dec. 1; in EDM Dec. 10). All 3 of those losses have occurred in the 2nd half of a back-to-back.

Playing in BOS is no easy task for the Devils to snap this dual curse of "3-game W streaks entering the 2nd game of a back-to-back," but, here's to hoping that the Devils can find a way, and, ultimately celebrate the New Year with their first 4-game W streak of the season.

Join us at 6:30 PM for the pregame show!
-Sal