Result aside in Game 2, you have to love the heart we saw from this team. The Devils came out determined to dictate and initiate play in this game. Right from the opening puck drop, the effort was night and day from Game 1. They established a hard, heavy, relentless presence on the forecheck, sprinted to every puck, and hit everything that moved. (In fact, their 22 hits in the first period were the most the Devils have had in a playoff period since RD1 Game 2 vs. FLA back in 2012, when we had 23 hits in the first period!). Considering the effort we saw, it was great to see the Devils get rewarded with a 1-0 lead headed into the first intermission.
Then, in the 2nd period when CAR had their surge, which everyone expected to happen again, we saw a response and pushback from the Devils. Yes, they conceded two goals in the first 6 minutes of the 2nd period, but as the graphic below shows, the way they defended in their own zone and managed the rest of this period was far better than they did in Game 1. This kept them within one going into the 3rd, which, in my books, was a big win. Unfortunately, Freddy Andersen made some outstanding saves in that 3rd period to prevent the Devils from forcing OT.
I was hoping it would be a positive follow-up to my special teams keys, but the reality is that special teams let the Devils down again in Game 2, as the PP failed to capitalize on its three opportunities and conceded the shorthanded GWG. That SHG was the dagger that ultimately did the Devils in.
The silver lining here, though, was that the PP the Devils had in the 3rd period was by far the best we’ve seen in the two games. Other than not finishing on this opportunity, the Devils executed all of the keys Dano and I have been harping on in this series. They generated 7 shot attempts – including 3 slot shots – and most importantly, their puck retrievals on each of those shot attempts were excellent. Again, if not for Andersen robbing some of these chances from being the tying goal (Timo’s, especially), you’re probably reading a completely different article right now!
The bottom line is that we’re going to need to see more of the same PP threat and action we saw on that last PP, but with a goal resulting. As Sheldon talked about, special teams have been the difference so far in this series, and were the Devils’ edge they leaned on during the regular season.
To his point, the PP scored 0.74 Goals/GP (#4 NHL) and 25.3% of the Devils’ total goals (#3 NHL) during the regular season. So, if the PP isn’t scoring, the Devils are in trouble. And that is especially the case if it is going to concede SHGs, too!
If the Devils are going to get back in this series, it’s going to start with special teams winning them tonight’s game - or, worst case, being even.
Now, the Devils may not have accomplished their goal of stealing at least one of the two road games, but by no means are they out of this series. And look no further than just a couple of years ago for some hope! There are still 10+ players in this current lineup who were a part of that 2023 team, which came back from down 2-0 to beat NYR in the first round.
But make no mistake, Game 3 tonight is nothing short of a must-win. Historically speaking, it is close to impossible to pull off a reverse sweep if you go down 3-0. In fact, of the 211 scenarios, it has only been done four times in NHL history.
Based on yesterday’s practice and Sheldon's comments this morning, it appears that Siegs will return to the lineup tonight, after missing 29 total games due to his injury back in early February. Sheldon alluded to the fact that he is medically cleared, but they are pushing him ahead of his ideal conditioning schedule due to the current playoff circumstances. So, like Sheldon said, there is a good chance his minutes will be more sheltered than we’re used to seeing. Nonetheless, it would be a huge boost to the backend for Siegs to play alongside Nemec, as Luke and Dilly will be unavailable again tonight. Siegs was arguably the best defensive defenseman in the league before his injury, ranking top 2 in both ES and PK Goals AG/60 when on ice, so his presence alone is invaluable. I also expect that a veteran D like Siegs, who has 20+ games of playoff experience, will do a great job of keeping things simple tonight while he calibrates the speed of playoff hockey!
The other good news is that you now have an opportunity here to really flip the script at home tonight. Feed off the energy of the Rock, take advantage of having last change, and make CAR continue to feel uncomfortable about the fact that their weakness has been playing on the road, both during the regular season and throughout most of HC Brind’Amour’s playoff tenure. A win tonight not only keeps you alive, but it also puts you right back in the series going into Game 4 Sunday. Let’s go, boys!
Be sure to tune in to our hour-long pregame show tonight, as Rachel and I will be joined by Cory Schneider for tonight’s broadcast! It was a little over 5 years ago that Cory made 34 saves to help the Devils beat TBL 5-2 in Game 3… so maybe he can bring back some of that magic for us tonight in the same scenario, as the Devils were also down 2-0 in the series going into that game at the Rock!
Let's Go Devils!
-Sal
Here are some graphics from our Game 2 broadcast!
