Here are my quick hits following the Devils’ 4-1 W on Tuesday heading into tonight’s second of the two-game set in FLA:
Gutsy Team Win
Tuesday night’s win in FLA was a huge step for the Devils in terms of their ability to compete against an elite team like Florida. Not only were you able to go into Florida and snap their 7-game winning streak, but you were also able to show yourself that you can manage the fluctuations of the playoff-styled game, kill off a timely 3v5 PK, remain composed, and stay the course for the full 60 minutes to pick up your third-straight W on the road.
- Now, the test becomes, can you replicate this effort/result in their building again tonight? As I talked about after the SJS game, if you can find a way to take 4 PTS on the road against the reigning Stanley Cup Champs, that in itself can catapult the rest of your season!
- Outstanding 3v5 PK
For me, one of the most impressive and important factors in this Devils win was their 1:05 3v5 PK at the end of the first period to hold the 1-0 lead. I give lots of credit to Siegs and Pesce, especially for getting their sticks in lanes, disrupting the flow of FLA's PP, and to Nico and Dawson as well for keeping FLA's chances to the low-danger perimeter areas and preventing them from getting to the inside off the cycle. That is never easy to do in a 3v5, let alone it being in a pivotal moment of a road game against the defending champs! Despite conceding the lone goal of this game, the Devils' PK has now killed 19 of the last 20 opposing PP opportunities, and Tuesday night's game was certainly another game they left a positive mark on in my books!
- Brenden Dillon
- Tilt of the year?! Dillon and Gadjovich's fight was one of the better fights I’ve seen in a long time, and it became a real game-changer for the Devils. I’ll talk about this in more detail during tonight’s pregame show, but what I loved about this fight was that the Devils were able to use it as a springboard in this game, as they out-chanced and out-scored FLA 16-6 & 3-0 respectively after this moment.
- It seems that the Devils are realizing this season they’re a strong, tough, heavy team that’s not going to get pushed, and again, I give GM Fitzy lots of credit for checking this box over the offseason. The Devils now have guys that can step up and answer the bell when the time comes — and there are few than Brenden Dillon in that business!
Jesper Bratt
Well, I just talked about the fight of the year, but how about the pass of the year from Bratter to feed Jack's 300th career point?! Amazing.
Bratter has been flying under the radar for a while now, getting the job done as the 'silent assassin' for the Devils game in and game out, so it was great to see him in the spotlight on Tuesday night for this highlight-reel play.
Jesper now has recorded a point in 15 of the Devils’ 19 GP, has notched 11 primary assists, two 5+ game point streaks, and 3-5—8 PTS in his last 5 GP alone, and for me, there's still so much more to say past what the scoresheet will tell you regarding the process of Jesper's game this season — which has seen tremendous improvement in all situations — and that's what I will break down tonight on our pregame show.
Timo Meier
Equally as important to this win and to the Devils’ recent stretch of play (6-2-0 L8) was Timo, coming through with his first GWG of the season via the patented “Timo Time breakaway for the win” shot that we’ve seen a couple of times from him in the past. CLUTCH!
Here’s a quick preview of a graphic I'll show tonight, along with some footage, to display that Timo is, in fact, on a good pace production-wise and is still in the cards to score 40 this season. For the Panthers, Sam Bennett is back in the lineup to stir things up after missing Tuesday’s game due to an upper-body injury, and you know they're going to be extra hungry following a frustrating loss on Tuesday. So, hopefully, Timo has some more magic in him tonight to help counteract this!
Ondrej Palat
Lastly, I want to give some kudos to Pally as he continues to do the little things so well on the "top line" with Jack and Jesper at 5v5. Take a look back at this play he made to track back 200-ft from a scoring chance he had, tie up the stick of Luostarinen, and prevent a likely GTG for the Panthers — which resulted in the Devils then extending their lead to 3-1 just 3:15 later. It was great to see him get rewarded with an ENG!
Be sure to tune in to our pregame show tonight as Rachel and I dive deeper into the Devils' big win Tuesday, the team's response to Dillon's fight, Bratter and Timo's respective seasons so far, Marky's stellar game, HC Keefe'es decision to start Jake Allen, and some keys to an extremely tough test in Sunrise tonight. It all starts at 6:30 p.m. on MSGSN!
Let's Go Devils!
-Sal
