Here are my quick hits after Thursday night’s W in OTT, heading into tonight’s rematch vs. WSH:
Bounce-Back Defensive Effort
What I especially liked about the win in OTT was that when the Sens were pushing and tilting the ice in their favor, Marky was making timely saves, and the Devils cleared any rebound left in front of him. Forwards were coming back to their proper spots, the PK was great again despite conceding a backbreaking late-game goal to spoil Marky’s shutout (scored SH, though!), and it was an overall, well-connected defensive effort for the Devils, which was great to see coming off a letdown performance in CAR!
Markstrom
Once again, Jacob Markstrom was the Devils’ best player, which is precisely what you need your goaltender to be if you want to be a true contender in this league. As HC Keefe talked about, Marky had yet another exceptional first period that allowed the Devils to find their legs, get going offensively, and gain control over this game. Yes, as great as it is to see the Devils finally getting elite, timely saves to cover up for their slow starts, the first periods have to be better in front of Marky moving forward.
The fact that coach Keefe has now decided to start Markstrom three games in a row, including tonight, despite Jake Allen having a tremendous first 2 games himself, indicates that he wants to establish Marky as the clear 1A and have him embrace that role.
Lazar Line
I love the fact that, following a game where the Lazar line struggled in CAR, HC Keefe kept this line intact without hesitation for the OTT game, and he got rewarded for trusting those guys.
Rachel and I will discuss this in more depth on tonight’s pregame show, but here were the coach’s comments when I asked him about the Lazar line’s response in the postgame show.
Kovacevic
Johnathan Kovacevic continues to impress me game in and game out with the fact that he came into training camp, pushed for a role on this team, earned that role on an everyday basis, and is now making a tremendous impact in all 200 feet of the ice, both at 5v5 and equally on the PK. Entering tonight, Kovy has not only been on the ice for only 2 Goals AG in 121:40 of 5v5 TOI, but is the only defenseman in the NHL that has 5+ points while averaging two and a half minutes of shorthanded ice time. I can’t say enough about his incredible start to the season in all facets of the game!
Dougie First Point
Finally, Dougie picked up his first point of the regular season, avoiding 2024-25 being the first time in his career he would have had 0 PTS through his first 7 GP. It was also an excellent overall game for his pairing with Dillon at 5v5, as they had a 71.9% SAT% (23-9), 74.5% xGF%, 100.0% HDCF% (3-0), and out-scored the Sens 1-0 WOI. I want to give some extra kudos to Dillon, who blocked a one-timer in an unprotected area towards the end of a 3-0 game for his goaltender in an attempt to hold the shutout. I love the fact that, even from the booth, you could feel how badly this team (and HC Keefe in his postgame avail) wanted to get Marky his first shutout as a Devil! Maybe, that will come tonight…
Haula First Goal
It was great to see Erik Haula pick up his first goal of the season in OTT. For what it’s worth, Haula also scored his first goal of the season in OTT back in 2022-23, then had 5 PTS in his next 7 GP… and we all know how well that season went for the Devils… so maybe this is some good voodoo?! Either way, I’m intrigued to see if Haula can have another impact game against the Caps tonight, as he just recently had an outstanding 3-assist game last Saturday in the first meeting against WSH.
Here’s a look back at his goal from Thursday night. Pay close attention to my point about Timo’s subtle play on this goal, which may have flown under the Radar at first watch.
Cotter
The big storyline coming into the OTT game was, “Can Paul Cotter play up the lineup with Jack and Bratter?!” Well, if last night’s game, and this entire season so far, has shown us anything, it’s that Cotter is a versatile threat that can play up and down the lineup with any forward and make a positive impact on any line. Furthering this point, his goal in OTT was not even with Jack and Bratter but instead with Nico and Mercer.
“The Mitts” now has 5-1—6 PTS in 7 GP on the season, took a career-high 7 FOs in his responsibilities on Jack’s line, and was all over the puck yet again. The Devils are 4-0-0 when Cotter scores a goal so far this season, and I believe that is no coincidence. Cotter has been a real difference-maker so far and is making GM Fitzy look like an absolute genius for that trade!
Considering WSH lost in regulation against the Devils last week, you know they’re going to be hungry for a pay-back game tonight. WSH just handed DAL their first loss of the season on Thursday night, so they are feeling good about themselves, but so are the Devils! This is the second of the four-game season series between NJD and WSH, which all happens before Nov. 30. For all of those reasons, in addition to the fact that this is a divisional opponent, this is a very important game. Get on them early!
Be sure to join Rachel and me for our MSGSN2 pregame show, starting at 6:30 p.m., as I interview Nate Bastian, break down Paul Cotter's start to the season, the Lazar line, as well as Dougie and Haula's respective seasons so far.
Let's Go Devils!
-Sal
Here are some graphics from the OTT broadcast!
