Here are my quick hits following the Devils’ 2-1 OTL to TOR heading into tonight’s game vs. LAK:
Move on From it
Yes, that was a frustrating loss on Tuesday night, as you had one of, if not your best, three-period effort of the season, and you did not get the result you wanted at the end of the night. It was the first time the Devils had lost a game in which they had 39+ Shots For and 17 or fewer Shots AG since March 23, 2012 (a 4-3 SOL also vs. TOR), which speaks to the fact that, yes, this was an extremely rare and tough way to lose when you played as well as you did, but that’s just hockey sometimes. The best teams find a way to take the point, mentally move on from it, and repeat that process, which is exactly the task you have tonight with the hottest team in the league coming into your building!
Opposing Goaltending
Another storyline coming out of this game is that, for whatever reason, opposing goaltenders are continuing to stand on their heads and steal games from the Devils in recent NJD losses, just as we saw yet again with Anthony Stolarz stopping 38 of 39 shots and 3.20 Goals Above Expected on Tuesday night. Take a look at this graphic, which shows that the Devils are averaging the second most Shots For/GP in their losses since Nov. 1, yet they've had the worst luck in terms of opposing goaltenders making timely saves and shutting down almost all of their regular scoring. Whenever you’re dealing with an oddity like this, the message in that room is simply to stick with your process, try to create more traffic in front/take away the goaltender’s line of sight, and find a way to put pucks in the back of the net. Things will start to even out!
Can’t Chase This Game
A major theme we continue to talk about is the Devils needing to avoid getting behind and chasing games, and that is going to be especially critical against this LAK team. It was great to see the Devils come out with potentially their best first period of the season vs. TOR (and eventually bury the first goal in the second), but as I said, you have to be able to replicate this process despite losing that game. The Kings being a top 3 defensive team and 8-2-0 in their last 10 GP (having conceded only one goal in seven of those 10 games), this is a team that will build on a lead, bunker down, and make life extremely difficult for you if you tempt fate and get behind against them tonight. If you isolate the last 6 games in which the Kings have scored first, they are 6-0-0 with a 1.17 GAA. Start on time tonight!
They’re Due
Just one team goal in the past two games means plenty of guys are due for a breakout game tonight, and that includes the personnel of the Devils’ PP, which is 0/9 in the last three games after going 7/11 (63.6%) in the previous three games. I’m optimistic that if things get clicking again tonight, the Devils should be able to “break” the Kings’ stingy defensive structure that has tortured most of the league to this point!
Be sure to join Rachel and me as we return to the air tonight to discuss Pally’s first 30 games, Pesce and his pairing with Luke, and some keys to avoiding a third-straight loss for the first time since the four-game winless streak in October. It all starts at 6:30 p.m. on MSG & MSG2!
Let’s Go Devils!
-Sal