Hey, Devils fans!
How fitting is it that we get to spend Columbus Day watching some Devils hockey in Columbus?! Now, don’t worry, I know what you all are thinking. And, no, fortunately, this does not seem to be a good omen for CBJ historically, as their PTS% is .357 on Columbus Day all-time. Here's to hoping that number drops even lower by the end of the night!
Anyway, let's get right into it - I have to go keep an eye on Dano and Don soon so they don't have a heart attack when CBJ hits the ice for the first time and the cannon goes off. (OK, I'll come clean, it still catches me off guard, too)... Hopefully, this will be the only time it goes off tonight! 😉
To me, this Tampa Bay game set a new standard for this team and a glimpse as to what I believe winning playoff hockey will look like if you're the Devils. TBL tried going after the captain, but I love how he and the team immediately responded with a wolfpack mentality. They stood up for each other and put Tampa Bay in their place by scoring three goals and outshooting them 16 to 2 in the first period! Now, I tracked back as far as 2015-16 (when period-level stats were first tracked) to find the previous instance where a road team held TBL to 2 shots or fewer in the first period… and my results came back empty, as this was the only one! Outstanding.
The sacrifice and desperation we saw from the Devils at the end of the game, with everyone selling out and putting their bodies on the line to keep the puck out of the net, was nothing short of remarkable. Yes, the Devils blocked 24 shots, but 11 of them came in the final 3:30 of regulation. After doing some digging on this stat, it turns out that was the most blocked shots by any team ever on record (tracked since 2013-14) in this particular timeframe of a game. Just like the shots on goal stat I mentioned above, this is extremely commendable stuff, especially for it to come in only Game #2 of the season. Watching that final sequence brought back some good memories!
I mentioned during the broadcast that, according to puckpedia.com, the Devils currently have the highest-paid backend in the league this season. Make no mistake about it: this dominant defensive core will now have pressure for the backend to produce offensively this season.
Continuing on that point, Luke is getting the job done. When you look at those 7 total PTS from the backend, Luke’s has 4 of them (four 5v5 assists), which is tied for the most of any defenseman. Boy, that $9M cap hit is going to look like a bargain in no time once the PP gets going.
Sal, are you concerned about the PP struggles?! It's been two games, and they are 0 for 6!
Look, I was preaching all preseason that we needed 5v5 production to heat up this season… which it is… but I didn't mean for the PP to go cold. But no, I’m not concerned. It’s only two games into the season, and the third-best PP in the league last season will find its Mojo soon enough. In fact, it could be as soon as tonight, as the Blue Jackets had a bottom-10 PK last season and just conceded 4 PPGs in MIN on Saturday (yikes!!). So, tonight is going to be the perfect opportunity for the NJD PP to capitalize on a weaker PK and start burying pucks. It will be especially critical that special teams are an advantage tonight for the Devils, considering CBJ had the 8th-best PP on home ice last season (26.6%). No better time than now for the Devils to open its PP floodgates!
Chef Arseny appears to have some newfound chemistry on the 3rd line, as he was dishin' out Grits to Downtown Brown for two primary helpers! I hope (and predict!) that we will be chatting about his first career goal in the next newsletter!
In the same boat as CAR & TBL, CBJ finished top-8 in Home PTS% last season. To add to the challenge, I am expecting it to be an extra-hostile environment tonight as it's CBJ's home opener. So, the Devils have to come out and tame this crowd early like they did in TB. A win tonight secures you 4 of 6 PTS on a tough road trip — you take that and run with it!
During tonight’s pregame show, Rachel and I will recap the Devils’ effort in Tampa Bay, touch on the injury-related news, and chat about needing more of the same from Nico and Gritz. Join us at 6:30 p.m. on MSGSN!
-Sal
Here’s some additional content from Saturday’s broadcast!
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