Time to stop the bleeding tonight at the Rock!
UNPRECEDENTED BLITZ
Conceding 3 goals in less than 30 seconds is crazy... The only other time this has ever happened in Devils history was Jan. 14, 1980, when the Devils conceded three goals in 28 seconds @ NYR. When you have something so rare like happen, you just have to move on.
OFF NIGHT FOR ALLEN
Obviously, this was Jake Allen’s worst game of the season. It was the only time this season, of his 12 starts, that he has conceded over 2 Goals Above Expected (-2.47).
NOT GOOD ENOUGH IN FRONT OF JAKE, EITHER
Nobody’s arguing this was a bad game, but the numbers sure do back it up. Hopefully, this was an anomaly and not at all an indication of what's to come back here on home ice at the Rock, where the Devils are 8-0-1.
SHELDON’S THREE PHASES
For the third straight game, the Devils failed to win at least two of Sheldon’s “three phases” of the game, so it is no coincidence that they have lost all three in regulation. Have to win at least 2 of the 3 tonight!
MEIER • HISCHIER • BRATT
Nico and his line were one of the few positives in this game - outside of special teams and the next line I’ll talk about. In their 14:45 5v5 TOI together, SATs were 15-6, Shots were 8-3, and Scoring Chances were 6-3 — all in their favor.
And, for Nico individually, it was great to see him put up his second 3-point game (2-1–3) of the season. The Captain is starting to heat up with 3 Goals (3-1–4) in his last 3 GP, which will continue to be critical without Jack.
PALAT • MERCER • GRITSYUK
I know it's a small sample set, but what this line was able to accomplish in such little time was outstanding. In just 3:10 of 5v5 TOI together, they generated 11 SATs (11-1), 5 Shots (5-0), and 6 Scoring Chances (6-0) — all more than every other NJD line outside of Nico’s. 👀
GUESS WHO’S BACK, BACK AGAIN
What a great sight it was to see Cody Glass buzzing around on the ice this morning, as he will center Brown and Dadonov on the third line. Cody has had such a great first 10 GP of the season, and it has been so detrimental to the lineup for him to miss time with two separate injuries already. Hopefully, he can stay healthy for a long stretch of games now!
Sheldon mentioned today that the #NJDevils cannot be giving up free chances off the rush and breakaways. The breakaways, specifically, are a concern I brought up in my article back on Nov. 8 (see screenshot below), and unfortunately, this trend is still going in the wrong… pic.twitter.com/H49Ti49U7b
— Bryce Salvador (@BryceSalvador24) November 24, 2025
DANGEROUS D-CAT
After scoring only 4 Goals in his first 16 GP, Alex DeBrincat is on a heater with 6 Goals in his L6 GP, which includes an OT winner in DET's last game vs. CBJ on Saturday. Look, this guy is a two-time 40+ Goal Scorer for a reason; he will make you pay if you give him time and space. And, unfortunately, that has happened far too often at the Rock, where D-Cat has 4 Goals in his last 7 GP. 
BIG OLYMPIC BUMP FOR LARKS?!
Another guy that has been extremely dangerous for DET this season is the Captain, Dylan Larkin, who I think is one of those many players getting an Olympic bump in this ‘ongoing audition' we've been watching take place around the league. Just like DeBrincat, Larkin has had far too much success at the Rock, historically speaking (8 Goals in 13 Career GP).
Tune into tonight's pregame show as Rachel and I will be joined by Schneids to break down the goaltending of NJD & DET, as well as each of their respective last games. It all starts at 6:30 p.m. on MSGSN!
-Sal
Here are some additional graphics from Saturday night's broadcast!
