Here are my quick hits following the Devils’ 3-2 W in SEA, heading into tonight’s game at MSG vs. NYR:
3-2 W in SEA
It wasn’t pretty by any means, but the four-game losing streak (and five-game road losing streak) has been snapped, and it came on the back of an absolutely unconscious performance from Jacob Markstrom. The Devils also scored some timely goals in this game, and I especially loved the response shift and GWG we saw from Jack’s line just 37 seconds after conceding the GTG early in the third. This was a beautiful play and a great finish by Pally for his 6th goal in his last 13 GP. Then, from that point on, it was the Marky show!
Marky
For whatever reason, it seems to be a standard for the Devils to have nail-biters against the Kraken ever since their inaugural season back in 2021-22. If you take out empty netters, 7 of the 8 games all-time between NJD & SEA have been decided by just one goal. Last year, it was Akira Schmid who stole the show — stopping 37 of 38 pucks and 2.39 GSAE in a Devils’ 2-1 W — and this year, it was Marky who took over the highlight reel not once, not twice, but three times with SOTY candidates. Unreal stuff!
If you ask me, it was especially relieving to watch Marky close this one out and get the W because of how each of his last two starts leading up to this game went. Those were both games in which Marky was outstanding and deserved a W, but instead conceded late GWGs AG from the point that forced the Devils to fall to two 3-2 losses in regulation. Knowing the fierce competitor in Marky, I’m not surprised he responded by standing on his head yet again in this game. Thankfully, he was rewarded for it this time with his 20th win of the season!
Score Him 3+ Goals!
For me, another takeaway from this performance was Marky proving to everyone yet again that he only needs three goals to win you a game this season. If you look solely at the 17 scenarios where the Devils have scored 3 or more goals in front of Marky since Oct. 27, Marky has led the Devils to a perfect 17-0-0 in those games. On top of that, Marky has posted the second-best Sv%, best GAA, and tied-most shutouts of any goaltender with 10 or more games in this situation. Simply put, it’s been amazing to see the Devils finally have an elite, number one starting goaltender who refuses to lose you games if you can get him any type of substantial goal support. If you score him three goals, he'll do his part!
Season Series
Next up, all eyes are on MSG tonight as the Devils look to build off of the results they got in Seattle. Again, Dano and I talked about the fact that, no, maybe the SEA game wasn’t a pretty one, but getting the result you did allows you to fly back to the East Coast knowing you left the losing streak behind you in California. This goes a very long way for you to be able to mentally reset and get back to the way you were playing before the Christmas break.
And yes, there'd be no better team to keep the wins coming against than your rival, the NYR, who you've outscored by a combined 10-1 in the two games thus far. This is the first time since the 1998 season that the Devils have scored 5+ goals in consecutive wins against the Rangers, and the first time in history they’ve scored 5+ PPGs in the first two games of a season series vs. NYR! Let’s hope there’s some more positive history to be made tonight!
Dangerous Game
I’ve talked about the last two Devils' opponents, that being SEA and SJS, as teams tough to play against due to the fact they don’t have much expectations or pressure riding on them and can play "loose hockey" against you while you're desperate for wins. Well, looking at tonight, you’re turning that narrative completely 180 on its head in this matchup, as this NYR team is more desperate for points - and has pressure on them - than arguably any other team in the league right now. Not only will they be getting a spark from Shesterkin being back between the pipes (after he missed the last 4 games due to an upper-body injury), but to spice things up even more, they’re also coming from a frustrating home loss to DAL in which they blew 3-0 and 4-3 leads, respectively.
I'm looking no further than Jack, who has been goalless in six games since his 2-goal game vs. NYR on Dec. 23, to snap this mini drought of his and get the first goal of the game tonight to get Shesterkin second-guessing himself right away!
Be sure to join Rachel and me on tonight’s pregame show as we recap the SEA game, Marky’s performance and season, Jack vs. the Rangers, and preview the third game of the season series tonight at the Garden. It all starts at 6:30 p.m. on MSGSN!
Let’s Go Devils!
-Sal
Here are some graphics from Monday night’s broadcast!
The only thing different about today's practice is all the extra jersey colors. Haven't seen blue and green used in a long time.
— Bryce Salvador (@BryceSalvador24) January 8, 2025
After that long road trip, everyone definitely needed a little distraction. It's great to be back on the East Coast! https://t.co/YxUExoNK1q pic.twitter.com/5nEqmzRCra