Here are my quick hits following Saturday night’s 6-5 OTL to WSH heading into tonight’s game vs. TBL:
Casey Sent Down
Based on the recent stretch of games and HC Keefe’s postgame comments following the WSH game, it is no surprise that Seamus Casey was sent down to Utica yesterday. Keefe, when asked about Seamus and his 7:35 of TOI vs WSH, pointed out that Casey has had fatigue in his game due to the adjustment of the NHL schedule compared to that of college hockey, which is significantly less frequent.
Furthermore, when you are a young D, you need to be getting consistent ice time to round out your game, not sitting on the bench most of the night. Look, Casey is a high-end defenseman who needs a good stretch of 20+ minutes a night in the AHL, playing in all situations to ensure his development continues.
Just like coach Keefe, I give a ton of credit to Seamus for his performance in the NHL before getting sent down. To come in and play on your offhand, paired with another 20-year-old, inexperienced D, as comfortably as he did, is not easy and was quite remarkable to watch. The sky is the limit for Seamus in his young career!
Misyul Recalled
It appears that Daniil Misyul, who was recalled yesterday as the corresponding move to Casey, will make his NHL debut tonight on Nemec’s pair. Yes, on paper, the Devils are replacing one rookie D with another, but it’s important to remember that Misyul is 24 and in his seventh season of pro hockey between the KHL and AHL.
The main point, though, is that Misyul is 6’3 and a left shot. Keefe desperately needed a true left shot on that third pairing, as he couldn’t ask guys like Dougie and Kovacevic to play their offsides again tonight. Kovacevic had, by far, his worst game as a Devil on Saturday night, and in my opinion, that was because he had to flip-flop sides throughout the game. Mangiapane wouldn’t have gotten a breakaway in that situation if it had been the usual Siegenthaler (L) - Kovacevic (R) pair rather than Kovacevic playing the left side with Dougie. The fact of the matter is that in this last game alone, Kovacevic was on the ice 5v5 for 3 GA, which was more than all of his first 7 games combined. Enough said!
Got an Important Point
Even on a night where the Devils were unable to sustain a consistent effort throughout the full 60 minutes, you have to like the fact that they were resilient, bent but did not break again, and ultimately found a way to come back from two 2-goal deficits to get an important OT point. Yes, there are plenty of concerns from this game that I will get to, but true contending teams find ways to collect points even on their “off nights,” and that’s what the Devils have done in both games against WSH this season.
Captain Went Beast Mode
Simply put, Captain Nico put the team on his back in every facet of the game on Saturday. As HC Keefe talked about in his postgame avail, it was very disappointing that Nico’s efforts went (mostly) unmatched by his teammates and unrewarded with the game’s result.
Here is my discussion with Dano on the postgame show about the Captain’s performance, as well as some of my comments regarding his FO workload this season.
DOUGIE BOMBTM is Back!
Finally, one went in! After getting his first point of the season out of the way with a primary assist in OTT, Dougie followed up by finally finding the back of the net for the first time this season with a huge “Vintage Dougie Bomb” GTG to force this game to OT!
As Dougie said himself, it is great for him psychologically to see that it’s “still possible” for the puck to go in! This was Dougie’s first goal since a PPG he scored in COL back on Nov. 7, 2023 — almost an entire calendar year ago!
Have to be Better at Home — Starting Tonight!
Entering this season, everyone knew that it would be critical that the Devils be much better on home ice, following the team's 16-21-3 record and .438 PTS% at Prudential Center last season, which was fourth worst in the NHL. Unfortunately, as coach Keefe talked about on Saturday night, the Devils' effort has not been even close to good enough in two of the three games at the Rock so far this season.
The silver lining to this point is that the rested Devils have a chance to immediately stop this narrative tonight. They are playing at home once again, facing a TBL team that is in the second half of a B2B, having just traveled and crossed the border following a 5-2 L in TOR last night. For those reasons, there is no excuse why we should not see the Devils come out and dictate this game right from the opening puck drop tonight. Yes, this is an experienced Bolts team that will be hungry for a bounce-back effort, but the expectation is that you are even hungrier and have more energy! The Devils should have their foot on the gas pedal all night (not just for 5 to 6 minutes in each period), be all over the puck, and not touch the breaks until they’ve secured 2 PTS tonight.
Vasy for TBL
Andrei Vasilevskiy got pulled halfway through the game last night after conceding 4 goals on 14 shots, likely meaning he will get back-to-back starts and the nod again tonight at the Rock. This should especially be the case, considering Vasy has won his last three starts at Prudential Center, posting a .916 Sv% and 2.27 GAA in the process. That streak ends tonight!
Allen for NJD
Based on today's optional morning skate, it appears that Jake Allen will be getting the start for the Devils as he looks to extend his near-perfect start to this season. Allen’s last start against TBL was a 5-3 L with Montreal back on Nov. 7, 2023, in which he was pulled after conceding 4 goals on the first 9 shots AG, but I think it is safe to say that everyone is willing to overlook that due to how strong his first two starts have been!
Join Rachel and me for our pregame show as we discuss the Devils’ & Markstrom’s struggles at home, Captain Nico’s performance vs. WSH, Nemec’s new D partner, Timo’s 5v5 impact this season, and preview tonight’s game vs. TBL. It all starts at 6:00 p.m.! Yes, 6:00 p.m. tonight due to the NHL Frozen Frenzy, not 6:30 p.m.!
Let’s Go Devils!
-Sal
Here are some graphics from Saturday night's broadcast!
