Here are my quick hits following the Devils’ 3-1 W in Utah, heading into tonight’s game in Vegas:
HUGE Win
What an enormous W it was for the Devils last night in their first-ever game in Utah! This game was extremely important, considering the Eastern Conference Standings are getting really hot around them right now, and I love the fact that you could sense that from this team in all three periods. It was great to see the way all four lines came out, competed hard, won their battles, and played with pace right from the opening puck drop. They defended well, played heavy hockey, and stuck with a tight game, and they got rewarded for it with two critical points. Now, it’s all about replicating this effort in the second half of this back-to-back tonight if you want to string together consecutive wins for the first time since Jan. 22 - Jan. 25 (BOS & MTL).
Timo
What better way to snap your eight-game goal drought and skid of one goal in 20 games than with a game-winning, top-cheese snipe 14 seconds into a tied third period of a must-win game? That was wordy… but yes, Devils fans, this moment — especially after not executing on the breakaway opportunity he had in the first period — was exactly what the doctor ordered for Timo to inject some life and confidence into him going into this final stretch of games here. We joked that all Timo needed was for the calendar to turn March for pucks to start going in for him, but in all seriousness, this team desperately needs big-time goals like this right now from their best players, other than just Jack and Nico.
Dawsy
And then how about the play of Nico Daws yet again, coming through with 24 saves on 25 shots and 1.32 Goals Saved Above Expected to improve to 3-0-0?! I’m so impressed with how Dawsy has come in with such a calm presence and exuded confidence at the NHL level, especially after struggling with Utica and recovering from a couple of tough injuries. From the second his number was called in relief of Allen (a month ago today), he has been outstanding — nearly perfect. He is now just the second goaltender in Devils history to win his first 3 starts of a season with a .960 or better Sv%, and he’s in decent company with none other than Marty Brodeur, back in 1995-96.
Boy, has it been refreshing to get consistent, reliable goaltending night in and night out this season! Here are some of my comments on Dawsy from last night’s postgame show and from earlier on in our pregame show.
Learn from the Last Meeting
You only have to go back 6 games to remember the last meeting with the VGK, which, in my opinion, is a good thing inside that locker room going into tonight. That’s because this game was by far the worst effort of the season to this point, and a lot of things need to be learned from this first game.
Most importantly, the Devils’ process of retrieving dumped-in pucks tonight has to be far better than it was back on Feb. 6. As we learned, Vegas is very good at taking away your time and space with their tight gaps in the NZ, which forces you to dump pucks in more than you might like if you’re the Devils. There was a lot to dislike about this game, at even strength specifically (and I talked about it more in the clip below as well as in this article). But look, the bottom line is that I hope the guys inside that room remember how badly they played against this team in front of Jake Allen, who, quite frankly, was the only reason the final score wasn't much worse than 3-1. If he gets the start tonight, you have to find a way to get him some "house money" to play with, starting with the first goal of the game.
Manage the Game
Now, as much as we’d all love to see the same energy from last night carry over into tonight, the reality is that matching VGK’s intensity for the full 60 minutes would be a very tall ask for the Devils, seeing VGK has been resting at home for the past two days while the NJD were traveling to play their second game in less than 24 hours. For that reason, it’s going to be absolutely critical that the Devils come out and manage this game well. You have to be smart with the puck, limit unforced errors (including unwarranted trips to the box), and understand how long you are into each shift, especially in the 2nd and 3rd periods. This is a Vegas team that has been ignited with a very good, winning stretch of hockey since that win against you back on Feb. 6, so it’s going to take another gutsy effort to bank a couple more points tonight!
Tune in to our pregame show tonight as Rachel and I break down last night’s win in UTA, preview the NHL trade deadline, and discuss some keys to picking up points in Vegas tonight in the second half of this back-to-back. It all starts at 7:30 p.m. on MSGSN!
Let’s Go Devils!
-Sal
Here are some graphics from last night’s broadcast!
