Man, last night's NJDvsNYI preseason game was exhilarating, to say the least! I did not expect to see 11 combined goals scored. Crazy, just crazy.
Undoubtedly, the biggest storyline from the game was the "CHEM" (to quote Jack Hughes' abbreviation of chemistry) we are witnessing develop from the Devils' #73 - #86 - #63 line — it was absolutely mesmerizing! Seeing them ice-side for the first time was something that fans could not have possibly appreciated at home. It was truly a remarkable experience watching their pace of play and hockey IQ on display from the best seat in the house! In addition to their excellent looks on PP1, their line, at 5v5, combined for 11 shot attempts, 6 points… and, of course, there was a Bratt Trick!
A subtle thing most might overlook about Toffoli's skillset is that he is 100% capable of playing on his off-wing at an elite pace, riding shotgun with Hughes and Bratt. This interchangeability allows Bratt to play on his off-wing, too, enhancing the ability of this line to pick apart defensive structures with numerous east-west passes. Just take a look at this highlight-reel goal:
Hughes Goal from S&S HOCKEY on Vimeo.
It was another solid 5v5 showing from the #88-#6 pair, who owned 69.44% of the SAT%, out-chancing the NYI 14-4, and only conceded 3 shots against in their 17:15 of ice time. What's most significant is that 8:11 seconds of their ice time was against the Lee - Horvat - Barzal line, the most of any of the Devils D-pairing.
Through two preseason games together — again, a very small sample size — the Bahl-Marino duo ranks well among all NHL defensive pairings with 25+ min 5v5 TOI. Their 58.93% SAT is 6th best, +8 Scoring Chances are tied for third best, and their +6 High Danger Chances is the number one differential!
Bahl, looking more and more ready to take on Ryan Graves' heavy minutes from last season, looked well-synchronized with Marino from the start of the game, had two assists (one was the primary assist on Marino's goal), contributed 6 individual SATs, and his 4 hits were the most on the Devils. So, we will continue to keep an eye on #88's placement within the top-six D.
I liked the tenacity I saw from one of the newest Devils, Chris Tierney, who stood out at 5v5 all game long. The Devils led SATs 17-5 when he was on the ice, the best SATs percentage (77.27%) of any player in the game. Why is this significant? It's going to be tough for NJD staff to cut down this roster to 13 or 14 forwards. Tyce Thompson and Curtis Lazar have been equally stellar, especially in Saturday's OT win against PHI. Nolan Foote has looked sharp as well, specifically in his PP time playing the bumper. The internal competition for the Devils' 'Energy Line' is a uniquely fascinating storyline to watch. When you have depth like this for your fourth line, you have officially entered the winning-phase window.
All exciting stuff, and although it's still preseason, another 6-goal performance and a 5-0 record is always fun! Two games left; I'll be back between the benches for our MSG broadcast tomorrow night vs. NYR.
- Sal
