 |
| Photos by Rich Graessle/Getty Images |
Last night the Devils laid down their most dominate win of
the season vs. the Predators with the trusted "Deserve to Win
O'Meter" provided my Money Puck give us our highest percentage of the
season at 92%. Not only did this team assert themselves offensively against
Nashville, but they also refused to be pushed around and controlled the
defensive/physical side of the game as well. The player who leads the charge
with this mentality last night was the captain, Nico Hischier. Before his
second goal of the night, Lauzon threw Nico down to the ice behind the play
after they were tangled up in a net front battle. Instead of retaliating for a
penalty or staying to the perimeter of the zone for the remainder of the
powerplay, Nico waited patiently, drove to the net hard and ripped an absolute
howitzer top shelf then stared down Lauzon. This mentality of toughness,
togetherness & grit has infected the lineup and is creating something
special here in Jersey.
 |
| Photos by Elsa/Getty Images |
Speaking about something special and Nico in the same sentence,
that thirteen-minute stretch of his game may have been the most dominate of his
career to date. In that time frame, Nico had seven total shifts where we outshot
Nashville 7-2 and Nico scored his first ever hat trick. Nico’s first goal all
started with Pesce sacrificing his body to block a shot directly in the slot.
Luke chipped the puck up to Meier, who laid an indirect pass off the boards
right into Nico’s path as he was driving down the ice full speed. Where he blew
past New Jersey native Marc Del Gaizo and went backhand, forehand, five hole to
beat Saros. Nico caught some luck with the second goal described above. The puck
was lying just outside the crease as there was a net front scramble, Saros
decided to poke the puck away from the scrum which landed directly on Nico’s
stick, who wasted no time putting it in the back of the net. His natural hat
trick was created by the hard work of Noesen who was relentless on the neutral
zone forecheck and hit Nico with a quick pass to set him on a breakaway. The puck
was bouncing as Nico entered the zone, he settled it at the last second but did
not get all of his shot and the puck fooled Saros, sliding right under his pad.
Nico in the post-game mentioned that his initial reaction after the third goal
was to laugh because the puck did not go where he was expecting to shoot it. A
players first hat trick is always a special moment, especially when it comes on
home ice. To top off this amazing night for Nico, his mother was I the building
to witness this moment as well.
The Rock was in complete party mode going into the third
period, but there was still one more major speedbump this team had to overcome
to hold on to the win. At the 7:43 mark, Zachary L'Heureux gave Timo a cross
check to the lower back after the play had been blown dead. In accordance with
the teams’ attitude of not being pushed around this season, he took exception to
that cross check and gave L’Heureux two more back at him. The first one was fine
but Timo’s second one went high and caught
 |
| Photos by Icon Sportswire/Getty Images |
L’Heureux in the face. Meier was
rightfully given a five-minute major and a game misconduct, it was time for the
team to come together and show us what they were made of. The Devils killed the
major with ease only allowing one shot on goal and creating a shorthanded
chance of their own. As the penalty ended, the Rock erupted in applause for the
effort the team put in and they were immediately rewarded with a Dowling empty
net goal to seal the game. The Timo major is something that could come back to
bite you when playing a better team come playoff time but at this point in this
season, I love that it shows this team will not be messed with and we will take
the physicality right back to you.
**Update: Timo was suspended for 1 game.**
The only small concern I have coming out of last night’s game
was that Markstrom giving up the first shot on goal from a shot he should be
stopping. This is now back-to-back starts for him where he dropped into the RVH
position and allowed a goal in on the far side of the net. Most players in the
league would not be able to find that spot but both Svechnikov & Forsberg
were able to find the spot and hit it. I would like to see him using his big
frame to take the angle away or stay on his feet longer in these situations so
there is no room for the shooter to find the back of the net. The positive is
after these two goals against, Markstrom was able to step his game up and make
big saves for the team.
 |
| Photos by Icon Sportswire/Getty Images |
The Devils currently have the best record in the league over the last 10 games played and will look to continue their hot streak as they take on the St. Louis Blues on Thanksgivng Eve this Wednesday.
My Three Stars of the Game:
1.
Nico – Natural Hattrick
2.
Kovacevic – 2 Assists
3.
Pesce – 4 Blocked shots, 1 that lead directly to
Nico’s 1st goal.
T
Comments
Post a Comment