Avalanche 6, Devils 3: Chaos

Turnovers, mental lapses, and defensive breakdowns proved costly for the Devils in Colorado.

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A few observations following New Jersey’s 6-3 loss:

Laying the Wood

Yesterday I noted Miles Wood was off to a rocky start with the Avalanche. Through 10 games he had just two points and the team only scored one (1) 5v5 goal with him on the ice.

Given Wood’s quiet start, it felt inevitable he’d flip the switch on a whim and contribute in a big way against the Devils. That proved to be the case.

Wood was legitimately one of the best and most noticeable players throughout the night.

He was flying around the ice and getting to the net front no matter the cost. He scored a breakaway goal(!!) while shorthanded(!!!), he stapled Jonas Siegenthaler before drawing a penalty, he led all Avalanche players with five scoring chances, and recorded a higher Game Score than all of his teammates making below $7 million per season.

A strong showing from Wood – as well as other depth players like Ross Colton (before being ejected), Logan O’Connor, etc. – proved to be a big difference in the game.

Those guys really made their presence felt and hit the scoresheet while the Devils bottom-6 looked as good as it does on paper: not very.

Depth contributions were a big factor for the Devils in their win against the Blackhawks.

Last night was a friendly reminder, though, that they can’t expect guys like Max Willman, Curtis Lazar, Chris Tierney to put forth those kind of performances against good teams.

Nico and Jack can’t return soon enough.

Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy