Devils 3, Capitals 2: Back on track

The Devils dominated the run of play against the Capitals and, eventually, were rewarded with two points.

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A few notes following New Jersey’s overtime win against Washington:

It’s (almost) Timo Time

We are three games into Timo Meier’s tenure with the New Jersey Devils and he hasn’t yet put forth that dominant performance where a) his on-ice metrics are through the roof and; b) he piles up the points. But all signs suggest it’s coming.

I thought he looked a lot better against Toronto than Arizona and he carried that forward against Washington on Thursday night.

Simply put, we saw everything that makes Meier so good. He showed great power on a couple rushes up ice, including one where he forced a Capitals defender into a penalty.

His speed through the neutral zone was also evident and, in zone, he was making sweet magic with Jack Hughes.

Meier led the Devils in attempts, shots on goal, and scoring chances at 5v5. He threatened as a shooter and he fought through contact to get those high-danger looks around the front of the net.

With Meier and Hughes on the ice, the Devils won the shot attempt battle 16-6 and posted an expected goal share above 90%. As decisive as the shot advantage was, they graded out even better when weighting for quality.

Really, Meier did everything but put the puck in the net (save for the shootout) while Hughes also looked very good (beyond again whiffing on a couple attempts once the puck was worked into a good spot).

I think that duo is about ready to rip the league apart and the vintage Meier game is coming sooner rather than later. Perhaps it will all come together Saturday in Montreal.

The Nico line bounced back