Devils 4, Jets 1: Clinical

The Devils put forth a remarkably strong effort at both ends of the ice in one of their best performances of the season.

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A few notes following New Jersey’s impressive win over Winnipeg:

A 5-star showing

The Devils defended like the fate of the world depended on it. Given the personnel that is missing, I honestly didn’t know they had it in them to play at such a high level.

They checked every box you could possibly hope to see. They managed the puck well, they boxed out, they clogged lanes, they blocked shots, and there was absolutely no let-up in their game.

Normally the Devils – or any team, for that matter – would hit a wall at some point and there would be sequences where things fell apart and they were really on their heels. That didn’t happen against the Jets.

The Devils played the same way from start to finish, keeping the Jets out of high-danger areas and giving them no reason to believe a breakthrough was coming.

Nearly 45 minutes of the game was played at 5v5. The Devils gave up a season-low three high-danger chances, to go along with only 1.08 expected goals, in that time.

This wasn’t a case of the Devils sucking the life out of the opposing offense at the expense of their own. Not in the slightest.

The Devils controlled nearly 70% of the expected goals share at 5v5 and generated 4.62 xGoals across all situations. It’s hard to put into words how impressive that is against a Jets team that prides itself on sound two-way play.

Is it too little, too late? Perhaps. But a performance like that gives reason to believe the team could actually go on a run and make things interesting down the stretch.

Stars drove the bus