Devils 4, Panthers 1: Answering the bell

The Devils rebounded in a big way against the defending Stanley Cup champions.

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A few observations from New Jersey vs. Florida:

Keefe’s changes paid dividends 💰

The Nico Hischier line had gone cold while the Erik Haula line hadn’t shown the ability to control play – or get the better of the chances – since the day it was assembled.

In an effort to jumpstart both units, Sheldon Keefe swapped Dawson Mercer and Stefan Noesen. And it worked.

The Hischier line put forth one of its best play-driving performances of the season. They spent a ton of time in the offensive zone and controlled better than 80% of the xG share.

Stefan Noesen’s ability to win pucks all over the ice, and create with passes from below the dots, was noticeable.

His presence no doubt played a part in Timo Meier putting forth one of his best games of the season (although it was Mercer who sprung Meier for his breakaway goal).

He was attacking the middle of the ice with force and played a north-south, downhill game from start to finish. Meier often found himself available to rip pucks from dangerous areas and was in a position to pounce when pucks were funnelled to the net by others.

Meier recorded 10 shot attempts, six scoring chances, a beautiful breakaway goal, and a couple of hits – all at 5v5. And he did it against one of the best teams in the NHL.

Gustav Forsling and Aleksander Barkov were glued to Jack Hughes for much of the night, which understandably put a limit on how much he could accomplish.

Jack generally gets that kind of treatment on the road, which means guys like Meier need to step up and make a real impact on the road. He did just that.

Meanwhile, I thought Dawson Mercer played his best game in some time. He served almost as a holding midfielder defensively, pressuring puck carriers in the middle of the ice and stopping possessions before they made it to the Devils’ zone.

He used his stick effectively to do just that and win the puck back before sending Meier in for what turned out to be the game-winning-goal.

That was far from the only play Mercer made offensively. He finished 2nd on the Devils in 5v5 attempts (a couple of which came in high-danger areas) and tied for the team-lead in shot assists. He was great.

The Devils answered the bell 🔔