Devils 4, Rangers 3: Jack Hughes is here
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Five observations from New Jersey’s thrilling 4-3 win over the New York Rangers:
Jack Hughes is here.
My goodness, what a performance. Jack Hughes put together one of the best showings – at least offensively – we have seen from a Devils player in a long time. He was legitimately a threat every time he touched the puck.
Individually, he created a ton. Be it in-zone, or on the counter attack, Hughes was able to generate a bunch of quality looks. He led the Devils with four scoring chances at 5v5 and had a pair of goals to show for it; including a beautiful breakaway marker.
Beyond that, he set teammates up for shot after shot after shot. He assisted on eight attempts at 5v5, which led the team by four. Hughes also put the puck on a platter backdoor for a Miles Wood power play marker. The only thing that could stop Hughes from finding the scoresheet was video review.
If it felt like he was involved in *everything* the Devils did offensively, it’s because he was. Hughes either attempted, or assisted on, 12 of 15 New Jersey attempts while on the ice at 5v5.
No. 86 oozed confidence throughout and rightfully so. With the Devils undermanned, the Rangers could pay special attention to slowing Hughes down. And they still had no answer.
Hughes made a statement, and the statement is this: he’s here.
Mackenzie Blackwood is a wall
I was sky high on Blackwood entering his draft year. Having watched him up close and personal in Barrie countless times, I saw the mix of size, freakish athleticism and control he played with. I thought he would be a very good starter in this league and, as far as goalies are concerned, was as good of a 2nd round pick as you’d find. Even so, I never thought he would be this good, this fast.
He was objectively one of the best goaltenders in the NHL last season despite playing behind a tire fire of a defense.
Somehow, some way, he has looked even better in the early going this season. Last night was his masterpiece.
The Rangers absolutely peppered Blackwood throughout. He faced 50 shots in 60 minutes, including 38 scoring chances. Nearly half (18) of those were Grade A chances. 18! It didn’t matter.
Blackwood piled up an abundance of top-end saves, did an excellent job of fighting through traffic, and made countless 2nd effort stops when unable to control the rebounds.
He was locked in and determined not to allow the Rangers to collect even a single point. Mission accomplished.
Blackwood now owns a .948 save percentage on the year and has conceded just one goal at 5v5. There, he has stopped 77/78, including 20/21 high-danger looks. This kid is special.
A lack of discipline almost proved costly
In my game preview I noted how dangerous New York was on the power play and stressed the importance of staying out of the box. The Devils apparently missed the memo because they took penalty after penalty after penalty.
The Rangers were pressing hard enough over the final 40 minutes. They didn’t need any help; and yet the Devils were happy to give it to them.
Sure, a couple calls were debatable. But New Jersey took six minors in the final two periods. Six! That’s up to 12 of 40 minutes (30%) playing shorthanded. Not ideal! The Devils were dinged for two goals on those PPs, and that number easily could have been three or four.
If not for Blackwood, that could have been a much different game. As good as he is, the Devils simply can’t rely on him to almost singlehandedly kill off that many penalties against that good of a power play unit.
A pleasant surprise
Travis Zajac is not what he once was, Miles Wood is the fan base’s favorite whipping boy (regardless of whether he actually deserves it), and Jesper Boqvist had four points in 34 games last season. Prior to the year I’m sure most people would point to that group as an Achilles heel of sorts. They’ve been anything but.
They played a fair bit against Patrice Bergeron’s line in the opening two games and gave up next to nothing. That’d be impressive for any trio, let alone one with a declining center flanked by a usually chaotic winger (Wood) and a kid still adjusting to the NHL game (Boqvist).
L3 followed that up with another strong showing last night. They posted a 55 CF, a 54 xGF%, and helped the Devils win the SOG battle 9-5 in a game they were outshot 35-27 at full-strength.
Zajac looks as reliable as ever, Wood has been as effective and controlled as I have seen, and Boqvist offers the line some very poised skill. He just looks so much more comfortable than a season ago.
I know the Devils are going to have to tinker with lines when Nico Hischier and/or Jesper Bratt are ready to play but, man, I’d have a tough time breaking up this trio. I’ve been impressed with them each time out.
Hold your horses
I have seen a lot of negativity surrounding the performances of Nikita Gusev and Andreas Johnsson so far. And I do get where it is coming from. They’re a pair of offensive wingers playing top-6 minutes every night and not offering much – at least not yet – in the way of production.
In saying that, I’m not overly concerned; and I won’t be unless this continues with Nico Hischier back in the lineup.
I don’t care how Pavel Zacha has ‘looked’ so far. His results are just as poor as that of Johnsson and Gusev. And he is the guy getting a free pass, if you will. Personally, I blame the struggles of L2 as much on him as anyone. Perhaps even more so.
Do you want to know why?
Nikita Gusev produced at a 1st line rate during 5v5 play last season. Andreas Johnsson produced at a 1st line rate during 5v5 play from 2018-20. They have a history that says, you know, they’re good at producing at even-strength.
You know who doesn’t? Pavel Zacha. You know who has been a possession anchor since entering the league? Pavel Zacha. You know who has been 4th line caliber at ES over the years? Pavel Zacha.
So before we jump down the throat of Johnsson and Gusev for three games, we should probably consider that a) they’re generally productive and; b) their struggles happen to coincide with being centered by somebody who has no business on L2.
Is Zacha the only guy to blame? No, I do expect more than we’e seen. But the ceiling, and floor, of what Johnsson and Gusev can produce is certainly capped while being handcuffed to Zacha.
Again, if this kind of thing continues when Nico is back; fire away. But, for now, I think it is important no to get too carried away.
Data Dump
numbers via NaturalStatTrick.com and Evolving-Hockey.com
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Hey Todd, do you have any data showing a correlation between point production and the quality of that player's hockey flow? It's obvious the long layoff has allowed hughes to maximize his flow game directly improving his game.
Covid has kept me off the ice most of 2020 but working from home gave me the opportunity to grow out the lettuce.
I'm curious how that analysis will carry over into my game. I imagine I can expect a 50% increase in my corsi for and these wings should propel me forward increasing my skating speed by 15%.
Todd great write up. I followed you for a while on hockey buzz. No one but you saw Blackwood coming. You alluded to this above, but he has exceeded all expectations that you even had for him.
On hockey buzz yesterday there was a comment about shipping Tennyson out and getting butcher in. Is it just me or has Tennyson looked fantastic? I’m not sure if my eyes are playing tricks on me. But he has been solid. I was the first to be upset with butcher being scratched. But at this point I can’t see Tennyson sitting. On the bench I saw him coaching Smith. I think he is very good for Smith. Who sits when Vat is back, who is sitting to get Butcher in? I don’t think you can change things up until injuries or back to back occurs. My opinion.