Devils 5, Penguins 1: Back in business

Led by the reunited trio of Tatar, Hischier, and Mercer, the Devils put forth a dominant showing against a desperate Penguins team.

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A few notes following New Jersey’s blowout win over the Pittsburgh Penguins:

The Devils responded

Death, taxes, and the Devils answering the bell whenever called upon. It feels like every time the Devils have a bad night, or face any sort of real adversity, they’re quick to strike back.

They did so in extremely impressive fashion Tuesday night against the Penguins. It’s not an exaggeration to say the Pens are playing for their season right now. They’re in the midst of a three-horse race for two playoff spots and need every point possible. With just a few games remaining, the margin for error is next to none. You wouldn’t have known it from watching last night’s game.

New Jersey put forth a vintage performance, dominating the puck at 5v5 and doing a great job of tightening the screws on the rare occasions they didn’t have it.

I thought the defense were fantastic at keeping tight gaps, eliminating the middle of the ice, and making smart decisions with the puck once they got it back. There were very few easy opportunities handed to the Penguins, which is key when going up against Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and company.

In a game the Devils led by at least two goals for more than 45 minutes, it would’ve been easy to sit back, absorb pressure, and try and survive against a desperate Penguins team. The Devils didn’t do that; they avoided the shell-like, ‘prevent’ defense as they so often do.

They won the high-danger chance battle 23-10 overall, including 18-7 over the final 40 minutes. There was no sign of score effects; it was another example of their pedal to the metal approach I think will serve them well come playoff time.

Rightly or wrongly, you always hear people question how the Devils will fare when teams grind them down and sustain shift-after-shift in the offensive zone. If the Devils don’t sit back, and allow their skill players to control the puck and make the best choices with it, they’re not really in a position where they have to worry about that very often. The best defense is a good offense, so to speak; teams can’t create if they don’t have possession.

I think the effort the Devils put forth last night – and how they went about it – is a very encouraging sign.

The best line nobody talks about