Devils 5, Rangers 2: Holtz' best performance

JP Gambatese shared his observations from the Devils' most recent preseason game.

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By JP Gambatese (@JP_Gambatese)

Icing what seemed to be their opening night roster, the New Jersey Devils moved to 6-0-0 in the preseason after a 5-2 rout of the New York Rangers Wednesday night. 

Here are some notes from their victory:

Holtz had his best game

The Holtz-Hischier-Meier line as a whole had an excellent – albeit boring – game. The trio posted a 97.87% xGF% in their 10 minutes on ice together, allowing exactly 0.00 xGA. What these numbers do mean, though, is that they didn’t create many chances of their own.

Their best chance came in the third period, with Holtz and Hischier narrowly missing an odd-man rush opportunity. The pass from Holtz was a little too hot to handle, and Nico was unable to put it in the back of the net. 

Still, Holtz stood out on Wednesday more than he has in any other preseason game. I thought he was noticeably involved away from the puck, preventing a couple grade-A chances from Mika Zibanejad and almost always finding himself in the right position in the offensive zone.

He did have a slashing penalty called against him, though I don’t necessarily hate the idea behind it. If the stick doesn’t break, it was a good play defensively. 

He had a drop pass gone wrong, though I blame both Meier and Hischier for that one. Both players began to skate towards the open puck, and both turned away thinking that the other would get to it first. If one of them takes charge, that play likely turns into a good chance.

Lindy Ruff did specifically call Holtz (and the rest of that line) out for not creating much offense against the Rangers, but it really is hard to complain when the xGA is 0.00 after a full game. 

Bahl looked good despite underlyings