Devils 7, Sharks 2: A necessary stomping

The Devils checked a lot of boxes while blowing the Sharks out in their own building.

Follow along on Twitter @ToddCordell | @InfernalAccess

Be sure to join the Discord channel to talk hockey, and everything else, with our writers and subscribers.

---

A few notes following New Jersey’s blowout victory in San Jose:

The stars shined brightest

The Devils haven’t had their full collection of star forwards in the lineup at the same time very often this season. It’s been even more rare that said forwards all looked anything close to full health.

This has led to few dominant performances where several of the core forwards popped off on the same night and turned what could’ve been a somewhat competitive game into a rout. Last night was a much-needed exception.

Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, and Timo Meier were firing on all cylinders throughout, creating offense seemingly every time over the boards.

Hughes put forth a vintage Hughes performance, dominating the puck like nobody else and doing whatever he wanted against the Sharks defense.

There were a couple instances where he was perhaps feeling himself a little too much, and tried very high-risk plays, but you live with that because a) he was constantly making things happen and; b) that means he has the confidence to do it in the first place. That’s a welcomed sight because Jack hasn’t had his normal swagger of late.

Hischier was a dog on a bone making plays all over the ice. He won battles, he was dangerous off the rush, his passing was clinical, and every touch seemed to turn into something positive.

Bratt speed was a factor – as usual – and he picked up a couple of points while being involved in a few of the team’s most dangerous chances of the night.

Then there was Meier. He attempted seven shots, picked up a pair of assists, set up several excellent chances with his playmaking, and also had a goal called back due to offsides.

I maintain the Sharks shouldn’t have challenged it and done right by their legend but I might be slightly biased as someone who held a Meier anytime goal ticket.

Nevertheless, the core four up front combined for *checks notes* 39 shot attempts and 11 points. They took full advantage of a weak Sharks defense and showed just how good they can be when on.

Daws the quiet hero