Islanders 5, Devils 1: Ending with a dud

The Devils' NHL players completed preseason play with a lacklustre performance en route to a fourth consecutive loss.

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A few notes following another underwhelming showing from the Devils against the Islanders:

Mercer shines

I thought Dawson Mercer was clearly the Devils’ best player and perhaps the most noticeable from either side.

He set the tone early, generating a couple of great looks in high-danger areas against Semyon Varlamov. He nearly scored again in the same ballpark, hammering a puck off the pipes. That was just a sign of things to come for Mercer.

He was all over the puck from start to finish and by far the biggest threat offensively for New Jersey.

At 5v5 alone he generated team-highs in attempts (6), chances (4), and high-danger opportunities (3). This while also primarily assisting on six shot attempts – more than any other Devils skater.

I thought he was very in sync with Tomas Tatar and Nico Hischier. He knew when to pressure, he knew when to provide support, and he consistently made things happen around the net.

I’m expecting a big bounce-back year from Dawgson Mercer.

Devils lacked the juice – again