Observations from the New Jersey Devils' preseason openers

The Devils took care of business on Monday night, beating the Flyers and Canadiens 10-2 in aggregate.

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The New Jersey Devils played - and dominated - in a pair of preseason games on Monday night, beating the Flyers and Canadiens by a combined score of 10-2.

I was only able to watch the Canadiens game – you have to love blackout restrictions for a split squad preseason game – so I’m going to focus on that one.

But, fear not, I shall also share a couple noteworthy stats and facts from the beatdown vs. Philly.

Devils vs. Canadiens

• I’ll start with the man of the hour: Simon Nemec. He looked very sharp, playing a regular shift at even-strength while also quarterbacking the top power play. He made smart decisions on the breakout and in the offensive zone, taking the available lanes rather than forcing plays into traffic. He routinely activated from the blueline, attacking open space and pulling Canadiens defenders with him to open things up for the puck holder. He didn’t stand idly and wait for things to happen; he made things happen. I thought he was mostly good without the puck as well. There were a couple occasions where he gapped up on an oncoming forward and used a good stick to steer him to the outside and/or force a reset. Overall it was a very confident, NHL-caliber performance from the youngster. He definitely put down a good foundation to build upon.

• I quite enjoyed Dawson Mercer at center. It doesn’t make much sense to use him there when the season begins – there isn’t really a reason if everyone is healthy – but it was a nice showcase of his versatility and the options he provides Lindy Ruff with. Mercer did a lot of the heavy lifting on puck and had extra responsibility that normally goes to Jack Hughes (I’ll get to him!) or Nico Hischier. He was having fun with it, attempting some flashy skill plays and fancy passes you don’t normally see Mercer pull out. He always backtracked down low to support in the defensive zone and made a habit of driving the puck to the net at the other end. He and Graeme Clarke seemed to mesh well together and combined to create a handful of chances around the paint. A job well done.