Predators 3, Devils 2: One-man army

Despite Jake Allen's best efforts, the Devils could not steal a victory against the Predators.

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A few notes following New Jersey’s shootout loss to Nashville:

Jake Allen was a one-man army

The veteran netminder was unexpectedly sprung into action after Kaapo Kahkonen departed with a lower-body injury.

Entering cold in a back-to-back situation against a quality Predators team, it would’ve been more than understandable for Allen to struggle to find his footing and the game to quickly get out of hand.

That didn’t happen; Allen once again kept the Devils in a contest they didn’t really belong in.

The Devils did not make life easy on him in any sense as the Predators generated an abundance of quality chances from high-danger areas.

Whether it was deflections, open players in the slot, or cross-ice passes that heavily tested Allen’s lateral movement, he found a way to make a handful of stops he had no business making.

Allen stopped 29-30 after entering the game, conceding only once despite facing 3.66 expected goals. The Predators probably deserved a multi-goal regulation win and the Devils instead earned a point and had every chance to grab a second.

This kind of performance has been the norm from the moment he arrived in New Jersey.

Thirty-eight different netminders have logged at least 350 minutes of ice since deadline day. Allen sits 12th in save percentage (.913) and 5th in high-danger save percentage (.893).

It’s honestly not a stretch to say he is giving the Devils the kind of goaltending they’d hope to get from a Jacob Markstrom or Juuse Saros. He just isn’t getting any help from the guys in front of him.

One-and-done

Outside of a couple accurate quick-ups to help feed the team’s transition offense – like the one we saw from Luke Hughes on Jack Hughes’ goal – the defense contributed next to nothing offensively. There was no involvement at all.

The defense barely touched the puck in the offensive zone. They didn’t activate to extend possessions, walk the line to open up shooting lanes, or make any seam passes to forwards attacking the net.

It’s not because the Devils don’t have anybody capable of doing so – they just never had the opportunity.

It felt like every time the Devils had the puck in the offensive zone it was a one-and-done situation. They’d gain the line and get a shot from range, which would either be grabbed by a Predators defenseman or a faceoff would come and the Devils would fail to generate anything from it.

The Predators did an excellent job of challenging the Devils and preventing them from even getting the puck into the offensive zone.

If and when the Devils did get into the final third, they were smothered before they had time to find any open avenues. It was a clinic.

I honestly didn’t think the loss of Andrew Brunette was that big of a deal – the Devils’ 5v5 process was very strong even before he arrived and his power play wasn’t great – but it is safe to say I was wrong.

He has the Predators running like a well-oiled machine and is getting a lot out of them at both ends of the ice. They’re going to be a miserable team to deal with when get a little more talent to help out elite weapons like Filip Forsberg and Roman Josi.

Nosek quietly effective