Senators 5, Devils 4: Foote shines in OT loss

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A few notes from a surprisingly entertaining game between an undermanned New Jersey Devils team and the Ottawa Senators:

Mackenzie Blackwood was a mixed bag

I thought he was very good early. He made some nice glove saves, his lateral movement was clean, and he just looked much more technical and crisp than anybody who has manned the crease for New Jersey this season.

I don’t want to go all Hockey Man on everyone but you could legitimately see the difference compared to how guys like Andrew Hammond and Jon Gillies play the position.

Were there a couple of goals Blackwood could’ve played better? Sure. But there is bound to be some rust after not playing for more than three months.

Not to mention, some of the turnovers and missed assignments made by those in front of him didn’t help the cause.

Take Tim Stutzle’s rebound goal, for example. New Jersey’s defenders were sitting between the hashmarks, leaving Brady Tkachuk completely unmarked down low. He skates to the top of the crease for a shot, and it bounces over to Stutzle for Ottawa’s third of the game.

Blackwood was not able to get over and fully set in time and it didn’t look great. But if the defenders aren’t sitting in the hashmarks, Ryan Graves doesn’t feel like he has to help Kevin Bahl, and he doesn’t leave Stutzle completely unmarked while jumping up for the rebound.

As you may recall, the Devils getting shredded while having the defenders play with a high line on the PK was a staple of the disastrous 2021 season.