Devils downed 3-1 in Game Two

   The New Jersey Devils took a lead shortly into game two of their series against the Carolina Hurricanes, but couldn't sustain the lead as they wouldn't score again in the 3-1 defeat.

Jesper Bratt's first-period goal gave New Jersey the lead after one, but Carolina scored two goals in the second period, one a shorthanded tally to give Carolina all they needed.

Carolina scored an empty net in the final seconds to cement their win.

Game three is Friday night at the Rock in Newark.

I'm not sure how much (or if any) coverage I will have of game three, as I will be at work and have day two coverage of the Browns in the NFL Draft. 

Hell Raisers

1) The Devils played with more energy in game two, but two plays will haunt the team leading into a must-win game three.

2) With Jacob Markstrom pulled from the net for an extra attacker, the Devils had a wide-open chance to tie the game, but Timo Meier never made contact on a bouncing puck.

Meier bangs that puck in, and we are off to overtime, with who knows what occurs afterward.

3) The other play that will haunt the Devils came early in the second period after the Hurricanes had tied the game.

Carolina's Sebastian Aho goes off the ice for slashing Cody Glass, with the Devils having a chance to grab control of the game by re-taking the lead.

Instead, Jordan Martinook zipped a shorthanded shot past Jacob Markstrom to give the Hurricanes a lead they would never relinquish.

4) For the second game in a row, Jacob Markstrom was very good in the net (25 saves), but Carolina's Fredrik Anderson was even better.

That's not an excuse. It's just a fact.

5) A team already missing Jack Hughes played game two without Luke Hughes and Brendon Dillon, and yet hung in the game to the very end.

That's the good news.

The bad news is that game two was available to be taken and flipped the series upside down with games three and four in Newark.

I can see the Devils winning one game at home, I'd be surprised if they won both.  

Devils extend Jesper Bratt

    The New Jersey Devils entered the off-season with questions about two of their high-scoring forwards with both Timo Meier and Jesper Bratt on the restricted free agent market.

Considering the past problems between the Devils and Bratt in contract negotiations, it wouldn't have been a long reach to figure that Meier would be the more likely of the duo to settle first.

However, it was Jesper Bratt, who the Devils will be welcoming back into the fold as New Jersey signed Bratt to an eight-year contract extension (Bratt technically would not be a free agent until July 1) worth sixty-three million dollars.

Bratt's contract starts high and dwindles as the agreement progresses from ten million for next season to the smallest amount of six million in the final year of the deal in 2030-31.

The twenty-four-year-old Bratt scored a career-high thirty-two goals last season and his seventy-three total points equaled his previous season, which was then a career-high.

Bratt is about as well-rounded offensively as a forward can be with both his shot and passing touch, and his defensive skills aren't a drag on the Devils either, so I think this is a deal that can wear well over the course of those eight years.

The Devils can now turn to an attempt to lock up Timo Meier for the long-term, which I would think would come soon as the Devils will have to send him a one-year, ten-million-dollar contract offer unless his extension can be agreed upon.

New Jersey's acquisition of Meier at the trade deadline cost them four prospects, their first-rounder in the upcoming draft, and their second-round choice in the 2024 draft, so general manager Tom Fitzgerald is motivated to lock Meier up and avoid having Meier leave as an unrestricted free agent following the 2023-24 season. 

 

Palmieri hat trick not enough, Devils lose 7-6 in OT.

Normally, you would think five goals would win you a game.
Normally, you would think adding a sixth goal with seconds to play would win you a game.
Instead, it only earned the New Jersey Devils one point in a 7-6 overtime loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning at the Rock.

Kyle Palmieri scored the third of his three goals of the evening with only eight seconds remaining in the game to force overtime before Tampa Bay's Tyler Johnson would beat Cory Schneider less than ninety seconds into overtime to end the evening.
Devils goals to Kyle Palmieri (4 Power Play, 5, 6), Jesper Bratt (2, 3), and Sami Vatanen (3) in the defeat.
The Devils will end this homestand against Philadelphia on Friday night before starting a five-game road trip in Raleigh against Carolina before the four-game road swing in Western Canada.

Hell Raisers

1) Cory Schneider was bad.
Bad might be a nice way of putting it.
Oscar the Grouch keeps more garbage out of his can than Cory Schneider keeps out of his net.
Schneider's play this year combined with two more years on his contract at six million each year, the Devils will have to eventually ( If they aren't already) consider buying him out before next season.
He's been that bad.

2) Now it wasn't ALL on Schneider, P.K. Subban screened Schneider on one goal, which is unfortunate since Subban plays for the Devils and it was Subban who didn't clear the crease and allowed Brayden Point to score from the inside.
Add to that the bad luck breaking of his stick on a slap shot attempt and resulting Lightning race down the ice to score with Subban without a stick and you had a pretty bad night for the highest-paid Devil.

3) And speaking of a bad night, how about Mr.Taylor Hall, who continued his goal drought with a performance that lacked zip to be kind.
Hall, he of one goal in October and looking for a big contract after the season, did have a secondary assist on Kyle Palmieri's second of his three goals, but Hall's play hasn't lived up to his resume' this season,
I was talking about Hall during the game and I gave him too much credit this season before looking up the actual numbers this season.
And what happens as I write this- Taylor Hall rips the fans for booing the power play when "we went one of three".
Being that I had seen a Baker Mayfield walk out of a press conference because he didn't like a question or its questioner earlier today, Hall was the second player to whine about something that they didn't like and in both cases it comes down to this- talented players that aren't playing well and are frustrated because they aren't, lash out due to that frustration.
I understand that but take care of business and these things go away.

4) Now for some news, three goals from Kyle Palmieri.
Three goals on six shots and plus Palmieri played with a bit more swagger than he had played with earlier in the season.
Palmieri seemed to be the bully on the ice all evening and when you look at his career, his goals often come in bunches and hopefully, this will be the start of a solid run for the veteran winger

5) Jesper Bratt returned from a scratch against Arizona to score two goals.
Bratt, like Palmieri, seemed to have opportunities throughout the game and adding two of those should keep him in the lineup for a bit.
I suppose the scratch for Bratt was to prove a point and hope to see Bratt's play step up, while others that are scratched more often, I have no idea what they are thinking.
For example, Nikita Gusev was scratched for this game and perhaps that's another "message", while Jesper Boqvist is scratched again and I'm just unable to figure out what the point is.

6) On the surface, the Devils have to feel good about getting a point in a game against one of the top teams in hockey, but I'm not.
The Devils had five days to prepare, had the game at home and Tampa Bay's starting their backup goalie in the seemingly 63-year-old and generally weak Curtis McElhinney.
All the ingredients were there for a victory and the Devils have a two-goal lead in the final period, only to blow another multiple-goal lead to barely escape with a point.
There are ways to be pleased with a loss and ways to be disappointed- this was a very disappointing loss.

7) The Devils need to win Friday against Philadelphia.
It's the last home game for twelve days and ends a six-game homestand worth a possible twelve points.
Right now they have earned a possible five of ten points and perhaps seven of twelve isn't anything to
puff your chest out over, but it's a ton better than five of twelve.
Lose that game with the dreaded Western Canada road trip ahead and if you think this has been ugly, imagine how that is going to look.

Devils bulldoze Buffalo 6-2

Jesper Blatt scored twice (2 shorthanded and 3) and added an assist and Marcus Johansson scored his first two goals (1 and 2) for the Devils to lead the New Jersey Devils to a 6-2 slashing of the Buffalo Sabres.
Stefan Noesen (1) and Brian Gibbons (1) also scored for the Devils in the rout.
The Devils travel to Toronto Wednesday to meet the waiting Maple Leafs.
Coverage unlikely as Game 5 of the Indians-Yankees is the same time.
There is a small chance that I may try to watch one on the tube and one on the PC, but unlikely.

Hell Raisers

1) Jesper Blatt?
The 19 year old Swede is making it very difficult to return him to his OHL junior team with three goals and three assists in two games.
Blatt is not afraid of contact, drives to the net and isn't afraid to shoot now rather than wait for the perfect shot.
It's just two games, but I like him- A Lot!

2) Nico Hischier had his first pro point when he powered behind the net and made a sharp pass to veteran Brian Gibbons, who flipped the puck over Chad Johnson.
Hischier is a natural playmaker that will show some real flashes of brilliance as he really learns the game at this level.

3) Marcus Johansson was a name that I didn't think of much in the win over Colorado.but he played quite well in Buffalo.
To acquire a player of his caliber for the price that was paid, Devils could only dream of grabbing more players from teams in salary cap hell.

4) The first goal was scored on a deflection-one off the facemask of Stefan Noesen off the pass from Brian Gibbons.
Gibbons was a surprise to me in making the team, but for one game, Gibbons was an offensive force with a goal and assist.

5) And there was the passing game with two nice passes that resulted in goals.
Adam Henrique hit Jesper Bratt on a two on one breakaway and Taylor Hall abused Buffalo's Nathan Beaulieu with a strip and a Harlem Globetrotteresque backhanded pass to Marcus Johansson for the goal.
This is an exciting and fun team to watch offensively that will have its share of creative goals..

Devils Butcher Colorado in opener 4-1.

The New Jersey Devils scored three goals on the man advantage and won their opening game with a 4-1 win over the visiting Colorado Avalanche in Newark.

Rookie Will Butcher assisted on all three power play goals with fellow rookie Jesper Bratt scoring on one of the power play goals (1) and assisted on a John Moore shorthanded goal (1).
Adam Henrique (1) and Jimmy Hayes (1) completed the Devils scoring tally on the stat sheet.
New Jersey travels to Buffalo Monday for a Columbus Day three o'clock start...

Hell Raisers

1) It didn't take long to see why so many were excited about the Devils managing to sign Will Butcher to a contract and Butcher's three assists on the power play showed the offensive potential that Butcher brings.
He'll need work and refinement in his own end, but Butcher looks to be an able puck mover and a pretty nice shot as well.

2) Jesper Bratt's goal on the power play was nice, but his big play was the assist on the shorthanded goal by John Moore,
Bratt looked across the ice, found his man in Moore and put the pass right on the money.
That's the type of play that young players don't often make, but Bratt was more than able.
A decision on Bratt will have to made after nine more games, Bratt might be on the verge of making that a very tough decision...

3) Nico Hischier didn't earn a point in his first pro game, but he showed offensive aggressiveness (six shots on net) and I loved when he challenged Erik Johnson after his cheap hit on Kyle Palmieri.
This guy is going to be a really good one.

4) I thought Erik Johnson's knee to knee hit on Kyle Palmieri was a cheap shot and deserved more than a two minute penalty.
Bet on Johnson getting more punishment from the league....

5) Drew Stafford was injured along with Palmieri.
No word on how long either will be out, but losing the right wings on each of the top two lines will cause some shaking up in the lines and on the roster as well.

6) I wrote in the preview that Cory Schneider was going to have to raise his game and with 40 saves, he did just that and showed signs of the Schneider that played before last season.
Andrew Gross of Fire and Ice, wrote that the new goaltender coach Rollie Melanson has Schneider deeper in the crease and for one game it seemed to help.

7) Watched the Devils broadcast for most of the game (due to a tv signal issue, we watched the first period on the Colorado feed), I really liked what Bryce Salvador brought to the broadcast.
Salvador is good on the mic and had some interesting things to say, such as Cory Schneider blaming himself for Chris Terreri losing his job as goaltending coach.

8) Chico Resch is back with the team, but as the team's radio color commentator.
Chico is replacing Sherry Ross, who I really liked, but I'm not sure this is for Chico.
Hockey on radio is not an easy call and Chico's folksy stories might not mesh as well in an audio medium.
If the Devils really wanted Resch back, I would have moved him back to television and Ken Daneyko to radio, as Daneyko is more likely to make that conversion successfully.

9) Deb Placey is back and she's still awful.

Back later with thoughts on Ohio State's crushing of Maryland,if I have time!