Devils drop Game 1 in Carolina

    The New Jersey Devils stumbled out of the gate in game one of the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals in Raleigh against the Carolina Hurricanes and never recovered as the Hurricanes defeated New Jersey 5-1.

The Hurricanes scored the first two goals of the game and added another early in the second period before Nathan Bastian scored the only Devils goal in period two.

Carolina would score one goal in the final period before an empty net tally for the final margin.

Game Two will return to Raleigh on Friday night.

Hell Raisers

1) I don't think you can blame Akira Schmid for the three goals he allowed before being pulled for Vitek Vanicek in the second period but Vanicek allowed only one goal in his time in the net and did just well enough to give Lindy Ruff a difficult choice before game two on which goaltender to start.

2) I think it's a tough call but I lean toward Schmid and here is why- If Schmid loses game two and you go back to Newark down 2-0, you at least have the rabid home crowd behind and perhaps the switch jump starts something.

If you move to Vanicek now and lose game two, the team and fans might have the feeling that you've tried each man and might have the feeling of "Now What"?

It's a tough call but I'll go Schmid and hope for the best.

3) This had nothing to do with winning or losing but boy did the official miss the call on the third Carolina goal which essentially ended the game.

Jordan Martinhook ripped the helmet off Jonas Siegenthaler (which should have been a penalty) but since it wasn't called, Siegenthaler had to get off the ice, and the suddenly shorthanded Devils allowed Martinhook to find Jesperi Kotkanhemi for the goal, and a 3-0 Carolina lead.

The missed call didn't cost New Jersey the game but it was an awful non-goal.

4) If New Jersey is going to win this series, they must put more shots on goal than they did against Carolina in game one.

Eighteen shots aren't enough and eight shots over the first two periods clearly aren't enough.

I don't think this will be a problem that persists over the series but if it does, New Jersey will be fortunate to be in this series.

5) I'm still wondering what's with Jack Hughes's skates in the postseason.

I would hate to blame the equipment guys but Hughes is wiping out a lot untouched for such a swift and smooth skater.

6) I'm willing to chalk this one up to a mild letdown on the road after an emotional game seven win over a rival.

That may be hopeful on my part and there cannot be any excuses for game two but I definitely think it was a factor in the slow beginning.

7) Nathan Bastian scored the only Devil goal and he led the team in shots with three.

The fourth line for New Jersey was the best line tonight on a slow evening in Raleigh.

Nathan Bastian lost in Seattle Expansion Draft

   The New Jersey Devils placed a few high-priced veterans on the list from the Seattle Kraken to choose from and hoped that the Kraken would oblige them with a selection that would save them some salary.

Instead. Seattle chose a low-cost young player, and while the Devils didn't lose a key player or a highly rated prospect Nathan Bastian was the type of player that expansion teams select and established teams hope not to lose.

Bastian is young (23),  physical, and is solid enough to play right win on a fourth line and play effectively as he did last season on the Devils fourth line with Myles Wood and Michael McLeod.

New Jersey selected Bastian in the second round in 2016 and scored three goals in seven games in 2019-20 in a cameo appearance before scoring the same three goals in forty-one games last season on the fourth line,

Players like Nathan Bastian aren't uncommon and they actually are fairly easy to find.

They play hard, are often fan favorites, are great teammates, can be productive on special teams, and sometimes in their career year can pop a number far beyond their normal number (remember David Clarkson's career year when he scored 30 goals and scored only 29 in the final five years of his career?).

Those players can eventually become far more expensive than their play justifies, which returns us to why Seattle took a Bastian rather than more expensive and formerly more productive players.

As for replacements for Bastian on the checking line, the Devils will likely sign an inexpensive veteran from free agency to compete with Nick Merkley off the roster and maybe Marian Studenic, who played for AHL Binghamton last season