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Good morning Devils fans. The Devils entered Sunday night’s game on shaky ground with injuries to Hischier, Hughes, and their confidence. They bounced back with a resounding 4-2 win over Chicago, led by strong goaltending by Vitek Vanacek and offensive contributions led by the bottom 6 forwards. I’ll forgo a full recap because I'm behind the clock on this one but here are the usuals.
This season has had a fair amount of struggles for certain characters within the organization and last night was a feel good episode for many of them. Dawson Mercer, a forward who famously struggled to make an impact this season, grabbed his first point in the season. Max Willman, a player who started this year on a PTO for the Devils in the preseason and has shined for Utica, got his first NHL goal for the organization, a beauty of a breakaway to boot. Curtis Lazar and Mike Mcleod notched more goals for a bottom 6 that was struggling until recently. Vanacek, a netminder who most likely had to do some re-evaluation of his game following his playoff exit and early start to the year, made some unbelievable stops on tough chances.
2. Vitek’s New Level?
On the subject of Vitek, his two goals allowed on 34 shots earned him a .941 SV%. His glove stop on () seemed to energize the Devils and frankly amazed me when I saw it live last night. Could the Czech stopper take performances like these and possibly push himself to incorporate new aspects of his game? I would be interested in seeing whether the following games have an impact on Vitek's decision making and speed.
3. Updates on Injuries
Nico Hischier opted not to travel with the team for the road trip. However, it seems he is skating and working out again. I could see the Swiss two way center returning sooner rather than later, hopefully with a full medical clearance. I don’t see the point of rushing his recovery, especially this early in the season. Jack Hughes is in a different situation. The young American center is looking at a “week to week” recovery timetable, according to the Devils medical staff. Hopefully, we should see him before Christmas if everything goes well. This is his 3rd upper body injury in 4 years so something needs to change for him.
The Devils (7-3-1) finish up their road trip at Colorado (7-3-0) tonight. Puck drops at 10 PM.
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