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Good morning Devils fans. With a roster missing the likes of Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, and Timo Meier along with the variable of Colin Miller’s return to the ice and debut of the season, one would think that the struggling Devils would lose to a hot Penguins team. One would be surprised. In a night full of surprises and entertainment for Devils fans, the black and Red took it to Pittsburgh, lighting them up 5-2 on the road with Vitek Vanacek posting a .913 SV%. The 1st period started off with strong back and forth pressure from both sides. The Pens had multiple odd man rush chances but thanks to Vanacek and a back skating Dougie Hamilton, neither were notches on the scoring sheet. Scoring would be kicked off by Bryan Rust, who grabbed a long distance pass to squeeze behind Hamilton for a backhand breakaway. After the Devils went on a penalty kill with Kevin Bahl hooking Sidney Crosby, Erik Haula read a neutral zone pass, grabbed it for a quick 2-on-1, and set up Curtiz Lazar for a shorthanded goal to even it up 1-1.
The 2nd followed a similar pattern with the Pens grabbing the first goal courtesy of Bryan Rust and the Devils answering it again, this time in a quicker fashion with a depth player. Rust tipped in a pass between the circles, thanks to Crosby and Erik Karlsson lacing between Devils defenders. Not long after, Nathan Bastian would finish chances shot first by Haula and Hamilton, with Pens goalie Tristan Jarry getting surrounded in the crease. A few chances by Jesper Bratt and Tyler Toffoli were kept out as the horn sounded 2-2.
The 3rd would be New Jersey’s time to shine as they would score 3 unanswered to win the game. The first was started by Luke Hughes during a 4-on-4. Hughes would beat the d-man on his side to enter the zone, dishing it to Bratt, who went far left to snipe it top shelf from a tough angle. Following a later board battle, Ondrej Palat and Dawson Mercer would set up Alexander Holtz on the front steps for another goal. As the game progressed, Toffoli would add a final goal, receiving a cross ice Bratt pass through a pair of Pittsburgh defensemen to notch his 9th of the season. The game wrapped up 5-2 Devils.
Colin Miller looked strong tonight on both ends. Most importantly, he seemed to be the stopper of his pairing with Luke Hughes. With Miller being much more dependable compared to Brendan Smith, this freed Luke Hughes to get more aggressive with puck movement, grabbing two assists. Yet, with today’s practice lineup, it looks like Smith is back with Hughes and Miller is the odd man out. Apart from other problems with the lines today (Holtz should be top 6 over Lazar), sitting Miller after obvious evidence of chemistry between him and Hughes is a massive mistake.
2. A Needed Win
Yes, every win is important. But a team rifled with injuries to its top 6 and struggling to keep goals out of the net would be an issue for any organization. For the Devils to go into hostile territory on end of a losing streak and take a dominant win against a divisional rival is huge. This may end up being a turning point depending on how the Devils do going forward until the New Year.
3. The Return of Jack
Tonight, we get a bit of a reprieve and a source of good news as Jack Hughes returns to the lineup. Based on the lines in practice, he’ll center Haula and Lazar, which I really don’t get. Maybe, they are there to try and protect him more on the ice if there are any physical issues.
The Devils (8-6-1) will host the New York Rangers (11-2-1) tonight. Puck drops at 7 PM.
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