Coming off a “brutal” season, according to star center Jack Hughes termed “brutal,” the new-look New Jersey Devils are determined not to wait around this preseason. From puck drop on Sunday, the Devils stormed the New York Islanders. It began with captain Nico Hischier breaking Islander center Brock Nelson’s stick on the opening faceoff and culminated, less than three minutes later, in Hischier cashing in a power play goal.
The Devils dominated the opening 20 minutes, outshooting the Islanders 12-6 and outchancing them 11-6 with a 6-2 margin in high-danger areas. Hischier summed up the team’s philosophy after the game: “Offense is the best defense. So we tried to have the puck as much as possible and play quickly.” The attacking mindset was evident.
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In the second period, the Devils again showed that this was a new season – 32 seconds after giving up the tying goal, the Devils answered with a breakaway goal scored by Jesper Bratt on a great assist from Hischier. The play began with Tomas Tatar winning a battle along the boards to spring the puck free. After the game, head coach Sheldon Keefe discussed some of the adjustments his team was making, including neutral zone forechecking, and the play by Tatar was an excellent example of how the team’s new high-pressure, three-zone attack can lead to immediate offense.
The team seemed to wear down as the game continued. Keefe indicated that he liked a lot of what he saw in the first 30 minutes of the game, demonstrating the attacking mentality he wants his team to embrace. Still, as the team started to fatigue, their play also deteriorated, which is expected for the first preseason game: “I thought through 30 minutes there’s lots to like there. I think we’ll be able to pull lots out of that portion of the game that looks the way we want to (play).”
He was particularly impressed with the play of the Paul Cotter, Curtis Lazar, and Nathan Bastian line, singling out that group as one that demonstrated the style of play the team is working towards. The Lazar line’s dominance was equally borne out statistically as they outshot their opponent 7-4 and created four high-danger chances while only giving up one.
Rough Game for the Fringes of the Roster
With Keefe choosing to rest Hughes, Timo Meier, Dawson Mercer, and Simon Nemec in game one, opportunities abounded for players on the fringe of the roster. However, few, if any, took advantage of the opportunity. The team iced a line of Nolan Foote, Ryan Schmelzer, and Chase Stillman.
Foote was on the fast track to making the team last season before an injury derailed his entire campaign. Schmelzer is a career American Hockey League (AHL) player, while Stillman is a former first-round pick slated for another season in the AHL unless he forces his way onto the team in camp. The line had a rough night playing to an expected goals-for percentage (xGF%) of under seven, meaning 93% of the anticipated goals while they were on the ice would have been against, an almost impossible number for a line that received steady minutes throughout the game (per Natural Stat Trick).
Jonathan Kovacevic was the one bright spot of the players fighting for a roster spot. The defenseman acquired in a trade with the Montreal Canadiens this summer has already stood out just four days into training camp. Kovacevic demonstrated during the game that his camp performance was not a fluke. He was utilized on both the power play and penalty kill and showed a knack for killing plays quickly, strong skating ability, and puck movement that belies his colossal frame.
Kovacevic played the second most 5v5 minutes of any defenseman and worked well with Jonas Siegenthaler as his partner. He played to an xGF% of 68, the highest of any defenseman on the team, and while on the ice, the Devils out-chanced the Islanders 7-2. He ended the night plus-1 and was on the ice for the Devils’ power-play goal. At this point in the preseason, Kovacevic all but has his ticket punched to Prague.
Markstrom as Advertised
The Devils entered the preseason with a fully healthy Vezina Trophy-caliber goalie in his prime for the first time in over a decade. How Jacob Markstrom’s calm spreads to the rest of the team is noticeable. He demonstrated his value early in the first period, erasing two mistakes by his defense that allowed for point-blank shots. His high-danger save ability is one of the main reasons the Devils expended their capital to acquire Markstrom this summer, and he showed Sunday night why that was a wise decision.
In his first game as a Devil, Markstrom played 40 minutes and stopped 17 of 19 shots. After the game, Hischier described Markstrom’s play as “very, very solid. He played a really good game and seems confident back there.” Keefe also was happy with what he saw from his goaltender, saying, “I thought he was outstanding. He showed his athleticism, size, and ability to clean up mistakes. So that was good to see.”
Keefe indicated he expects to get Markstrom at least one full 60-minute game before heading to Prague to start the regular season. The Devils play back-to-back games on Tuesday and Wednesday in Montreal and at home against the Washington Capitals. The likeliest scenario would be Jake Allen getting the Montreal game and Markstrom staying home to play Wednesday night.
The standouts Sunday night were the calm, dangerous play of Bratt, the reunification of Tatar and Hischier, the return of Dougie Hamilton at the top power play, and the potential for a dominant fourth line in Cotter, Lazar, and Bastian. Even new acquisition Stefan Noesen played well, showing the grit the team was seeking when it signed him as a free agent this summer. Noesen led the team in hits and was a factor in the forecheck and below-the-goal line on offense all night.
The Devils’ bottom six is primed to play a significant role in the team’s success this season, as both the third and fourth lines can shut down opponents while causing havoc in all three zones. It was not a perfect night for New Jersey, but it had many positives and much to build on, with evidence of the attacking, high-pressure style already breaking through.
