The New Jersey Devils struggled to get going in Game 1 of their Round 1 matchup against the New York Rangers, as they couldn’t overcome an early 2-0 deficit en route to a 5-1 loss. The outcome wasn’t necessarily a surprise, given this was a young team playing in their first playoff game in five years, with many players making their playoff debuts.
Still, they cannot fall behind 2-0 in the series before heading to Madison Square Garden for Games 3 and 4. What adjustments is head coach Lindy Ruff making ahead of a crucial Game 2 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, tonight? Let’s take a look.
Meier to First Line With Hischier & Mercer
This change may be the most obvious and one that Ruff seemed to recognize during the final frame of Game 1. Timo Meier started on the third line with Erik Haula and Jesper Boqvist, a combo Ruff used to close the regular season over the last few games. But with the team trailing 3-0 heading into the third, Ruff placed Meier alongside Nico Hischier and Dawson Mercer on the top line. They were together as a unit during line rushes this morning as well.
Meier saw some time with those two during the regular season (41 minutes, to be exact), and the results were quite good. That trio posted a 71.77 expected goals percentage (xG%) while controlling 69.44 percent of the scoring chances and 80 percent of the high-danger chances. Granted, it’s a small sample size, but there’s enough to suggest this trio deserves the look they’re getting heading into Game 2.
There is some risk in breaking up the unit of Tomáš Tatar, Hischier and Mercer since they were one of the best lines in the NHL to log 250 minutes this season. But it’s not like Ruff is replacing Tatar with another middle-six winger. Meier was a 40-goal scorer and finished with 65 points during the regular season. He can create offense off the rush or through forechecking and the cycle.
With Meier in the top six, Tatar moves down to the third line alongside Miles Wood and Erik Haula. It also keeps the second line of Ondrej Palát, Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt intact. That trio finished underwater in xG% in Game 1, but they played well during the regular season. Combined with Meier on the first line, the Devils’ top six will have more punch going into tonight’s game.
Related: 4 Takeaways From Devils’ Game 1 Loss to Rangers
While moving Meier to the top line has a ripple effect on the rest of the lineup, it’s a move Ruff has to make. The Devils need to generate more quality chances against Shesterkin from the net front, something Meier knows a thing or two about. They acquired him to be a top-six winger, so the move is a no-brainer.
Boqvist Makes Way for Sharangovich
A significant reason the Devils lost Game 1 was because of special teams. They went 0/4 on the power play with no shots on goal and gave up two power-play goals to the Rangers. I’d expect some changes to both units, with one being Yegor Sharangovich returning to the lineup for penalty-killing purposes.
Sharangovich was one of the team’s primary penalty killers during the regular season, logging 148 minutes at 4-on-5. He posted solid underlying metrics on the PK and was one of the team’s better shot suppressors. He tied Ryan Graves for most shorthanded goals on the Devils with two, so he does offer a bit of a counterpunch if the right opportunity to attack shorthanded arises.
Sharangovich had a down year at five-on-five, but his solid play on the penalty kill is why his return for Game 2 makes sense. Someone has to make way for him, with it appearing to be Boqvist based on line rushes this morning. That’s certainly a questionable decision based on Game 1. Wood has been a defensive liability all season and takes careless penalties. That was the case in Game 1, as his minor penalty in the first period led to the Rangers’ power play that made it a 2-0 game.
Sure, the Devils would lose a bit of a physical edge by taking Wood out of the lineup. That’s something Ruff seems to value, but Nathan Bastian and Michael McLeod aren’t afraid to stir the pot. Meier, Palát and Haula will throw their bodies around, too, so the Devils have enough of a physical presence up front, even without Wood. And by taking Boqvist out, they lose some speed and one of their best defensive forwards and forecheckers. Meier may be in the top six, but the team’s bottom six is weaker with Wood moving up and Boqvist coming out.
Other Devils Notes Ahead of Game 2
- Vitek Vanecek did not have a great outing in Game 1, making 18 saves on 22 shots and allowing 1.83 goals above expected. I thought he looked jittery, just like the rest of the team, so hopefully he’s gotten that out of his system. The Devils need a bounce-back effort from him in Game 2. Given how he started the series, I can’t imagine Ruff giving Vanecek much rope if he gives up some saveable early goals. The first ten minutes of the first period should tell us how his night will go.
- There’s no doubt the Devils need to make adjustments to their power play. They were too tentative on all four opportunities; that’s not a surprise since they had no shots on goal. Getting shots on goal obviously helps, but they need to be quicker with their decision-making. There’s less time and space on power plays during the playoffs, so pucks need to get to the net when there’s a lane. They can’t stand around and wait for the perfect scoring chance to come around, or it’ll be another long night on the man advantage.
- Shesterkin is a top-three goalie in the NHL. No one will argue that. If he sees a shot, chances are he will stop it. That’s why the Devils need to do a better job getting traffic in front of the net and taking away his eyes. The Rangers ranked 27th in save percentage on shots through traffic this season, so he is beatable. They can’t chase the game like they were in Game 1, and with some uncertainty about how Vanecek will look, grabbing an early lead would go a long way. The Devils just have to do a better job of making him beatable.
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Advanced stats from Natural Stat Trick
