With a shot at first place on the line, the New Jersey Devils traveled to Boston to take on the league’s best team in the Bruins. Unfortunately, they couldn’t overcome an early 2-0 deficit to capture their first win against the Bruins in 2022-23. Here are four takeaways from the 2-1 loss and some quick hits ahead of the final week of the regular season.
Bruins Neutralized Devils’ Rush Game
The Devils are one of the best rush teams, if not the best, in the NHL. The Bruins are right up there with them in terms of creating off the rush, but they also know how to defend against it. They did a good job of neutralizing NJ’s rush game in their first two matchups earlier this season, and they did so again yesterday evening in Boston.
Though the Devils fired 30 shots on goal, they had to work for it. The Bruins did not make it easy to stretch the ice and get going on the rush. Their structure resulted in the Devils not connecting on pass attempts in the neutral zone, which led to multiple icings. New Jersey got a couple of odd-man rushes, but they couldn’t convert other than for Jesper Bratt’s goal in the first period. Jack Hughes had a breakaway in the second frame, but Linus Ullmark denied him twice.
The Devils finished with only 1.83 expected goals at five-on-five, and they couldn’t get things going on the power play, as the Bruins’ league-best penalty kill made it hard for them to gain the offensive zone cleanly. The good news is the Devils have been in every game they’ve played against the Bruins this season, but yesterday should serve as a lesson that they will have to start on time in the playoffs. They’ve been the comeback kids in the regular season, but that becomes more difficult when playing the best of the best in the postseason.
Blackwood Kept the Devils in the Game
It was a bit of a surprise to see Mackenzie Blackwood get the nod against the Bruins, even with his career .922 save percentage against them. Vitek Vanecek has been the team’s clear No. 1 option in net, and it seemed like an ideal spot to start him with first place on the line. Blackwood got off to a slow start, giving up two goals on his first six shots. But to his credit, he kept the Devils in the game after giving up the second goal.
The Bruins created quite a few chances and most of the quality, with 3.03 expected goals at five-on-five and 3.65 at all strengths. Blackwood ended up with 38 saves on 40 shots while stopping 1.65 goals above expected. It was one of his best starts of the season; the Devils just couldn’t get enough pucks past Ullmark to support him.
Vanecek will be the Devils’ starter going into the playoffs. There’s no doubt about that, but Blackwood will have to be ready just in case because who knows what can happen. It’ll be interesting to see how head coach Lindy Ruff splits the net in the team’s final two regular-season contests, but Blackwood should feel good about himself after his outing against the Bruins.
Devils Offense Mostly Came From the Hughes Line
Though the Devils had trouble generating offense against the Bruins, that wasn’t much of a problem for Hughes. He made a beautiful pass to Bratt on the team’s lone goal, giving him 96 points and tying Patrik Elias’ franchise record for most points in a single season. As mentioned, he had two golden opportunities on a breakaway that Ullmark turned aside, once on the initial shot and the second on the rebound.
Related: Devils Add Another Dynamic Threat With Luke Hughes
From the line combos that started the game, Ondrej Palát, Hughes and Bratt were the only trio that finished above water in expected goals percentage (xG%) at 56.18 percent. Most of the Devils’ other line combos got hemmed in their own end by the Bruins because they played a better game in the offensive zone. But if the Devils were creating offense, it was usually with this trio on this ice.
Free Timo
However, as well as Palát, Hughes and Bratt have played together, it’s coming at the expense of Timo Meier, who’s been on the third line for the last few games. It’s not that Meier is playing poorly; he had five shots on goal against the Bruins, tying Bratt for most on the team. Instead, his line is not driving play as it should.
With Erik Haula and Jesper Boqvist as his linemates against the Pittsburgh Penguins on April 4, they finished with a 7.99 xG% in a game the Devils won 5-1. They were better against the Columbus Blue Jackets, but the Blue Jackets are in a battle for the first overall pick. There’s not much to take away from a game the Devils won 8-1 when they shouldn’t have any trouble with a team in Columbus’ position.
Meier found himself on the third line to start against the Bruins, this time with Boqvist and Yegor Sharangovich since Erik Haula sat out, but the results were not great. They finished with a 25.81 xG%, got out-chanced 10-2, and lost the high-danger chance battle 5-1. That led to Ruff swapping Palát with Meier on Hughes and Bratt’s line in the third period, and they generated a couple of chances.
Since Ruff should stick with Tomáš Tatar, Nico Hischier and Dawson Mercer as his top line, placing Meier with Hughes and Bratt makes the most sense. They have looked quite good in their small sample together, while Palát has played his best with Haula and Boqvist. I’d like to see Ruff give that top nine a look in their final two games of the regular season because it could be a lineup he uses to start the playoffs.
Devils Quick Hits
- The Devils signed Luke Hughes to his entry-level contract early yesterday morning. If I had to guess, he’s going to get a look in the team’s final two regular-season games. The ideal fit for him would be alongside Damon Severson in a sheltered, third-pair role that’d allow him to utilize his toolkit (skating, transition, puck-moving) to his best ability. Either way, it’ll be exciting to see what he can do in the NHL. He’s ready for the pros.
- The BMW Line of Miles Wood, Michael McLeod and Nathan Bastian had a rough outing against the Bruins. The Devils had a 13.24 xG% and got out-chanced 4-1 with them on the ice. They’ve been up and down this season, so I’m not sure how viable an option they’ll be against the tougher competition that comes during the playoffs. How Ruff utilizes them in the team’s final two regular-season games will also be something to watch.
The Devils’ last regular-season tilts come against the Buffalo Sabres (Tuesday, April 11) and the Washington Capitals (Thursday, April 13). After that, it’s the playoffs, which begin on Monday, April 17.
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Advanced stats from Natural Stat Trick
