Already Mature Devils Avoid Letdown By Beating Predators
The MSG announcers loosely threw around the word “maturity” during the TV broadcast of the Devils’ dominant 5-2 victory over scuffling Nashville on Monday night at Prudential Center.
I get what they meant, since this was the type of game past Devils clubs often choked on. New Jersey was coming off a riveting stretch that saw them win four of their previous five games against top-level competition that each required maximum intensity for 60 minutes. Though the Predators had won their prior eight trips to the Rock, this was not a contest that Devils players circled on their calendars to get up for.
And when the Devils got down, 1-0, about five minutes into the game thanks to misplays by the Dougie Hamilton/Brenden Dillon defense pair that led to a Filip Forsberg wrister from the right boards that had no business beating goalie Jacob Markstrom, you could sense the fans getting a little antsy, like they’ve seen this play before,
That the Devils then righted the ship, with captain Nico Hischier leading the way with a second period natural hat trick and helping to kill off a five-minute Timo Meier major for a retaliatory cross-check (hardly a “mature” act with New Jersey nursing a 4-2 lead) on the Predators dirty wing Zachary L’Heureux in the final seven minutes of regulation, shouldn’t have been viewed as such a monumental achievement. For I found all the talk about the Devils’ maturity a bit of a misdirection.
Though New Jersey may present itself as a young squad, their average age of 28.6 at the opening day puck drop—when second-year defenseman Simon Nemec was around—made them the NHL’s 15th oldest among the 32 clubs, according to The Athletic. Of Monday night’s 18 skaters, only defenseman Luke Hughes and wing Dawson Mercer had yet to accrue at least five seasons of prior NHL experience or was younger than 25. Markstrom, of course, is 34, and Head Coach Sheldon Keefe may be new to New Jersey, but after his five seasons under the intense microscope in Toronto, the pressure from the few media members who independently cover the Devils beat must seem like cake.
Make no mistake, this a grown man’s team. So what are people really talking about when bringing up the Devils’ “maturity?” I hope it’s not a means to settle for mere playoff qualification. The season’s mission should be the Stanley Cup, not just laying the stepping stones on that path with the excuse that they’re too young to go all the way.
Monday’s win combined with a Rangers loss moved New Jersey (15-7-2) from a Wild Card slot to third place in the Metropolitan Division when going by points percentage (their closest competitors have three or four games in hand thanks to the Devils’ early season trip to Prague). Barring debilitating injuries, the race is going to be a dogfight through April…and beyond.
Because this league doesn’t allow you to celebrate for longer than that night’s sleep. Think the Devils’ home tilt versus the Blues on Wednesday will be easy because they’re sitting below even NHL .500? Ask the Rangers. And the Devils’ first contest after Thanksgiving is in Detroit, who earned one of their eight wins in regulation this season by defeating New Jersey, 5-3, on October 24.
I’m not diminishing the Devils’ excellence during this 9-3 run. Their special teams have been truly special, the defensive zone diligence has been much improved, and the goaltending has been able to overcome a few hiccups to make some big-time saves.
It can take time integrating a bunch of new players into a new system, and this team has shown a pretty quick learning curve. But that’s not what I would call “maturity” when nearly all the participants are already so experienced in the art of NHL play. Keefe himself pivoted to the team’s “poise and confidence” as a group as opposed to maturity in his postgame remarks to the media.
It seems the MSG production crew prepared for Monday’s game with two terms queued up for the announcers: Letdown, if the Devils lost; and maturity if they won. Better the latter, I guess.