Devils Must Look Within To Get Back In Series Against Battle-Hardened Canes
When the Devils dropped a pair of first-round games by identical 5-1 scores against the Rangers, I felt there were adjustments that could be made which would allow them to get back in the best-of-seven series. Sure enough, New Jersey took four of the next five contests to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinal versus Carolina.
Only now that the Hurricanes have blown the Devils out in the first two games, with Friday night’s 6-1 thrashing coming on top of Wednesday’s 5-1 loss, the fixes aren’t as apparent.
You can’t just say, “Well, change the goaltender,” or “Stay out of the penalty box.” or “Make these strategic alterations on special teams,” or “Rejigger the lineup/lines.” I saw one writer who lobbied on behalf of mobile 19-year old defenseman Luke Hughes, the brother of Devils All-Star Jack Hughes who played the final two regular season games after his University of Michigan season concluded.
It would be unfair to insert the kid when the series shifts to New Jersey on Sunday afternoon, in my opinion. And none of the above will matter anyway if the Devils continue to get outskated and outworked in all three zones.
Unlike the opener, when Carolina owned a ridiculous 96.4% expected goals for percentage, according to NaturalStatTtrick.com, while going up, 2-0, after one period, New Jersey started Game 2 with a better compete level. The bad news was that they couldn’t beat Hurricanes goalie Frederik Andersen on their best chances, with Dougie Hamilton’s power play blast ringing off the post.
In a scoreless contest, Carolina turned up the heat as soon as the puck dropped for period two. They won the vast majority of puck battles and then used them to create a wave of scoring chances. Both goals by Hurricanes center Jesperi Kotkaniemi in the first 3:58 of the frame were the consequence of soft plays by multiple New Jersey skaters along the walls.
It only got uglier from there. Carolina scored twice in 2:21, including a backbreaker with 16 seconds remaining in the period (moments after the Canes had a goal taken off the board due to goalie interference), to take a 4-0 lead into the second intermission.
The only saving grace was that New Jersey maintained its streak of never getting shut out this season when Miles Wood popped in a rebound in the third period, though another two-goal Carolina binge, this time 54 seconds apart, halted any comeback dreams.
Not that the Devils were all that threatening in the third period, or any of the six periods at PNC Arena for that matter. The fourth line of Wood, Michael McLeod, and Nathan Bastian produced both of their goals, which speaks volumes.
New Jersey’s best players—Hughes, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, and Timo Meier---have been throttled. There’s been nothing to warrant mentioning off the rush and, during the few times where they’ve been able to maintain puck possession in the Carolina zone, too often it’s been one-and-done, with Andersen able to see everything without worrying about changes of direction off deflections.
Devils goalie Akira Schmid, meanwhile, has been required to be more acrobatic. Unfortunately, his game is more about being calm and collected, relying on solid positioning to reduce the need for excess movement. He wasn’t great, which is why Head Coach Lindy Ruff pulled him at the start of the third period, the second consecutive game and third time in four games in which the 22-year old rookie was chased from his net.
However, Schmid has been far from the team’s worst problem, as Vitek Vanecek found out in his two relief appearances. Vanecek’s goals saved above expected is also underwater, per NST.
I don’t know which goalie Ruff will turn to in Game 3. Hey, why not give forgotten man Mackenzie Blackwood a shot, because I’m not sure it matters when the team in front of them displays so little of a battle level.
The Devils have been written off several times during this magical season, including early in the Rangers series. Maybe the home ice (with the important last line change) will be enough to make the Hurricanes sweat a little bit.
In order for that to happen, though, the Devils will have to look within.