What We Learned From The Devils’ Opening 5-Game Homestand
What started out as a promising five-game homestand to open the 2021-22 season ended with a bit of a whimper as the Devils (3-2) dropped two of their final three contests, including Tuesday’s 5-3 loss to Calgary after spotting the Flames a 4-0 lead through one horrendous period.
Adding injury to insult, by the end of this run, New Jersey was playing its fourth-string goalie while also attempting to make up for the loss of budding star center Jack Hughes, who dislocated his shoulder against Seattle in Game 2 and will be out for an indefinite period.
On a positive note, the Devils did manage to tough out a pair of overtime wins, one after giving up a late lead on opening night versus Chicago and the other by scoring a third period goal to tie the Buffalo game. Every point counts.
What else did we learn about the Devils as they regroup for their first road trip to Pittsburgh on Saturday? Here are three things:
1) MacKenzie Blackwood can’t return soon enough
The Devils No. 1 goalie has yet to suit up this season due to a setback in his recovery from offseason heel surgery. Backup Jonathan Bernier won his first two starts but has since been missing in action with a lower body injury. Scott Wedgwood then stepped up to play just well enough to lose to Washington, so Devils coach Lindy Ruff turned to rookie Nico Daws for the Sabres game and was rewarded with a terrific outing for his first NHL win. Unfortunately, the Flames proved to be too hot to handle for Daws, who surrendered three goals on just seven shots before getting the hook, though the loss ended up going on Wedgewood’s book once the Devils cut the deficit down in the third period.
Blackwood has had a run of bad luck since starting his career by winning 32 of his first 64 starts for a godawful club over his first two seasons—a rather heroic effort if you ask me. Unfortunately, Blackwood was infected with COVID-19 after Game 3 last season and the ensuing breathing difficulties were a factor in why he endured many rough nights thereafter.
Still, Blackwood rebounded to win five of his last six games before going under the knife in June to fix his heel. He participated in the Devils’ morning skate on Tuesday and could very well take advantage of these days off between games to be ready sooner rather than later. With the Devils sporting a 27th place .891 save percentage, sooner is better.
2) Defensive letdowns have become too common
Before Tuesday’s game, MSG announcer Steve Cangialosi asked Ruff whether his team, as currently constructed, could more easily pull out a 2-1 win rather than a 5-4 shootout. The answer, of course, is that without the game-changing speed of Hughes (and Miles Wood, New Jersey’s leading goal scorer last season alongside Pavel Zacha who has yet to suit up this season due to yet another undisclosed injury), the Devils have to be a detailed-oriented defensive team to compete with the better clubs in this league.
That didn’t happen against the Flames, who routinely got behind New Jersey’s defense and won the hard-fought battles in the dirty areas around the Devils’ net. All six d-men were culpable at some point, and you can throw in some lackadaisical efforts by certain forwards as well, including the two (Jesper Bratt and Yegor Sharangovich) that Ruff benched in the second period.
There has been progress, such as cutting down on the frequency of those seemingly never-ending shifts in their own zone, where their opponents cycle until the Devils run out of gas. In turn, the Devils have been able to drive much of the play even during these last three games, posting the league’s 8th-highest Corsi percentage in that span.
Still, Ruff was none too pleased with the way his club has come out of the tunnel to start these last three games. This team simply can’t afford to gift goals through their own neglect.
3) Dawson Mercer is here to stay
The Devils’ 18th overall selection in the 2020 NHL Draft turns 20 today. He will never forget his last two weeks as a teenager.
A bit of a long shot to make the big club entering training camp, Mercer (2 goals, 2 assists) is tied with defenseman Dougie Hamilton as New Jersey’s second-leading scorer after his goal and assist night against Calgary. More importantly, he has earned Ruff’s trust to play in all situations, including both special teams. He’s even steadily improving his faceoff win percentage after starting the season 11-for-29 over three games.
I’ve written about Mercer’s game in past posts, so I’ll only add that his ceiling is much higher than the Travis Zajac-lite that I originally predicted.
Just hope he can stay healthy.