Regulation
The New Jersey Devils struck first when Vladislav Kolyachonok drew a penalty a little under nine minutes into the game, bringing the power play out. The Devils set up on the right side with Lenni Hameenaho working the wall, and he set up Seamus Casey for a point shot that was deflected over Joonas Korpisalo by Stefan Noesen for the first goal of the game! Noesen, who has been fighting for a roster spot, got off to a good start in making his case tonight.
In the second period, Amadeus Lombardi was
checked in open ice by Marc Del Gaizo, and Marc McLaughlin came to Lombardi’s immediate defense. On the replay, it looked like Del Gaizo mostly got Lombardi’s head with the elbow, but the Devils naturally got the extra penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct for McLaughlin’s instigation. The Devils killed the penalty, and Colin White had a great shorthanded chance early in the penalty kill that helped set the tone for the two minutes. Not too long after the penalty expired, Ben Steeves drew a tripping call, sending Cole Beaudoin to the box and the Rangers to another kill of their own. The Devils did not do as well here as their first opportunity.
A few minutes after Seamus Casey hurt himself throwing what looked to be a poor hip check attempt at the blueline, Ethan Edwards expanded the Devils lead with an outstanding one-timer from the faceoff circle! Putting the team up two, Edwards read the cycle very well and skated low for the pass from Matyas Melovsky, wiring the puck off the iron and into the net.
A little over three minutes into the third, the Rangers finally got on the board. Gabriel Perreault went to whip a pass around through the slot, but the puck bounced off Matthew Robertson’s skate, Will Cuylle’s hip, and past Nico Daws. The first goal against was a fluke play, but the second was tough. The Devils were down on a delayed penalty that they somehow didn’t touch up, maybe, and Daws was beat at the side of the net with the extra man on when he dove over the puck, allowing Anton Blidh to tap it in.
At the halfway point of the period, the Devils ran themselves into trouble with lazy cycling. When Topias Vilen was taken into the boards int he offensive zone, Colin White was left alone with Matt Rempe in Nico Daws’s crease, and Vladislav Kolyachonok came rushing down to prevent a pass across to Will Cuylle, deflecting the puck into the net and giving the Rangers a 3-2 lead. Scott Morrow got the credit for the goal.
With just over three minutes to play, Stefan Noesen backhanded the puck from the end boards to Jesper Boqvist at the side of the net, and Boqvist rang the puck off Korpisalo’s shoulder and the crossbar. After the Rangers iced the puck, the Devils pulled Nico Daws. The Boqvist-Lombardi-Noesen line stayed out quite awhile with Hameenaho, with Noesen continuing to make good plays on the wall to keep possession. The puck eventually got out to Amadeus Lombardi, who caught the Rangers tired and lapsing. As he was being hooked and slashed, Lombardi took the puck around and beat Korpisalo five hole, tying the game with 1:44 to play!
Overtime/Shootout
The Devils started overtime with Lombardi with Matyas Melovsky and Vladislav Kolyachonok, facing off against Noah Laba, Gabriel Perreault, and Scott Morrow. The Devils took possession off the draw, and Lombardi skated up ice into the Rangers’ defensive zone before retreating for a second attempt. On the second, Lombardi turned from his backhand and took a weak shot on goal, giving the Rangers possession. Laba drew a slash by Lombardi at the other end, hitting the hands as Daws saved an easy shot from Laba. The Rangers kept their original three with Cuylle on the ice, while the Devils killed with McLaughlin, Edwards, and Silaev. After the first minute was killed, Ethan Edwards found Noesen with a long pass for a one-on-one. Noesen turned wide on the chance to kill time behind the Rangers’ net rather than take a shot, eventually losing possession to a third Ranger. The Devils killed the penalty.
At four-on-four, Ben Steeves set Lombardi up for what would have been a two-on-one tap-in, but the pass was just a bit too hard for Lombardi to redirect into the net, and play went back to three-on-three for the final 38 seconds before the game went to a shootout.
Lenni Hameenaho shot first. Hameenaho went wide and slow, but could not pick the five-hole.
Gabriel Perreault followed for New York. He approached with more pace, but Daws brought the right leg down over the slide shot.
Topias Vilen somewhat bizarrely went second for New Jersey and was stuffed on the lower pad.
Will Cuylle went second for New York and rang a shot in off the bar.
With the Devils needing to score, Amadeus Lombardi got up. He went wide and slow, and was denied by a shoulder save.
The Game Stats: The NHL.com Game Summary | The NHL.com Event Summary | The NHL.com Play by Play Log | The NHL.com Shot Summary | The Natural Stat Trick Game Stats
A Difficult Night to Evaluate for Daws
Nico Daws allowed three goals on 23 shots tonight. In total, he faced 3.12 expected goals against. So, in strictly mathematical terms, Daws played a fine game despite a not-so-fine .870 save percentage. But we have to look at things a little more deeply than that: I was hoping that the Rangers playing more NHLers might mean he faced 25, 30, or even 35 shots, but the Devils really shut the Rangers down early. And once the Rangers did break through in the third period, these were the shots that beat Daws:
- A pass across the middle of the slot that was deflected by a skate towards the net, where it deflected off another player’s leg and into the net
- A tap-in after the Devils’ defense broke down against an extra attacker — Daws could have had this, but he dove over the puck when Glenn Gawdin had the puck at the side of the net, leaving the puck in the crease for Blidh to score.
- An own-goal by Vladislav Kolyachonok when Scott Morrow used a largely uncontested screen in Matt Rempe (“covered” by Colin White) to slide a pass across to Will Cuylle. The pass did not make it through, and it’s hard to tell whether Cuylle even could have scored on it had Kolyachonok not done it for him.
I remain disappointed that the Rangers did not dress many NHLers tonight, because I wanted Daws to be tested and not beaten by AHL-level team breakdowns.
Noesen, Lombardi, and Boqvist
I think that all of Stefan Noesen, Amadeus Lombardi, and Jesper Boqvist showed again tonight that they belong in the NHL. This makes the above point really annoying to me, as one of them could still be waived if David Rittich makes the opening night roster. Noesen scored a power play goal. Lombardi scored the game-tying goal. Boqvist was very active on the ice and continued to skate very well. But ultimately, from a polish standpoint, I still think that Stefan Noesen plays the best NHL hockey of those three. At the very least, he played the cleanest hockey. His passing decisions were good, his puck management decisions were good, and there were times the other two were a little more lacking. Lombardi had a bad shot and bad penalty in overtime, while Boqvist made a terrible pass to center ice from the offensive zone (during the four-on-four sequence) that almost led to a chance against in overtime. By comparison, I trust Noesen to play a responsible game while still sneakily creating chances below the goal line and getting out to the front of the net to deflect pucks past the goalie.
Noesen led the team with 0.52 individual expected goals, while Boqvist had 0.25 and Lombardi had 0.24. While Noesen does not have the best physical tools at his age, everyone could stand to learn a lot from how little waste there is in his game. He takes good, direct routes on the ice, still managing to get to pucks when he needs to. This is the Noesen way: move the puck up, get it below the net, and screen for point shots if the play by the net isn’t there. It’s a very efficient model of high-danger offense.
Casey’s Injury and Other Notables
Seamus Casey is hurt again. He has only played 75 games over his first two professional seasons, but he threw a bad check attempt at the blueline and hurt himself tonight. Given the early reports from Sheldon Keefe, it is not looking good for him.
I admittedly find myself frustrated here. I believed a couple years ago that Casey could be a big part of the Devils’ future, but he simply gets hurt too easily. I struggle to fathom how anyone could have promoted, say, moving on from Dougie Hamilton over the last several months because the Devils have Casey. It sucks: he looks good on the ice, but he just cannot stay on it. Maybe defense just wasn’t the right position for him if he can’t hit on a zone entry without getting hurt. And I’ll say again: it sucks. You could really see how much worse the team played after he left the game.
Since Casey can now no longer make the opening night roster, it frees up the seventh defensive position. After tonight’s game, I would give the edge to Ethan Edwards. Edwards was all over the ice tonight, and probably underutilized in overtime if I were to be honest. I have no clue how Kolyachonok, who has been more limited with the puck, got out there first. Anton Silaev would be my close second. His skating ability is unreal for a guy his size, but I still would not play him in the NHL unless I was certain he was getting top four minutes. I have less of a problem with sitting Edwards for a game or three between some third-pairing opportunities.
Matyas Melovsky was also outstanding for the Devils tonight. When compared to the other AHL centers in this game in Colin White and Marc McLaughlin, Melovsky is head and shoulders above the competition. If the Devils ever need a center call-up this year, Melovsky has to be the guy over the other two. White has his moments, but I still struggle to see what McLaughlin offers other than replaceable penalty killing. Melovsky can actually create with the puck and do so consistently while making good decisions in all three zones. I don’t see a path for him right now, and I’ve never been disappointed by him before, but this was another good mark for him.
Your Thoughts
What did you think of tonight’s game? Do you think some of these guys will get back out there for the final preseason game on the Island? What do you think of the roster decisions? What do you think of Casey’s injury? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and thanks for reading.
