New Jersey Devils Daily: Beating the Capitals, MSG Network Deal, More

On today’s New Jersey Devils’ Daily, the team wins its first preseason game against the Washington Capitals, Nico Hischier scores a beautiful goal and none of the Devils fans could watch it on TV.

The New Jersey Devils beat the Washington Capitals 4-1 in the first game of the 2017-18 preseason. Mike Morreale with NHL.com spoke to multiple people in the locker room about first-overall pick Nico Hischier’s beautiful goal in the third period. Head coach John Hynes said it showed his work ethic more than anything. He outworked multiple Capitals to get through the defense and get it past the goalie. Nico himself said he heard the fans chanting his name after the goal.

No. 1 pick Hischier scores in Devils debut

Pucks and Pitchforks also analyzed the goal from Hischier. It obviously came at a time where the Devils were holding a comfortable lead, but it showed the team’s new attitude to keep pushing at all times. Hischier showed his immense skill and incredible patience on the goal. He stole the puck with a great takeaway, then waited for goalie Vitek Vanecek to make his move before sliding the puck under his pad. It was a thing a beauty, and something Devils fans can’t wait to see more of.

New Jersey Devils: Nico Hischier Shows Skill In Win VS. Washington Capitals

Chris Ryan with NJ.com finds nine takeaways from the Devils win. One of the most important points he makes was both team’s trying to adapt to penalty calls. There were a total of 14 powerplays, and even more minor penalties called. Another big takeaway was the play of Will Butcher. Despite one bad play ending in a goal for the Caps, he played an overall good game. He was aggressive from the point. He moved the puck well on the breakout. Butcher overall had an impressive debut in New Jersey.

Devils win preseason opener: 9 observations | Will Butcher’s debut; 1st cuts coming

Exiting the defensive zone was the major flaw for the Devils last season. That was not the case last night. Almost everyone on the team did well with that stat, led by Yaroslav Dyblenko. Both Butcher and Damon Severson excelled at the stat, which was analyzed by Hockey Buzz’s Todd Correll. He also says the Devils best line last night was Jesper Bratt, Joseph Blandisi and Stefan Noesen. That’s a surprising fact when the Devils top line was also on the ice last night.

Six takeaways from the Devils’ 4-1 win over the Capitals

Unfortunately for Devils fans, they weren’t able to watch the game locally. The fact that the MSG Network did not air Hischier’s first game as a Devil shows that a deal signed over a decade ago is hurting the fanbase now. Pucks and Pitchforks looks at the deal, which at this point is more about money than anything.

New Jersey Devils Deal With MSG Network About Money, Not Fans