New Jersey Devils Must Be Taken Seriously After Tampa Bay Lightning Win
By Nick Villano
The New Jersey Devils registered a huge win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night. This shows the Devils are much different than what this league thinks.
What a crazy night. The New Jersey Devils played the Tampa Bay Lightning in the team’s only nationally televised game of the season. It was an overtime thriller where the Devils played toe to toe with one of the Eastern Conference favorites and came out a winner.
It was one of the most thrilling games the Devils had that actually mattered in a long time. Cory Schneider and Peter Budaj faced some crazy chances in net. Both made some insane saves while also letting up a total of eight goals. The excitement behind the night was tenfold.
The fact that the Devils took the Lightning’s best punch and hit back shows that this team is much different than the one that took the ice last season. The league needs to catch up on that notion.
Budaj was another backup goalie the Devils faced this year. The New York Rangers, Colorado Avalanche and Buffalo Sabres all made the choice to start backups against Jersey’s team. After tonight’s performance, and the team’s current status at the top of the Eastern Conference standings, that should change.
Just look at some of the goals scored by the Devils Tuesday night. Steve Santini shot a puck off the back boards right in front to Brian Gibbons who pounded it home. That’s a smart play that good teams do to score goals. Kyle Palmieri shot a rocket during the powerplay that hit the top shelf.
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The Devils had two opportunities to lose the game. Pavel Zacha took a penalty with just under two minutes left in the game. Luckily, the team stepped up as did Schneider to keep the Lightning’s high-powered offense from getting that fifth goal in regulation. Then, in overtime, Adam Henrique tripped Ondrej Palat with 48 seconds left in the game. The Devils were able to kill that off as well.
There is so much to love about the new-look Devils. The rest of the league should respect this team now. This isn’t last year’s Devils where a win was almost guaranteed. This start is from a team that’s legit. It’s also coming without Brian Boyle and Travis Zajac. Things will only get better from here. For tonight, enjoy an amazing win.