The New Jersey Devils came out of the Christmas break with a win against the Detroit Red Wings. It wasn’t the prettiest win, but it counts just the same.
A wins a win. That’s all you can say about the New Jersey Devils win against the Detroit Red Wings. It wasn’t the flashy performance we’ve become accustomed to from Jersey’s Team this season, but it gave them two points in the standings just like every other win.
It wasn’t the worst performance of the season. The Devils were good in the first period. Nico Hischier was dominant in the first frame, scoring two goals just three minutes apart. One goal came on a tip of Steve Santini’s shot, and the other goal was an absolute snipe off the the one timer. The goal was great all around. A great forecheck by Hischier forced Darren Helm to lose the puck in his own zone. Jesper Bratt made a beautiful no-look pass to Taylor Hall, who set Nico up for the goal.
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The prevailing highlight for the Devils was the penalty kill. They held the Red Wings without a goal on the man advantage, despite the fact they had five power plays throughout the game. The Devils were very good most of the time at keeping the puck out of the zone.
Cory Schneider put together another masterful performance, stopping 31 of 32 shots. The only goal he allowed was a snap shot from Justin Abdelkader. Outside of that, he was perfect.
There was a lot of sloppy play from both sides, especially in the third period. There were a few times where the puck got underneath the defense, giving the Red Wings great chances. Luckily, this is the best we’ve seen Schneider play possibly since he’s been with the Devils.
This game could have gone sour so many times, but the Devils hunkered down and won. Winning these types of games is what good teams do. You can’t explode offensively every night. When you can win ugly, you can win any way.