Kyle Palmieri scored the game-winning goal for the New Jersey Devils to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning. It goes on a list on many clutch goals this season.
When one writes about the New Jersey Devils, a majority of the headlines go straight for Taylor Hall, and they should. Hall is a Hart Trophy candidate, and no doubt carrying the Devils to a playoff position. He deserves all the praise he’s getting.
However, he isn’t doing it alone. Nico Hischier has been his center for much of the season, despite being a teenager. He scored goals in consecutive nights against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Pittsburgh Penguins. The number-one overall pick is also the only Devils player to get named top star of the NHL for a week back in February.
However, it’s not all the top line that should get the love. Keith Kinkaid has been great as of late.
Okay, you all know what I’m doing here. There are a million storylines on the Devils this season. From Brian Boyle fighting cancer to Jesper Bratt making the team as a sixth-round pick, there’s a million things one can talk about. However, all these great storylines forces us to overlook one that’s been tried and true for the past three years, Kyle Palmieri has been great again.
Palmieri knew the Devils needed more than one goal to beat the Lightning, so he gave it to them. His amazing shot was used to put the Devils up by two.
That ended up being the Devils game-winning goal. That makes it five on the season. He scored both of the goals in a 2-1 win against the New York Islanders back in February. He also scored game winning goals against the Chicago Blackhawks and Carolina Hurricanes. Those were big wins by the Devils, but his goals obviously made a difference.
The biggest game winning goal, outside of Saturday night, may have come all the way back in November. It came on a 5-on-3 advantage against the Florida Panthers. He sent a rocket shot past James Reimer.
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Obviously, that game looks incredibly important now. The Panthers are on the move towards the playoffs, and the Devils are fending them off. If Palmieri doesn’t score that goal and the rest of the game goes the same way, the Devils could be behind the Panthers and out of the playoffs.
Palmieri missed significant time in the middle of the season. It was clear the Devils missed him, as scoring became an issue at times with him out of the lineup.
Still, Palmieri has 21 goals on the season despite missing 19 games. Over an 82 game season, he would have yet another 30 goal season. That means something for a team that struggles lighting the lamp outside of Hall.
Right now, Palmieri is the only player outside of Hall with a shot at 25 goals. He did this while spending part of his time playing second line. Palms continues to play clutch hockey when the Devils need him. Sure, Hall is the reason were in the playoffs, but Palmieri deserves praise.