The Devils had a fierce battle with the Florida Panthers in the second half of last season for the final playoff berth in the Eastern Conference. The Devils would eventually pull through, and beat out the Panthers by one single point, despite the Panthers having the best record in the NHL in the second half.
The Panthers would look for revenge on Saturday afternoon, visiting the Prudential Center for the first time this season. They would fall to the Devils yet again 3-2.
The Devils played a good game for the most part. They started off the game well and then a few minutes into the first period they would get themselves into some serious penalty trouble, including killing off a 5 on 3.
The tides seemed to turn, however, when Kyle Palmieri scored a pretty weird deflection goal off of a blast from Damon Severson with less than a minute left in the first period. The Devils and the top line never looked back from there.
It has been mentioned so many times how good the Devils top line of Taylor Hall-Nico Hischier-Kyle Palmieri has been. It was evident again in this game. Hall had a goal, Palmieri had a goal and an assist, and Nico Hischier chipped in two assists of his own. This is simply one of the best lines in the NHL right now. As long as this line keeps chipping in at an elite rate, which there is no reason to believe that they can’t, there should be many good nights in the Devils future. Hischier does so many good things to keep plays alive, getting the puck to Hall and Palmieri in high danger areas, that it is nice to see him be rewarded with lots of assists and even goals in the early going.
More from Pucks and Pitchforks
- Should New Jersey Devils Try Load Management With Vitek Vanecek?
- New Jersey Devils Will Prove That Last Year Wasn’t A Fluke
- New Jersey Devils: Luke Hughes’ Playmaking Will Outshine His Mistakes
- New Jersey Devils: Chase Stillman’s Performance Causes Concern
- Can Devils Fans Separate Zach Parise Heartbreak From Achievements?
Joey Anderson, one of the Devils top prospects, made his NHL debut for New Jersey on Saturday, in place of the ill Marcus Johansson. Not much happened for him yet, as he only had 8:30 of ice time, but it is good to see him in the NHL finally.
Cory Schneider’s return looms, and Keith Kinkaid is making things very difficult to just throw Schneider back in his starter role. Keith has been very good since about January of last season, and he shows no sign of stopping. This is very good news for Devils fans however, as you need two very good goaltenders to be a top regular season team, and that will make sure both are fresh for whoever the starter is for any potential postseason series. Kinkaid gave up 2 goals on 37 shots for a 2.00 GAA and a .946 save percentage on Saturday’s game vs Florida.
There is a tough road ahead in the immediate future of the New Jersey Devils. They have seven straight road games ahead, and wont be back in Newark for a game until mid November. There will be a lot to learn about this team in the month of November. It can also be viewed as another opportunity for the boys to bond and get really get the road portion of the season underway.
The Devils begin the road trip on Tuesday, October 30th when they pay a visit to last years playoff opponent, the Tampa Bay Lightning.