One would call it a must-win game for a team as low in the standings as both the New Jersey Devils and the Philadelphia Flyers are. Each team wanted to win this one very bad.
The New Jersey Devils were coming off a three game losing streak and were trying to get back on track vs the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday afternoon in New Jersey. Taylor Hall is still out with an injury, his 11th missed game of the season. However, Devils forward Marcus Johansson and young goalie MacKenzie Blackwood both made their much needed return to the lineup.
The Devils played a very smart game and ended up with a 3-2 victory over the Flyers, which earned them two points to get up to 41 on the year.
The thing that stood out the most in this game was attention to detail. The Devils played the game very sound and the offensive chances came as a result, along with some good goaltending.
This might be one of those games that starts a run to at least make things interesting down the stretch, but at the very least it will be a game that fans look back on as one of their favorite games of the season for a few reasons. It is against the team’s big rival in the Flyers, Nico Hischier won the Nico vs. Nolan battle again, and just an impressive win based on how they played.
Nico Hischier was the number one star of the game (1G,1A), and boy was he good. Without Taylor Hall in the lineup, he still is managing to generate offense and run his own line. That is not to say that the New Jersey Devils do not need Taylor Hall, it is just nice to see Hischier run a line and be capable of doing it by himself.
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He is really emerging into one of the best players on the team. He goes out there and plays against the oppositions best players. Nico is now one of three Devils with 30+ points this season, joining Taylor Hall and Kyle Palmieri.
Damon Severson and Miles Wood each added a goal for New Jersey. Wood needs to score goals to add scoring depth to this team, and he is certainly capable. When he uses his speed to generate offense, he is one of the more effective players on the team. As far as Severson, he is a defenseman with offensive upside. A goal from him every now and then is welcomed as long as he remains sound defensively and can move the puck up to his forwards.
So whats next following this very fun win? Four more games before the NHL’s mandatory bye week and the All-Star weekend, beginning with the Chicago Blackhawks at the Rock on Monday, January 14th. Chicago is not what they once were, but they still have some dangerous players in their lineup that can burn you on any given night. The Devils need to handle their business over the next week’s four games and go into the bye/all-star weekend on a positive note before some welcomed rest for everyone.