The New Jersey Devils could not get a win for Cory Schneider to save their lives for over a calender year. They could not score the goal or he could not make the save and it looked like a former elite goalie was a shell of himself.
Now after all of that, Schneider has won his third straight game, and his first via a shutout since November 1st, 2017. After all that, he is starting to look like the goalie we once knew. They defeated the Ottawa Senators by a final score of 4-0. Travis Zajac, Steven Santini, Miles Wood all scored and Kurtis Gabriel scored his first NHL goal in the win. Schneider’s luck is back, and it is really nice to see.
Another guy that has been a force lately is Jesper Bratt. Bratt has been having an elite level stretch over this little stretch. He has 11 points in last 10 games. In the absence of the Devils’ best forward Taylor Hall, Bratt has been one of the best players for them. He has found his scoring touch that he had at the beginning of his rookie year.
Next season, when Hall is hopefully back and healthy and another year of development for Nico Hischier, it would be awesome to see Bratt playing like this at that time. He collected an assist in this game vs the Senators to continue his hot streak.
Bratt and Schneider are both clicking at the same time and the Devils are winning games. They say that your best players need to be your best players on most nights, and Schneider and Bratt are two of the Devils best players along with Hall, Hischier, and Palmieri.
If this core of players can all reach their potential all at the same time, this team could really be a force in the regular season next year and into the playoffs. It is nice to see some guys who have had struggles in certain stretches get hot and contribute to wins.
The New Jersey Devils are in action next on Saturday afternoon vs the arch rival New York Rangers. This game will be played at the worlds most famous arena, Madison Square Garden.