The New Jersey Devils were on a six-game point streak going into the game against the Florida Panthers, but a 5-3 loss would put that streak to a halt.
The New Jersey Devils came into this game against the Florida Panthers on a two-game winning streak. A win would give them three straight for the second time this season. They were also on a six-game point streak as they either won or lost in overtime in six straight. That was their season-high, so the seventh game with a point would break that.
It wasn’t meant to be as the Panthers pulled away to a 5-3 victory in Newark. It certainly wasn’t the best game the Devils have ever played, but it wasn’t as bad as the score might suggest. They gave the start to Louis Domingue despite MacKenzie Blackwood being on a 135:03 shutout streak. It is definitely a strange move but it didn’t pay off for the coach as Domingue did not look very good.
One player who did look good was Jack Hughes. He isn’t scoring as much as we maybe thought he would this season but he definitely has had flashes of that brilliance that earned him being the number one overall pick. He scored a power-play goal by sniping one clean past the Florida goaltender Samuel Montembeault. It was good to see Jack finally score his seventh of the season as it has been a while. He also had a great play where he dangled the puck through multiple Florida defenders but Montembeault robbed him.
The points are going to start coming in bunches as Jack continues to develop. He is still only a very young 18 years old that is undersized. He will continue to develop his man muscle along with learning how to drive offense at this level. Once that happens, not only will he be good, he will be elite. He has a pure skill needed to be able to make that claim.
Damon Severson also registered an assist in this game. Severson is sort of the scapegoat among the Devils fanbase a lot of the time. At times, it is for good reason but that assists put him on a seven-game point streak. Only Tampa Bay Lightning forward Nikita Kucherov has a higher streak than that in the entire National Hockey League. Severson has been pretty good as far as the offense goes lately and deserves credit for that.
The Devils are going to welcome in the worst team in the league on Thursday when the Detroit Red Wings come to town. This season isn’t like last season where it was a race for the worst record. The Wings have that in the bag already as they are only 14-40-4 for 32 points. The Devils are awful and they have an 18 point lead on Detroit. This should be a game where the Devils players get some touches and feel good about their game if they play the right way.