New Jersey Devils Game One. The Good, Bad and Miles Wood

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The New Jersey Devils are officially BACK!! After over 300 days of Devils-less hockey, we finally get to talk about real games. So no matter how the Devils performed, it was just great to hear Steve Cangialosi calling the game, Ken Daneyko giving his commentary, public address announcer Kevin Clark welcoming the team on the ice and finally seeing the red and black hit the ice in a real game.

When the game started it didn’t take long for Devils on social media to voice their displeasure with the team, or in case of my Devils’ group text groaning about the continued rebuild, or how Pavel Zacha should not have been the number 6 overall pick, and why Miles Wood does Miles Wood things. Ah, things seemingly are getting back to normal!

Here is the good, bad and of course Miles Wood addition of game one of the 2021 season for the Devils.

Ty Smith #24 of the New Jersey Devils (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

The Good

From the get go Egor Sharangovich played like a seasoned veteran. You would never know that he is 22 year old 5th round pick from the 2018 NHL Draft. All of the praise that we heard throughout the short training camp was justified. He had jump to his game, drew three penalties and made some nifty offensive plays. Could he be the next Jesper Bratt? Time will tell, but if he continues to play like he did tonight, he will be hard to take out of the lineup.

Ty Smith played a very good game for the Devils. You could almost say that this type of performance was long overdue, as he easily could have made the team as an 18 year old two years back. He was confident with and without the puck, played a solid game defensively and he showed a glimpse of his offensive ability with a goal. Okay, it wasn’t a pretty goal. But all that matters is that he put the puck in the back of the net. He was also a plus two. Sooner rather than later he is going to be playing a bigger role on the blue line. I think that’s a role that he could handle.

Mackenzie Blackwood stole a point for the Devils. The team really had no business coming close to winning the game, or even sniffing out a point for that matter. He was stellar the entire game. He was sharp, focused and locked in. When you get those types of performances from your goaltender, more often than not the team will have a chance to win the game. Blackwood could be something special.

This team is a resilient bunch. Their backs were against the wall for most of the game and the team never gave up. Even after giving up a late goal in the third to break the tie it didn’t seem to phase them. They bounced back after Smith tied the game up. I know it’s a small sample size, but a young team such as the Devils didn’t break when things were looking bleak. Let’s hope they continue to play with such passion and resiliency.

Nikita Gusev – New Jersey Devils (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images) /

The Bad

The Devils will not win too many games when their backs are against the wall early and often like it was last night. Mackenzie Blackwood won’t be able to bail them out every single night, and neither will Scott Wedgewood (or another goaltender). For the first period and a half Boston had the Devils on its heels, pinned in their own zone and dominated puck possession. When the Devils had the puck, they did little with it nor created too many offensive chances. This is the first game of the season with a lot of new faces on the roster. They’ve had little to no time to develop or gain any sort of chemistry with one another due to the shortened training camp and no pre-season games. Let’s hope that they fix some of these issues.

Nikita Gusev was not good on opening night. We all love Goose. It would be great if the free agent to be inked his name on a new contract to be part of the future core in Jersey. However, it was a forgettable night for Gusev. He missed a wide open net on a beautiful one timer, turned the puck over on multiple occasions and didn’t create a lot of offense. He had a few shots on goal, but nothing to substantial. We know what he is capable of, so there is no reason for long term concern.

Mackenzie Blackwood #29 of the New Jersey Devils (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /

And Then There’s Miles Wood

What do we make of a guy who is scoring a goal one minute and heading to the penalty box the next? This is exactly why Miles Wood is a bit of an enigma within the Devils fan base. He could create so much with his speed, but his inability to stop crashing into goaltenders and going into the penalty box is maddening. He was a reason why the Devils got a point, but also a big reason why the Devils gave up the second Bruins goal.

With all due respect to Wood, having him in crucial parts of the game with under a minute left is unsettling. I get the team is missing Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt, but he should not be in the game in that critical juncture.

Part of the intrigue of Miles Wood is never knowing what you’re going to get from him. I guess that’s what makes him such a fascinating player for the team when he’s on the ice.

So there it is. There was some good, some bad, and the unpredictability of Miles Wood. But we could all agree that it was awesome to have New Jersey Devils hockey back.

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