Another slow start for the New Jersey Devils and another loss to the Washington Capitals was the story Friday night in New Jersey. The team only managed 23 shots and Vitek Vanecek was once again on his game meaning they needed a nearly perfect defensive effort to have a shot at garnering any points. With this loss, the Devils are only one game away from being swept in the extended eight-game season series with the division rival. On Sunday, the Devils hope to avoid this.
The Good
Micheal McLeod continued his streak of solid play and put up his 6th goal of the year. Being a 4th liner and only 30 games into the season makes this even better and great for the future as with the current production level he would be striving for 15-18 goals in a full season.
Jack Hughes was amazing in overtime. His pass to Andreas Johnsson was a thing of beauty and he gave him all the time in the world to score. It nearly ended the game for the Devils. Almost immediately after this great play, he followed it up by almost winning it for them himself on a good drive to the net using his speed. Unfortunately, his pointless streak continues, but being so close twice to the big game-winning play should jumpstart his confidence which might be a little down at the moment.
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Mackenzie Blackwood was 38/40 on the night and settled in again as the man they rely on night in and night out. He has been far better at squaring up to shooters and his movements are as fast as they were at the start of the year before he was out for an extended time. The Devils may be out of the playoff race, but with him healthy and ready to play like this, they could make a small push in the standings and finish the season having made progress and feeling good moving into next season.
The Bad
Lindy Ruff continues to beat the dead horse by giving Johnsson a shot at questionable situations. Putting him on the ice in overtime without a goal in 23 games is an insane decision, to say the least, and most players would have capitalized on the golden chance from Hughes. On top of this, he did play a solid amount of his time with Miles Wood and Pavel Zacha the Devils’ top point producers. While it is good to try and get slumping players going why would you not choose someone who is a part of the future and showing the effort and skill in games like Jack Hughes who could slide onto the wing or even a player like Gusev who may have been worth something then at the impending trade deadline.