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New Jersey Devils Played Well In Win To Open Preseason

By Vincent Parise

MONTREAL, CANADA - SEPTEMBER 26: Tomas Tatar #90 of the New Jersey Devils celebrates his goal with teammates on the bench during the second period against the Montreal Canadiens at Centre Bell on September 26, 2022 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images)
MONTREAL, CANADA - SEPTEMBER 26: Tomas Tatar #90 of the New Jersey Devils celebrates his goal with teammates on the bench during the second period against the Montreal Canadiens at Centre Bell on September 26, 2022 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images) /
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The New Jersey Devils have had a long offseason. There have been some new additions to the team and some subtractions as well. With all of the moves made in addition to some development going on in their core, there is some hope that this will be a great season.

It all got underway on Monday night with their first preseason game of the year. It came north of the border as the Devils took on the Montreal Canadiens. It was a great way to start the exhibition season as the top two teams from the 2022 NHL Draft competed.

We saw the first overall pick Juraj Slafkovsky in a Montreal Canadiens uniform for this one but Simon Nemec did not play so we will have to wait for that 1-2 battle. There were plenty of other exciting prospects to watch though.

New Jersey didn’t have Jack Hughes, Yegor Sharangovich, Alexander Holtz, Ondrej Palat, or Dougie Hamilton in the lineup. However, there were still some great players like Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Damon Severson, and Ryan Graves amongst others in the game.

The New Jersey Devils had a very nice opening game in the 2022 preseason.

Montreal kicked off the scoring thanks to a goal from Cole Caufield. Jack Hughes’ old linemate from their junior days is a very good sniper and he scored one for his team. However, that would be the last goal (that counted) for the Habs.

Tomas Tatar scored one thanks to a brilliant play by Jesper Bratt to get the game tied. Then, Graeme Clarke made a nice play that ended with a lucky bounce for the Devils and they took the lead.  That made the score 2-1. After a Montreal goal was waved off for offsides, New Jersey hung on for the win. 

All game long, the Devils got some really good goaltending. Mackenzie Blackwood made 15 saves on 16 shots as he played 31:29. In relief, Nico Daws finished the game and made five saves on five shots. New Jersey played well in front of them and got big saves when needed.

The Devils probably won’t use Daws as much this year as they did last year because of the fact that Mackenzie Blackwood is healthy and they have Vitek Vanecek. Seeing Blackwood play that well is a sight for sore eyes as he wasn’t very good or healthy in 2021-22.

Before his injury, he was borderline elite which is what the Devils need going forward. He and Vanecek can form a really nice duo if they are both feeling good all season long. That was a big takeaway from the game.

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Nico HIschier left the game after the first period as he dealt with some cramps. The team made sure to make it clear that it was all precautionary. There is no doubt that the Devils need their captain healthy all season long.

Hopefully, in addition to making sure that he is healthy, they also need the goaltending continues to play well, they get lucky bounces, and we see Tomas Tatar contribute just a little more this year.

The first game was a great start. New Jersey has another one with the next group on Tuesday when they host the New York Islanders. It is so nice to have hockey back.

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