4. Outshoot all opponents
It’s obvious that the Devils need to score first. They were famously terrible at it last season, and it became a trope of the season. They allowed opponents to score first 57 times, which at some points in the season was on pace for the NHL record. The Devils only won 22 of those games, while they won 16 out of 25 games when they scored first.
This season, the numbers seem similar as far as the record goes, although the Devils are much better at scoring first. The Devils are 5-3-1 when they score first. The opponent is 3-2-1 when they score first.
However, the shot advantage seems to be more of an indicator of who wins for the Devils. When the Devils outshoot their opponents, they are 6-2-1. When they are outshot, they are 2-3-1, and it was worse before Jake Allen’s 31-save shutout on Monday against the Oilers.
The Devils have been figuring out Sheldon Keefe’s system, and there’s still a propensity to look for the perfect shot before pulling the trigger, but this Devils team just needs to get shots on net. Jesper Bratt is the one guy we can’t call out, as he’s created nine rebounds already this season. Bratt is not afraid to shoot, but the rest of the team needs to get on board. The fact that Hamilton is tied for 110th with just four rebounds created is bad. Shoot the puck, guys.