Post by jon on Mar 27, 2016 14:55:22 GMT -5
The New Jersey Devils have been experimenting a bit during the preseason, having for example tried many players outside of their natural positions, split icetime equally amongst all players, sitting out a couple veterans and mostly playing backup goalie Mark Visentin over offseason acquisition and expected starter Robin Lehner. As such, the disappointing results they have registered - only two wins in seven games - must be taken with a grain of salt. People watching the game could notice some nice things going on for the Devils, yet there were also some alarming concerns.
The Good
- Zemgus Girgensons has surpassed all expectations in preseason, obtaining an impressive 7 goals and 2 assists in 9 games. Expected during the offseason to play another year on the Devils' third line with very few powerplay opportunities, "Magic Z"'s impressive play has seen him promoted to the second line alongside veterans David Krejci and Jordan Staal, and first powerplay unit alongside Patrice Bergeron and Radim Vrbata
- Torey Krug kept his pace going after an impressive turn around last season. After some terrible play in Boston which saw him get 0 points, a minus-10 rating and 21 penalty minutes in only 10 games, the 25 year-old put up 46 points in only 71 games with his new team, also achieving a +23 rating and getting penalized for a much more reasonable 58 minutes. Devils management was happy to see his great play continue in the preseason : Krug notched 7 assists in as many games, and was unequivocally the Devils' best defenceman.
- Reid Boucher played only four unimpressive games in the big league last year, but managed to secure a spot on the 4th line with 2 points in 7 games and, most importantly, good and consistent play in all zones. Boucher is expected to be the first guy called upon to step up to the top three lines, whether it is motivated by an injury or underwhelming play from another player.
- Radim Vrbata, who was expected to be only a rental player when acquired last year, kept on performing at a point per game pace during the preseason, confirming that the Devils' decision to re-sign the goalscorer to a six million deal was a good one.
- Similarly to last year, the Devils' biggest strength seemed to be coming from its center line-up, with Patrice Bergeron, Jordan Staal and Adam Henrique all playing good all-around hockey and all dominating in the faceoff circle.
The Bad
- Outside of Krug and Seabrook, the Devils' defencemen have all ranged from slightly to very disappointing. Greene and Russell's biggest strength last year was their consistent defensive play, which they couldn't find at all totalling a minus-8 rating. Furthermore, they couldn't help anymore on the offensive side of the game. Drew Daniels, who received a big vote of confidence when he got promoted to the second pairing following the exits of cap casualties Matthew Register and Patrick Wiercioch, showed flashes of brilliance yet was wildly inconsistent.
- David Krejci, one of the bigger reasons behind the Devils' mounting perhaps the most dangerous offence in the iNHL last season with his 18 goals and 53 assists, was nowhere to be seen on the ice. In 7 games, the playmaker couldn't find the end of the net, nor could he find his teammates, finishing the preseason with a big zero on the points marker and a minus-4 differential. Coaches are certainly hoping Krejci will find his game soon enough.
- All three of the Devils' European acquisitions this offseason, Bohumil Jank, Hynek Zohornal and Sami Lahteenmaki, who were expected to fulfill a depth role on the team, have been very disappointing and couldn't secure a spot on the starting line-up, though Bohumil Jank might me playing on opening night as a replacement for the injured Joel Edmundson.
- There's been an alarming tendency over the past couple of months of the last season where the Devils would barely win or even end up losing the game despite severely outshooting opponents. It happened again in the preseason in games against Washington, Edmonton and Philadelphia, in which they ended up 1-1-1 despite outshooting the other teams by a total of 59 shots. Goal tally ended up being 7-7 for those three games. This wasn't all that bad last season when the Devils could very consistently outshoot every opponent by a fair margin, but they haven't succeeded in doing that as often in the preseason.
The Devils are still seeing more good than bad despite a disappointing record in the preseason, but they surely would have hoped to enter the season with a little more certainties and slightly fewer question marks.
The Good
- Zemgus Girgensons has surpassed all expectations in preseason, obtaining an impressive 7 goals and 2 assists in 9 games. Expected during the offseason to play another year on the Devils' third line with very few powerplay opportunities, "Magic Z"'s impressive play has seen him promoted to the second line alongside veterans David Krejci and Jordan Staal, and first powerplay unit alongside Patrice Bergeron and Radim Vrbata
- Torey Krug kept his pace going after an impressive turn around last season. After some terrible play in Boston which saw him get 0 points, a minus-10 rating and 21 penalty minutes in only 10 games, the 25 year-old put up 46 points in only 71 games with his new team, also achieving a +23 rating and getting penalized for a much more reasonable 58 minutes. Devils management was happy to see his great play continue in the preseason : Krug notched 7 assists in as many games, and was unequivocally the Devils' best defenceman.
- Reid Boucher played only four unimpressive games in the big league last year, but managed to secure a spot on the 4th line with 2 points in 7 games and, most importantly, good and consistent play in all zones. Boucher is expected to be the first guy called upon to step up to the top three lines, whether it is motivated by an injury or underwhelming play from another player.
- Radim Vrbata, who was expected to be only a rental player when acquired last year, kept on performing at a point per game pace during the preseason, confirming that the Devils' decision to re-sign the goalscorer to a six million deal was a good one.
- Similarly to last year, the Devils' biggest strength seemed to be coming from its center line-up, with Patrice Bergeron, Jordan Staal and Adam Henrique all playing good all-around hockey and all dominating in the faceoff circle.
The Bad
- Outside of Krug and Seabrook, the Devils' defencemen have all ranged from slightly to very disappointing. Greene and Russell's biggest strength last year was their consistent defensive play, which they couldn't find at all totalling a minus-8 rating. Furthermore, they couldn't help anymore on the offensive side of the game. Drew Daniels, who received a big vote of confidence when he got promoted to the second pairing following the exits of cap casualties Matthew Register and Patrick Wiercioch, showed flashes of brilliance yet was wildly inconsistent.
- David Krejci, one of the bigger reasons behind the Devils' mounting perhaps the most dangerous offence in the iNHL last season with his 18 goals and 53 assists, was nowhere to be seen on the ice. In 7 games, the playmaker couldn't find the end of the net, nor could he find his teammates, finishing the preseason with a big zero on the points marker and a minus-4 differential. Coaches are certainly hoping Krejci will find his game soon enough.
- All three of the Devils' European acquisitions this offseason, Bohumil Jank, Hynek Zohornal and Sami Lahteenmaki, who were expected to fulfill a depth role on the team, have been very disappointing and couldn't secure a spot on the starting line-up, though Bohumil Jank might me playing on opening night as a replacement for the injured Joel Edmundson.
- There's been an alarming tendency over the past couple of months of the last season where the Devils would barely win or even end up losing the game despite severely outshooting opponents. It happened again in the preseason in games against Washington, Edmonton and Philadelphia, in which they ended up 1-1-1 despite outshooting the other teams by a total of 59 shots. Goal tally ended up being 7-7 for those three games. This wasn't all that bad last season when the Devils could very consistently outshoot every opponent by a fair margin, but they haven't succeeded in doing that as often in the preseason.
The Devils are still seeing more good than bad despite a disappointing record in the preseason, but they surely would have hoped to enter the season with a little more certainties and slightly fewer question marks.