The Devils’ stretch of defensive mastery continued in a win to kick off their road trip
The New Jersey Devils’ team defense has been on a big time roll lately. The team entered tonight’s contest against the St. Louis Blues having held their opponents to fewer than 20 shots on goal in three straight games, a thoroughly impressive accomplishment. The Blues did manage to snap that streak, but it took about 57 minutes to do so. Before that, the Devils produced another defensive gem in a 4-1 victory over the Blues.
It actually didn’t start out well for New Jersey, as St. Louis dominated puck possession to open the contest. There wasn’t much in the way of dangerous chances, but the Devils just could not find a way to generate any sort of offense. But they weathered the early storm and got stronger as the game wore on. New Jersey started to figure out the Blues’ defense in the latter half of the first, then played a quality second period, and then stepped on St. Louis’ neck in the third. At one point, shots on goal were 10-1 in the Devils’ favor in the third period, which was even more impressive when you consider they entered the final frame with a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Ondrej Palat in the first period and Stefan Noesen in the second. Noesen’s tally came on the power play, which finally broke through after a prolonged drought (more on that below). By the way, tonight was Noesen’s 400th game in the NHL. Congrats to him on that milestone, and for finding a way to celebrate in style with a goal.
It wasn’t a perfect night for the Devils’ defense, as Jacob Markstrom did have to make a handful of tough saves over the course of the game. But aside from a few rush chances, high-slot shots, and one partial breakaway, New Jersey really put the screws to St. Louis. In the end, the Devils held the edge in shot attempts at 5-on-5, 52-38, and Expected Goals For%, 52.95%. That latter number might not seem too impressive, but the Blues generated a lot of xG in garbage time after Brenden Dillon added to the lead in the third and Jesper Bratt put the game away with an empty-net goal.
But make no mistake, even if it wasn’t perfect, New Jersey’s defense came to play. According to Natural Stat Trick, at 5-on-5 they only allowed a total of 1.59 xGA, and 1.69 total in all situations. Markstrom was there to bail them out when they did crack, and the offense did enough to secure the win.
I was very pleased with what I saw out of the Devils tonight. The offense could have been a little crisper, but the fact that they stuck to their game and remained patient was huge. In the past, when this team struggles offensively they’ve had a happen of forcing plays and letting their opponents dictate how the game will be played. But tonight, New Jersey stayed true to their structure and played a hard, physical game when needed until the offense showed up. Things even got a little chippy toward the end of the contest, as apparently the Blues take losing very poorly. St. Louis captain Brayden Schenn threw one heck of a temper tantrum near the very end of the game, going out of his way to antagonize and eventually tackle Jonas Siegenthaler to the ice. Even as a linesman attempted to pry Schenn off Siegenthaler, Schenn refused to budge for a good minute or so, and when they were finally separated Schenn threw a punch at Siegenthaler. Obviously that’s loser behavior, and while it’s frustrating to see that happen to a Devils player, it can be spun as a positive: New Jersey got so deep under the skin of the Blues tonight that even the Blues’ captain couldn’t help but resort to vindictive nonsense.
The Devils played a very good defensive game, they frustrated the Blues all evening long, they remained patient when their offense was slow to materialize, and in the end they skated away with an emphatic win, much to the chagrin of Schenn and his teammates. The Devils’ defense remains a big problem for the rest of the league.
The Game Stats: The NHL.com Game Summary | The NHL.com Event Summary | The NHL.com Play by Play Log | The NHL.com Shot Summary | The Natural Stat Trick Game Stats
The Game Highlights: Courtesy of the NHL’s website
The Triumphant Return
Curtis Lazar had missed the last 21 games, but he made his return to the lineup tonight. It was nice to see him back out there after a knee injury he suffered against the Anaheim Ducks back in late October kept him out for so long.
Lazar took his place back on the fourth line, where he has been a staple for New Jersey since he came over at the 2023 trade deadline. So how did Lazar do in his return? Well he played 11:41 tonight, collecting one shot on goal and one hit while being kept off the scoresheet. According to Natural Stat Trick, Lazar finished with a 5-on-5 xGF% of 43.85%, so not the best night as far as the run of play goes. But some hiccups should be expected after such a long time away from game action.
It’s nice to see Lazar return. Hopefully he rounds into form soon and brings the energy and physicality he specializes in back to the fourth line.
Power Outage Solved
New Jersey has had an elite power play all season long. That makes sense considering the personnel they have at their disposal. They were first in the league with the man advantage for a while, but thanks in part to a recent cold spell, they entered this evening second in the NHL.
The Devils were in the midst of their first real power play slump of the campaign coming into tonight, going five straight games without a power play goal. They were 0-for-13 over that stretch, and to find the last power play goal you needed to go back to December 2nd when they went 2-for-4 with the man advantage against the New York Rangers.
But thanks to Stefan Noesen’s PPG in the second period, that streak is a thing of the past. It was nice to see both the power play in general and Noesen specifically find the back of the net again. It was unrealistic to expect this unit to maintain a conversion rate in the mid-30’s all season long, regression was going to come eventually. But perhaps Noesen’s goal is a sign of the regression finally coming to an end.
Getting The Blues
For whatever reason, the Blues have dominated the Devils for a long time now. It’s just one of those random things you see from time to time, much like how New Jersey always seems to win against the Vancouver Canucks and Pittsburgh Penguins in recent years.
The MSG broadcast actually showed a graphic detailing how bad it has been: Since the 2008-09 season, the Devils are 6-16-3 against the Blues, including 2-9-1 over their last 12 meetings. That’s an absurd level of futility, so it was nice to see New Jersey get a very rare win over their apparent Achilles Heel.
Next Time Out
New Jersey finishes up their mini two-game road trip on Thursday with a matchup against the Blue Jackets. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00pm.
Your Take
What did you make of tonight’s game? Who on the Devils impressed you the most? What are you anticipating next time out against Columbus? As always, thanks for reading!