This season’s New Jersey Devils have found a way to disappoint every time a glimmer of hope emerges. The latest glimmer was a stunning 6-2 takedown of the Dallas Stars, in which the Devils played their most complete game of the season. In addition, goaltender Jake Allen overcame two early goals to shut out the powerful Stars, making several highlight-reel saves in his first start in New Jersey. Allen’s performance permeated the locker room and seemed to imbue confidence in his teammates as they roared back twice from early deficits, tallying five unanswered goals.
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The Devils received contributions from unlikely sources, with goals from Chris Tierney and Thomas Nosek and points from Kurtis MacDermid and Nick Desimone. Dawson Mercer was reunited with Jack Hughes on the first line and immediately justified head coach Travis Green’s move by putting the team in front for good with a slick move and finish over the shoulder of Stars goalie Jake Oettinger. Timo Meier scored his eighth goal in March, tying him for the NHL lead with the Minnesota Wild’s Kirill Kaprizov. Meier has now scored in six of his last seven games and is playing like the power forward New Jersey sent so many assets to San Jose to acquire. With Meier in form, a solid defensive structure, and competent goaltending, the Devils should do all they can to try to get into the playoffs.
Playoffs Are Worth Fighting For
The Devils are at a point where they can either focus their energy on maximizing their draft position and finding out what they have in younger players in preparation for acquiring an elite goaltender or go all in to make the playoffs in a year where they are unlikely to contend for the Stanley Cup. The future can wait, this team’s core needs the playoff reps and should do everything they can to sneak in and steal a series or two.
“They gave me some goal support there in the second, but ultimately, I was impressed with the way we played with the lead. I thought we played very defensively, very mature. Got pucks out, didn’t make too many mistakes, too many errors. We tried to simplify the game. The win was obviously crucial for us here in the standings, but I was really impressed with the way the guys played with a lot of maturity in their game.”
Goalie Jake Allen after earning a win in his Devils debut
Heading into Saturday’s game against the Arizona Coyotes, the Devils are one of five teams…
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