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Holtz
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Mercer
POST-GAME RAW | Utica Comets head coach Kevin Dineen
WHAT'S NEXT
Main camp now begins starting this Wednesday in Newark. Before the pre-season games begin, we'll stream live three camp scrimmages on September 25, 26 and 28 so stay tuned to NJD.TV and NewJerseyDevils.com!
\Here are some observations from the game…
* There's no doubt that Mercer was the best player in this game, and his game-best three points (1G-2A) on the scoresheet is proof. In fact, Mercer has been New Jersey's best player throughout the two-game tournament.
His goal late in the first period sparked a noticeable turnaround for the Devils, who had looked out of sync and lethargic in Game 1 and through most of the first period of Game 2. Mercer positioned himself in the slot and was able to bury a pass from Holtz for the tally.
"I shot it as quick as I could far side and it went in," Mercer said. "I'm pretty happy with that."
Mercer's offensive skills were on display again in the second period when he collected the puck in the slot, fooled Bruins goalie Jeremy Brodeur into overcommitting on a shot, then slid a perfect pass to Foote at the near circle. Foote had an entirely open net for an easy tally. But it was Mercer who created that play.
"I could have shot it, I was in a good situation, but I like to do that fake shot, make the goalie freeze and lay it out for my teammate," Mercer said. "It gives my teammate a better opportunity to capitalize. It worked really well. The goalie froze on it, I made that pass and Footer made a good finish."
And that's not even touching on the other chances he created for himself, his teammate, his defensive zone play or PK play. It was an all-around strong showing for the 19-year-old, who hopes to use it as the opening pitch as he enters his first NHL training camp next week. Mercer may be a little too premature for the NHL just yet, but if he keeps playing like this, he may force management and coaches to keep him in Newark for the start of the season.
* Holtz has come as advertised. His biggest asset is his wicked shot. And now, Devils fans can see why scouts salivated over his quick release, velocity and accuracy. In the second period, Holtz collected the puck on the power play atop the far circle. He pulled and fired a bullet over Brodeur's shoulder that not only hit the water bottle resting atop the net, but made it explode.
"I didn't see (the water bottle explode) at first," Holtz admitted. "But then I saw it splash a little bit. It's always fun when that happens."
"I had a very good view of that," Utica head coach Kevin Dineen said. "That's one you want a couple different camera angles on. For a rookie game there probably aren't too many. But there's not doubt that puck was in the net."
Hotlz also showed his ability to setup plays. It was his pass from below the goal line to Mercer in the slot that resulted in the Devils' first goal.
"It's good for your confidence to get the first goal of the season," said Holtz, who finished with one goal and one assist. "Every game I'm getting more comfortable and trying to build that confidence."
* The Sunday matinee battle between New Jersey and Boston was chippier than is typical for a rookie tournament game. These games certainly can get rough at times, but the Devils and Bruins took it up a notch with several big hits, 34 minutes in penalties, multiple post-whistle skirmishes and even a fight (kind of).
"There was a little bite to that game," Dineen said. "I don't think that anybody that has a large compete level within them doesn't enjoy the physical aspect of the game. I think we saw that quite a bit. It was nice to see even when there were some skirmishes, even though you can't call us a team moving forward, the players jumped in for each other."
