Here are some observations from the game:
• Goaltender Jake Allen had a busy first period, stopping all 13 shots against. That included stopping Zach Hyman, who scored 54 goals last season, on a semi-breakaway and sliding a hearty distance across his crease to deny Adam Henrique on a one-timer. But his best save came in the second period when he did a sliding split and punched a Derek Ryan shot away with his blocker.
• Dougie Hamilton has many roles on the Devils team. Power-play quarterback. Dynamic offensive talent. Top pairing blueliner. But one he added to the resume on Monday night was net-front presence. Yes, you read that correctly.
The Devils opened the scoring thanks to Hamilton planting his 6-foot-6, 230-pound body right at the crease and caused enough friction to allow Noesen’s shot to sneak into the net.
The Devils possessed the puck in the offensive zone while several forwards were going for a line change. So, Hamilton assumed the role of the F2 and pinched deep into the zone. He established his position at the net-front as Paul Cotter was carrying the puck behind the goal. Great read and offensive instincts showed by the defenseman.
• Noesen’s goal was his sixth of the season, and his third in the past four games.
• Jesper Bratt has certainly been a factor offensively this season for the Devils. He paces the team with 11 assists on the year. But the goals haven’t come for him as much, netting only two goals coming into the game. His frustration grew when a shot at a wide-open net in the first period went off a stick and wide. But he was finally rewarded for his efforts when his one-time snapshot on the power play breezed through the five-hole of Calvin Pickard for a man-advantage goal.
• A lot of credit for Bratt’s goal goes to captain Nico Hischier, who carried the puck down the far side and made a perfect, no-look pass to Bratt in the high bumper spot for the shot.
• Mercer with a great individual effort to lead to the Devils’ third goal of the evening. He stole the puck from Zach Hyman just inside the Devils blue line. He then made a flip pass to Timo Meier, who had a step on Brett Kulak. Meier finished it off with a pretty deke and tally.
“That was a really nice flip by him. I was making sure I was catching the puck first,” Meier said. “Solid play by him defensively. That’s where it starts, in the D zone. Stealing the puck and making the flip for me there.”
• The Devils played a smart and effective third period while protecting a 2-0 lead. They made smart decisions with the puck, didn’t force anything offensively, stacked back defensively and stayed above the Oilers through the neutral zone. It was textbook play against a dangerous offensive team like Edmonton, and it worked. The Devils sat back and waited for the Oilers to make a mistake. And when they did, Dawson Mercer and Timo Meier pounced for a goal to make it 3-0 halfway through the third period.
• The Devils had to survive an onslaught in the second period. The Oilers heavily tilted the ice in their favor and outshot New Jersey by a count of 11-3. However, despite the lopsided amount of shots, the Oilers didn’t necessarily generate a lot of high-quality scoring chances. The Devils were able to keep Edmonton mostly to the outside and thanks to their layering, were able to protect the goal crease. Their work in the D zone, coupled with a power-play goal at the other end, allowed the Devils to take a 2-0 lead into the second intermission.
“I thought we had a bend-don’t-break type of mentality throughout,” Keefe said. “The third period was our best period in terms of defending less, not much happening at our net and pressing and extending our lead.”
