Devils' Newcomers Shine in Opening Night Win | GAME STORY

PRAGUE, Czechia - The Devils made a lot of personnel changes in the off-season. And those changes had an immediate return on investment for the club.

In the opening game of the 2024-25 season – played at Prague’s O2 Arena as part of the Global Series against Buffalo – it was the new guys that were the biggest contributors to a 4-1 Devils victory Friday evening.

• Newcomer Jacob Markstrom held down the fort in goal, which included making possibly the “save of the year” in the first period.
• Newcomer Johnathan Kovacevic scored a goal and added an assist.
• “Newcomer” Stefan Noesen (technically a returning newcomer) scored the first goal of the season to get the Devils off and running.
• Finally, newcomer Paul Cotter scored the game-clinching empty-net goal while adding an assist for a two-point night.

Captain Nico Hischer added the other Devils goal (assisted by Cotter).

Owen Power scored the lone Sabres goal.

Here are some observations from the game:

• New Devils head coach shared his major points of emphasis for how he wants his Devils team to play. Fast. Physical. Strong forecheck. Crash the net. One game into his tenure and check, check, check, check.

The Devils were everything Keefe wanted to see. They played with speed, creating several odd-man rushes and three breakaway opportunities. They played physical in both ends. The Devils forecheck resulted directly in a goal. And the team’s net-front presence was demonstrated on two other goals.

It’s only one game, but the coach was happy to see what he saw.

• The game marked the debut of new Devils goaltender Jacob Markstrom. He was by far the biggest off-season acquisition by general manager Tom Fitzgerald. And in his first showing in the Black and Red, Markstrom did not disappoint.

It was late in the first period that Markstrom recorded his first (of many) highlight reel save for the Devils. The 6-foot-6 Swede moved to his left inside the crease to stop a shot from the point. But the puck was deflected to his right and ricocheted off the end boards. The puck rolled right to the sick of Nicolas Aube-Kubel at the crease. He had a wide-open net since Markstrom had vacated the space on the initial shot. Aube-Kubel tapped the puck toward the goal, but Markstrom reached behind himself with his stick and got his paddle on the puck to deny the goal. Great adjustment by Markstrom on the re-directed shot and better reflexes on the follow-up shot. It was an elite read, adjustment and execution.

“It’s just desperation. I got lucky and it hit my stick,” Markstrom said. “It’s a good time to get lucky.”

• Beyond the outrageousness of the save, it was also a crucial save in its timeliness. The Devils had a 2-0 lead and there were three minutes left in the first period. A goal for Buffalo on that shot and it’s a 2-1 game and Sabres have all the momentum. Instead, Hischier scores in the second period and it’s a 3-0 game for the Devils. One save like that at the right time can be the biggest difference in a game.

• One area of the Devils game that new coach Sheldon Keefe wants to see is a tenacious and swarming forecheck. The initial roots of his efforts were visible in the game.

The Devils opened the scoring for the game thanks to a heavy forecheck. The puck was in the corner of the Sabres zone when Ondrej Palat threw a big check. That was followed by Noesen delivering a big blow. The puck made its way around to the other corner and Buffalo’s Mattias Samuelsson committed a turnover along the wall, missing on his pass and delivering the puck right to the stick of Johnathan Kovacevic. He pushed the puck ahead to Noesen, who was all alone at the near dot. And Noesen went far side, top corner for the tally.

• It was also quite the debut for defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic. He picked up his first goal, assist and two-point game for the Devils. He helped setup the Devils’ opening goal (Noesen) with a pass from along the wall. And then he tallied the Devils’ second goal with a shot from the point that deflected off of a Sabre and into the net. Plus, he was throwing around the weight of his 6-foot-5, 223-pound frame. And late in the third period he cleared a loose puck from the crease to prevent an easy goal for Buffalo.

• Devils captain Nico Hischier recorded his first goal of the season thanks to an emphasis by the Devils coaching staff to put any and all pucks on net. On the sequence, Paul Cotter received a pass at the blue line. He was under heavy pressure and had no outlet passes available. So, he just threw the puck at the net. Goaltender Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made the save. Nathan Bastian was crashing the net and he threw the rebound right back at the net. Another save, but the rebound jetted up the slot to Hischier above the circles. He quickly put the puck into a vacant space of netting.

• Rookie defenseman Seamus Casey made his NHL debut in the game. The 20-year-old got to enjoy his solo rookie lap for warmups and handle himself extremely well in the contest. His smooth skating was evident throughout and he didn’t seem overwhelmed by the moment.

“I was thinking about (the rookie lap) more than the game,” he joked. “It was super exciting just getting out there. It all hits you. After that just try to win the game and have fun.”

• The Devils used defenseman Dougie Hamilton on the PK unit. Hamilton is more accustomed to running the club’s top power-play unit. But adding some PK work to his repertoire. With his size (6-6, 230), stick reach and intelligence, Hamilton has the potential to be a pretty effective PKer. He just needs to get in the reps.