Young Devils growing into juggernaut
AWORD to the wise and all of our other readers, too: Measuring sticks this time of year come in the shape of candy canes.
But my goodness, did the Devils’ riveting 4-3 shootout victory over the Rangers at the Rock on Thursday ever come in the form of an exclamation point.
This was no Christmas fable, Virginia. Brian Boyle did score both the third-period tying goal and the skillscompetition decider against an otherwise spectacular Henrik Lundqvist in this Battle of the Hudson that harkened back to days of yore.
“This was something else … and in a Game 34 in December,” said Boyle, the proud 33-year-old who went to back-to-back Cup finals with the Rangers in 2014 and the Lightning in 2015 and, therefore, knows of what he speaks when it comes to placing things in perspective. “There was a lot of buzz around this game for a couple of days in our room, and I thought we embraced it pretty well.
“It was a ton of fun to play this game. And the emotion from a win like this stays with you and carries over.”
If not for Lundqvist, under siege for nearly all of the first 40 minutes in which the Devils generated 38 shots on net that included at least a dozen glorious chances, the Blueshirts would have been blown into the nearby confluence of the Passaic and Hackensack rivers. The Devils were irrepressible. They created havoc in the New York end and came through the neutral zone in electric waves that rode back to the top of the Metro Division.
“We’re out to prove we’re legit,” Boyle said after the club’s third straight victory. “We have to prove that every night.”
The winter grind in which the challenge gets steeper lays ahead of the NHL. Impressions created now still can be washed away like ankle-high slush. Still, with this imposing performance, the Devils reignited this rivalry that had gone about as stale as week-old loaf of marble rye.
We talk about models for success all the time, talk about building through the draft and winning with a cadre of homegrown players working under affordable entry-level contracts. That is not the model followed by Ray Shero, who replaced Lou Lamoriello following 2014-15 and proceeded on a road not so often traveled by NHL club executives.
The overhaul has been as quick as dramatic. This is not a retool on the fly. Rather, it is destruction followed by reconstruction. Only five current Devils — goaltenders Cory Schneider and Keith Kinkaid; defensemen Andy Green and Damon Severson; and center Travis Zajac — are carryovers from the Lamoriello regime. Same old, same old it isn’t in New Jersey.
Only eight current Devils have come through the draft pipeline, including of course, this year’s stunning first-overall pick Nico Hischier. Seven Devils were acquired in trades, including Schneider, obtained from Vancouver for the eighth-overall pick in 2013 in Lamoriello’s last blockbuster. And eight came to New Jersey of their own volition in free agency.
That, of course, includes Boyle, whose inspirational daily battle against leukemia has, on a micro-level, become secondary to his work on the ice, where he has established a competitive template for his young and hungry teammates. He has scored four goals the past five games and nine overall.
“I think he’s relishing this role and opportunity,” said Schneider, who elevated his game in overtime following a so-so regulation. “He’s a player, he’s scoring big goals. We’ll ride it as long as we can.”
Taylor Hall, who came to New Jersey from Edmonton in exchange for Adam Larsson prior to last season, is the best player in the NHL who has never played in the playoffs. It’s been seven full years for the 2010 firstoverall pick, and if there is any justice in this world, this motivated, skilled, fleet winger will get to play on the big stage this spring. “He cares,” Boyle said. “He cares.” Hall and linemates Hischier and Kyle Palmieri were dominant throughout in establishing a breakneck tempo. Their teammates followed. And Boyle finished it off.
“We’re not really a young team, but we’ve got a lot of young guys playing big roles,” said No. 11. “Everybody wants to pull the rope. There’s maturity and understanding. And we’re getting better and better and better.”