Devils Postgame
Devils Postgame: Canadiens Top Devils; Analyzing Prospects and PTOs
Jake Allen and Nico Daws strong efforts in net weren’t enough to buoy the scoreless Devils who fell to the Canadiens 3-0.
The New Jersey Devils (0-2-0) — featuring mostly Utica Comets players — traveled north to play the Montreal Canadiens (2-0-0) in their second preseason matchup. The Canadiens dressed a more NHL-caliber lineup, deploying their top line of Cole Caufield, Nick Suzuki, and Juraj Slafkovsky, and it showed.
Devils Recap
The first period was quite even as the Devils and Habs ended the opening frame 9-8 in favor of New Jersey. Fast-forward to the second period, and the Canadiens took a 1-0 lead by the stick of Michael Pezzetta with over 17 minutes remaining in the middle frame. However, the second period would run out, and it wasn’t until 15:07 in the third period that a second goal was registered, this time by Nick Suzuki to double the Montreal lead. Pezzetta sealed the victory, scoring his second goal of the game by hitting the empty net.
Jake Allen registered six saves on seven shots, while Nico Daws stopped 10 of 11 pucks.
Devils Takeaways
Jake Allen & Nico Daws
Much like Jacob Markstrom two nights ago, Jake Allen appeared to be in mid-season form from the get-go in the Devils’ second preseason game. The Devils veteran goaltender made nine stops in the first period. However, a handful of those shots were high-danger chances that likely should have gone in the back of the net.
Allen made an especially strong save on Canadiens prospect Owen Back. The 20-year-old forward received a pass in the Devils’ zone while in the slot and, from between the hash marks, fired the rubber at Allen, who made an incredible pad save.
The 34-year-old goaltender was deployed in a game where there was plenty of inexperience in front of him, as opposed to the Canadiens who iced more NHLers than they didn’t. And if they weren’t NHLers, they were the Canadiens top prospects.
Regardless, Allen was sharp, aggressive, and showed some athleticism while helping keep it a one-goal game.
Coming in for Allen in relief midway through the second, Daws got off to a much better start than he did on Sunday. In fact, Daws looked equally as strong and aggressive as Allen did while fending off the attacking Canadiens. Perhaps it’s because they’re receiving the same message from the goaltending coaches, but Daws showed similar poise as Allen, making aggressive saves toward the top of his crease. There wasn’t much, if anything at all, to dislike about Allen and Daws on Tuesday.
Between Markstrom and Allen, the Devils will have quality goaltending on any given night. That’s a major upgrade from what they dealt with in the 2023-24 season.
Kevin Labanc
It was the first time Kevin Labanc pulled on a Devils sweater and played an actual game for the organization.
Labanc — who is playing on a PTO — is hoping to win a contract with the Devils based on his performance. Perhaps this wasn’t the game for him to showcase himself to the best of his abilities. After all, Paul Cotter, Curtis Lazar, and Nathan Bastian were the only NHL trio on the ice tonight.
As for Labanc, he skated next to Justin Dowling and Mike Hardman. That’s no slight to the aforementioned. Labanc just needs a chance to prove himself next to NHLers.
Regardless, Labanc was noticeable in plenty of instances against the Canadiens. When the Devils had the puck in the offensive zone, Labanc kept his feet moving and commanded the puck from his teammates. He might not have always received it, but the hunger to receive the pass was there.
And when he did have the puck, the 28-year-old didn’t hesitate to fire the puck at the Habs goaltender. At even strength, the Staten Island native was fine, but on the power play was where you really noticed Labanc, firing the puck toward the goaltender five times in the first 40 minutes.
Labanc likely needs a chance to play with the NHL roster to get a full assessment on what he is. However, in this game, there were certainly
Seamus Casey
Seamus Casey was fine in his first game in a Devils sweater. And that’s a good thing.
Casey quarterbacked the Devils’ second power play and played third pair minutes to Topias Vilen’s right during 5-on-5. At even strength, he displayed fine puck moving skills showcasing foot speed that is certainly NHL caliber. The 20-year-old walked the blue line well and found shooting lanes from the top of the zone and got pucks through to create scoring chances. I
n the other two zones, Casey’s active stick makes up for what he lacks in size. The former University of Michigan defenseman wasn’t afraid to utilize the body, but got plenty of sticks on pucks to negate rushes and scoring chances.
The good news is he didn’t look out of place. Casey has an uphill battle to make the roster this year, but you can see all the tools of an NHL puck-moving defenseman — and a strong one at that.
“I thought he played with a lot of confidence, played with his head up, played with intelligence,” Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe said. “I was happy with the way that he played here today. It was a good first game for him.”
For more Devils news, visit New Jersey Hockey Now and like our Facebook page.
Follow us on 𝕏:
@NJDHockeyNow, @JamesNicholsNHL, @NickNatale10