Devils Postgame: Keefe Praises Effort; Power Play Clicks in 3-0 Shutout Over Utah HC

NEWARK — For the first time ever, the New Jersey Devils hosted the Utah Hockey Club at the Prudential Center.

And for the first time in their franchise history, the Utah HC suffered a loss and a shutout all in the same game. The Devils scored thrice, two times on the power play, which finally looked like a dangerous unit. At 5-on-5, the Devils were heavy on the puck all night.

Although Utah is the shiny new toy everyone is excited to play with, the Devils made what is a young, inexperienced team look like exactly that.

Here’s how it happend.

Devils Recap

Although it was a solid first period on both sides of the ice, the opening frame went scoreless.

It didn’t take long for the scoring to break open in the second, however. As the Devils’ go-to power play quarterback, Seamus Casey roofed the puck over the shoulder of Karel Vejmelka on the man advantage to give the Devils a 1-0 lead just over a minute into the second period. The Devils then doubled their lead, again with the help of Casey, as the 20-year-old defenseman’s shot created a rebound that Stefan Noesen tapped over the goal line to make it a 2-0 game.

In the third period, the Devils converted on the power play about halfway through the final frame, a goal by Nico Hischier to take a three-goal lead.

Jake Allen clamped it down from there, registering his second win. Allen is the first goaltender in NHL history to register a shutout against Utah.

Takeaways

Strong Start

The Devils had their strongest start to a game since they’ve returned from Prague, Czechia. Right from puck drop, the compete level and puck battles head coach Sheldon Keefe criticized previously certainly looked a lot better.

The opening frame ended with Utah owning the 6-5 shot differential, but it was the Devils who owned the scoring chance differential in the first period, out-chancing Utah 6-4. The Devils played fast, created scoring chances both at even strength and the power play, and the penalty kill continued it’s successful high-pressure approach.

Defensively, the Devils ensured clear sight lanes and cleared the crease for Allen, won the physical battle in front of him, were positionally sound, and showcased solid sticks to break up passing and shooting lanes. What was most evident about the defense was how they supported each other in layers. In most instances, no player was left uncovered, with line mates and defense pairs covering for each other.

“I think we survived a bit of a push from Utah in the first period there for a little bit,” Keefe explained. “We found our way through it and sort of adjusted to the game. It was a much different style of game than previous ones that we’ve played here since coming back from Prague. So we had to adjust a little bit to that. But I thought once we did, we were full marks for both our effort and the process and purpose and intelligence that we played with.”

High Pressure System

It was the one quality that separated the Devils from 2022-23 to 2023-24. Keefe’s system isn’t all that different from Lindy Ruff’s, nor should it be. The Devils’ core was built to be successful by scoring through the rush on skill plays. Then general manager Tom Fitzgerald made the necessary additions so that New Jersey could play the greasy game too.

That wasn’t all that easy last season. However, Keefe’s evidently been able to get the message through more transparently this season. Through all three zones on Monday, the Devils were heavy with pressure on the puck. In the defensive end, they forced Utah into turnovers. In the neutral zone, the forecheck was too much for Utah to handle, resulting in their struggle to get the puck deep in the Devils’ zone to make plays. And in Utah’s end of the ice, the Devils got the puck below the goal line, won their puck battles, and set up the rotation both on the man advantage and 5-on-5.

The message from day one of training camp was sprint at all costs. Sprint to the puck, sprint to your man, sprint to your spot on the ice.

That message was on full display Monday afternoon.

Special Teams

The Devils’ special teams, specifically the power play, did a complete 180 on Monday.

Previously, the power play was stagnant. There was very little player movement and as a result, the puck play suffered. In fact, the power play struggled to even get pucks cleanly through the neutral zone to set up in the offensive end.

It was a completely different story against Utah. The Devils had a bit of extra pep in their step on Monday. They won their faceoffs in the offensive zone to stay and set the puck up. And if they wound up outside the offensive end of the ice, they were able to return and set the cycle up well.

The thing about the Devils is their high-skill approach allows them to draw plenty of chances. Against Utah, they drew six. A goal from Casey and Hischier helped the Devils to convert on two of six chances.

The difference?

The Devils were more active by moving their feet, more crisp and decisive passes, and they opened up the shooting lanes.

“It was much better, much better all the way through in all three periods. We didn’t get rewarded for it early on, but I like how they stuck with it,” Keefe said.

For more Devils news, visit New Jersey Hockey Now, subscribe to our YouTube and like our Facebook page.

Follow us on 𝕏:

@NJDHockeyNow, @JamesNicholsNHL, @NickNatale10

And on Threads:

@JamesNicholsNHL