Devils Locker Room: Dillon Addresses Bunting Cheap Shots; Noesen ‘Saw Red’

NEWARK—The New Jersey Devils are in a groove. In the month of December, they’re 6-2-1, and although they’re not a perfect team, they’re certainly proving to be among the NHLs best. On Saturday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Devils continued to prove their worth. It was another game in which they figured out a way to win and take two points off the table, even if they weren’t at their best. And after a physical, in-division rivalry tilt, the Devils recognized some high emotions in the first of four meetings with the Penguins this season.

READ: 3 Thoughts: Devils Smother Penguins; Ground & Pound; Greasy Goals

Sidney Crosby had plenty of second-hand praise from the Devils heading into his first game against them this season. Leading up to puck drop, the future Hall of Famer explained he hadn’t gotten a first-hand look at the Devils yet. However, from what he can see, they have all the makings of a top team in the NHL, one that could go deep in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Then, Crosby had to actually play against the Devils, and get this. 10/21 in the faceoff dot? That’s a 47.6% win rate, which is well below his career 53.3% average. One shot on goal? And zero points to boot? We’re talking about a hockey Mount Rushmore type player here.

The Devils absolutely smothered the Penguins defensively. It’s kind of their new thing this year under the new tutelage of head coach Sheldon Keefe.

Jacob Markstrom is certainly enjoying it, needing to just make 12 saves in his second shutout of the year on Saturday.

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However, another new component for the Devils this season is their physicality. General manager Tom Fitzgerald went into this summer with a few goals in mind, one of them bringing in players who can play with an edge. Enter Brenden Dillon, Stefan Noesen, Paul Cotter, among others, and suddenly the Devils aren’t a team to be trifled with.

Amid their 3-0 victory over the Penguins on Saturday, Michael Bunting was certainly playing instigator all night. When push came to shove, Dillon was in the mix with the Penguins forward every time.

Brenden Dillon

Michael Bunting is an agitator, and he got his cheap shots in on Saturday early and often.

Certainly, there was an instance or two when Bunting ignored Dillon’s request to drop the mitts.

In the first period, Bunting became tied up with Dillon along the boards, and the Penguins forward took it upon himself to give the Devils defenseman an extra dig and skate off to the Pittsburgh bench. Dillon tried to get Bunting’s attention with his stick to settle the score. However, Bunting made it abundantly clear he was purposely ignoring Dillon’s attempt at retaliation.

That was until Dillon and Bunting met again in the second period. Once again, the Penguins forward was playing agitator, taking liberties between whistles. This time, Bunting found himself in a vulnerable position, laying with his back on the ice and looking to the ceiling.

Dillon didn’t hesitate to step over him and attempted to lure him into dropping the gloves. Bunting, again, denied the Devils defenseman and skated away.

Certainly, Bunting was trying to play coy, which Dillon recognized was the case. In the same breath, the Devils’ defenseman also knew he couldn’t leave his team shorthanded.

“I was just trying to be physical on him. I think that’s his kind of game, right? He wants to get in, kind of create something, stir the pot a little bit,” Dillon explained to New Jersey Hockey Now. “I thought we did a great job without taking a dumb penalty or doing something like that to put them on the power play. And you know, that’s how myself, that’s how our team, we just got to play those guys hard and physical and hopefully get results like that.”

Bunting wound up mixing it up by the end of Saturday night’s game. However, it wasn’t with Dillon. Instead, he and Jonas Siegenthaler got into a shoving match that led to the Devils’ defenseman taking Bunting down to the ice.

Dillon chuckled about the exchange and explained, “I haven’t talked to him about it yet, but we’ll watch the tape back.”

Stefan Noesen

Dillon wasn’t the only Devil mixing it up with the Penguins on Saturday.

This is the kind of environment Stefan Noesen thrives in. Again, it’s part of the reason Fitzgerald brought him back to New Jersey. The Devils want to be a tougher team to play against, and Noesen brings all the elements.

One of the things Noesen does best is create havoc at the top of the oppositions crease. He did that when he scored the opening goal in Saturday night’s game, as well as on Nico Hischier’s goal when he battled with Penguins defenseman Ryan Shea for net-front presence.

Except, it wasn’t just a regular, “box out the body for position,” type of physicality. This was physicality with intent to inflict pain.

Well, as Noesen and Shea battled at the top of Tristan Jarry’s crease, Hischier cashed in on the distraction, to which Noesen screamed in Shea’s face.

“I saw red, I don’t know what happened. We were just going toe to toe there,” Noesen said. “And I actually thought I was about to fight. Whatever, the goal went in. I was a little surprised. I don’t know… if you saw some choice words out of my mouth, yeah, that was directed at one person in particular.”

Sheldon Keefe

As the former head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, physicality wasn’t prioritized in Sheldon Keefe‘s previous coaching job.

However, the Devils’ GM ensured New Jersey would be tougher this season, and it’s worked thus far.

36 games into the regular season, Keefe explained his team is happy to match that style of play when necessary, and he’s not putting the handcuffs on anyone.

“I don’t question our team when it comes to [physicality]. Our guys have a lot of competitiveness and are comfortable in that situation,” Keefe explained. “[Tom Fitzgerald] has given our group and given me lots of different guys that can handle different situations as we just went through. And also, we’re ready and able to compete in any environment.”

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