Thoughts on the game:
First, there are THIRTY pages on the Devils GDT from last night, and about 30 COMMENTS here . . .
Tsyplakov is the real deal. The early turnover did not cause him to lose confidence, and for the rest of the game, he was our best player. He was terrific at puck retrieval and using his body to maintain possession. If he plays with Nelson and Palms, I could see a lot of assists, as he is a much better version of what they asked Engvall to do with those two. If he plays with Barzal/Horvat, I could see him being more of a net-front presence.
Right now, I can see:
Duclair - Barzal - Horvat (no particular position-labeling)
Tsyp - Nelson - Palms
Lee - JGP - Holms
Maclean/Foudy - Casey - Engvall
For once, we have a number of players who would not clear waivers, which means that we might see one surprise trade before the season starts.
Bolduc has clearly sped up his decision-making and looks like he is firmly an NHL-er.
Jeffries and Maggio need to put on a lot more muscle, but for a first game against a number of NJ regulars, they looked promising. Thiesing can rip it. Might be nice to keep those 3 together at Bridgeport.
Pelech looks like he's tired of being cheap-shotted over the years and now has decided it's better to give than receive.
Hogberg should be a serviceable 3rd-string goalie.
The rest was pretty much in line with what to expect.