I have to say, in my 40 years as a Devils fan, I've seen better teams but I don't think I've seen one that was as likable or as much fun to watch as this one since maybe the 1999-2003 golden age.
A few notes:
1) Tomas Tatar has taken a lot of heat on these threads, but I have to say he's been phenomenal in recent games. Let's hope he keeps it up.
2) Thus far this season, there are only two names in the Selke Trophy race to me -- Patrice Bergeron and Nico Hischier. Nico's two-way game has been stunning to watch develop. He's an elite 200-foot center right now. Those who criticized the Devils 2017 #1 selection of him should check themselves -- right now Nico is a superior force to Heiskanen or Pettersson, and should only trail the great Cale Makar in a 2017 re-draft.
3) It's time to insert Bahl as the #6 D over Smith. I don't want to harp on the negative, but anyone who watched tonight's game should realize that Smith was sorely overmatched.
4) Speaking of line-up changes, I'd like to see Haula flipped with Sharangovich. Haula's all-around game has been quite solid indeed, but he just doesn't have the offensive chops to keep up with Hughes. Jack could have had 5 assists tonight, he was dominant. No knock on Haula, he's been a great worker bee, but I think he's better suited for the bottom 6.
5) Switching to Ottawa, this team has a bright future. Brady Tkachuk is already one of the best wingers in the NHL and Chabot is a bona fide top-pairing D, but I was more impressed tonight with the play of a trio of talented youngsters in Jake Sanderson, Tim Stutzle and Shane Pinto. All three of those kids have star potential and played like it tonight. I felt they were the best three players on the entire Ottawa team, and the Senators played an excellent and commendable game tonight.
