The Ottawa Senators and New Jersey Devils met for the second time this season yesterday at Prudential Center. The Senators earned a big 2-1 win and jumped into the first Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference after the game.
Confidence is high for the Senators as they are 5-0-1 in their last six games and 24-18-4 on the season. The same can't be said right now for the Devils. Over the past 11 games, the Devils are 2-5-4.
The Senators earning a big road win against a top three team in the Metropolitan Division is showing the team is earning more confidence. In particular from yesterday, the Senators shut down the Devils top players on offense. That led to Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe ripping his team after the game.
Keefe says his best players need to be better
"Our best players have to be better," Keefe said after yesterday's loss to the Senators. "It's that simple. End of statement."
The Devils have skilled offensive players on their team. Jack Hughes leads the Devils with 55 points and is tied with Jesper Bratt with the most assists on the team with 37. Bratt has 52 points this season to complement Hughes.
Nico Hischier leads the Devils with 22 goals and Stefan Noesen has been a big surprise for the Devils this season by scoring a career-high 17 goals this season. Timo Meier also has 31 points this season.
Against the Senators on Sunday, all five of them went pointless. The only goal the Devils scored in the game came from Tomas Tatar.
It could sound shocking to some, but in the first Senators-Devils game this season on Oct. 17, four of those five players went pointless. Meier recorded an assist in the first meeting, but that was it in the Devils' 3-1 win.
Anton Forsberg and the Senators defense shut down the Devils yesterday. After allowing 16 shots on goal in the first period, the Devils recorded 10 shots for the remainder of the game. In the third period, the Devils only recorded three shots on goal. An impressive performance by the Senators against an offense heavily relied on Hughes, Bratt, Hischier, Noesen and Meier.
Yesterday's game showed the Senators defense is improving. A game like yesterday was needed after the Boston Bruins scored five goals against the Senators on Saturday.
Tomorrow night, the Senators face another talented offense in the New York Rangers led by Artemi Panarin, Adam Fox, Vincent Trochek, Mika Zibanejad, Alexis Lafrieniere and Chris Kreider. Game time for tomorrow at Madison Square Garden is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.