^{Daniil But scores his first, but Utah can’t get another and fall to the Devils 2-1 at home}

Daniil But, take a bow. They stole it from you in Vancouver, but there was no taking this one away.

Alexander Kerfoot, take a bow. You’ve been missed significantly, and we are so glad you’re back.

With that out of the way…
The Devils, who have struggled mightily lately, and who are missing a slew of top stars, limped into the Delta Center tonight for a Utah Mammoth team that just got one of their key pieces back. Welcome back Alex Kerfoot. I knew you’d be back this homestand (I am the IR whisperer I swear…)

FIRST PERIOD:
The Mammoth started the game off sloppy, with the first line unable to control a puck for an early shot. The Devils, however, started out extremely strong. Jasper Bratt got a feed in the slot with a good look, but was blocked by Sean Durzi. The collected rebound ended up on net, where Dawson Mercer took a shot, then a second on a prone Karel Vejmelka. Thankfully for the Mammoth, Mercer was unable to get it past and the game remained scoreless after 90 seconds. Mercer, on the following face-off again had a quality chance stopped in tight – 2 dangerous scoring chances given up in a matter of 15 seconds to one of the few remaining Devils scoring threats.

The teams played a game of board battles, turnovers, and dump and retrieve for the next several minutes. Durzi was able to get Utah’s first shot about 3 minutes in, testing Jacob Markstrom from range, and was easily kicked aside. Utah skated with some pressure but no real shot attempts – a try from Clayton Keller went wide, but that was the extent of their push as New Jersey was able to ice the puck.

Utah got a shot over the net by Nate Schmidt then again by Schmidt, tipped by John Marino and just missing. Daniil But nearly got his first goal of the game… wait for it… but was robbed by Markstrom in front. A give and go between Jack McBain, Michael Carcone, and But saw the young Russian in the slot, but a sliding Markstrom got to him in time.

At the 12 minute mark, Dougie Hamilton got called for tripping, putting Utah on the power play. As mentioned in the pre-game, the Devils penalty kill has been just barely above 50% this month, giving Utah a great chance to strike early.

The first unit didn’t get a lot of opportunity, as multiple attempts were blocked by Devils players. After Mikhail Sergachev was taken down after chasing a cleared puck, the lines changed – eventually, as Sergachev argued about a call for a moment – and the PP2 unit came on. Durzi held a clearing attempt at the point, and he passed to the slot to a cutting Daniil But. But, crossing the slot, went backhand back across Markstrom’s body, beating him bar-down high glove side. It was a thing of Buty… er beauty. After being denied in Vancouver, after being robbed earlier today, But has his first of his career in the NHL. Good on you, kid. 1-0 Utah

What beats getting your first goal? Getting a penalty on your next shift. In what would become an insane parade of sloppiness, the Mammoth would go on their first penalty kill after a trip by But. The first minute of the PK went splendidly. One shot on net, but easily saved, and then Utah looked to have a great opportunity to pad the lead when Schmidt cross checked Luke Hughes at the blue line. A VERY late whistle penalized the Mammoth again, putting them down 5 on 3.

That call, by the way, doesn’t happen if there’s no breakaway chance there. Once the ref realized that there was a scoring chance because of it, that call was made. Had there not been a breakaway chance there, good chance Utah would have just stayed 5 on 4.

5 on 3 saw two immediate clears, a blocked shot, and all of a sudden the first penalty to But was over. However, Vejmelka was forced to make two quick saves on Nico Hischier in tight to draw the whistle. Utah didn’t allow another shot on the PK – or the following 3 minutes – keeping the Devils at bay.

Following the penalty kill, the Mammoth pushed and Barrett Hayton had about 3 chances on the same shift. A tip missed wide, and then the puck came to him deep in the slot. He tried to beat Markstrom twice – but just like Vejmelka did to the Devils in the opening minute, the Jersey netminder from a prone position as able to keep the score close.

The final 5 minutes were slow and methodical, with neither team gaining much of an advantage, and also not giving up too much space in return. End of 1.

New Jersey led the shot 9-7 at the break.

SECOND PERIOD:
Utah’s second periods are generally bad. If I told you they outshot New Jersey 18 – 6 in the second period, you’d expect them to have a significant advantage and to have padded the lead. You would be wrong.

In the opening 90 seconds, Hayton got whistled for high-sticking Hischier, putting Utah back on the PK for the third time in the game. The PK again let up one shot, and got one of their own from a clapper from the blue line by Nick Schmaltz after a defensive zone steal, but the penalty expired harmlessly and the Mammoth went 3-3 on the kill.

Utah got a power play after Angus Crookshank got rocked by Nick DeSimone. The retaliation after a clean play got called, and the Mammoth looked to double their lead. Guenther was able to walk in on Markstrom early in the power play, but his shot was saved and deflected out of play.

The Devils had a short handed chance, but Sergachev made a nice play to keep them honest. Durzi, towards the end of the power play, had a great shot that hit Markstrom and bounced up. Lawson Crouse attempted to knock the rebound home, but the puck was snatched out of the air. Crouse had one last quick trigger shot right off the won face-off, and the rest of the power play ended uneventfully.

Crouse got whistled for high sticking about a minute after the last power play, and 3 of the Devils shots for the period happened during this power play. Vejmelka stood tall for each of the attempts, and the 4th penalty kill – in 30 minutes – again was spotless. For the record, that’s 8 our of 30 minutes that Utah was playing shorthanded.

At the 10 minute mark, Crouse got freed from the box, and nearly got a full breakaway. He ripped a shot that Markstrom was able to track, and a distance shot by DeSimone wasn’t able to find the traffic needed for the follow up.

Then, disaster for the Mammoth. On the Devils 6th, and last shot, they were able to get the equalizer. With just under 9 minutes left in the period, the Devils got the puck deep behind Utah’s net. Durzi, momentarily, had the puck but lost it to Hischier. Hischier got the puck centered to Connor Brown, who went short side, beating Vejmelka and tying the game. 1-1 Tied

From here, Utah had the next 11 attempts. This included a 3 on 2 that saw Crouse get stopped, McBain was stopped at the side of the slot and again trying to slide a rebound in from close, and most of the Utah shots were routine saves – no deflections in front or any plays that forced lateral movement by Markstrom.

Utah did get their third power play at the end of the period when Brenden Dillon hooked Kerfoot. However, with 30 seconds in the period, Utah had no pressure or attempts, and the power play would carry over to the third.

Shots in the period – 18 – 6 for Utah and a 25 – 15 advantage for the game.

THIRD PERIOD:
The third power play for Utah was ineffective, without a shot. The best chance came after the 18 minute mark, when Liam O’Brien centered a pass from behind the net to Kevin Stenlund, who missed his shot on net.

Utah tempted fate again, drawing their 5th penalty of the night, as Sergachev tripped Bratt at the defensive blue line. After the 5th try, the Devils finally capitalized when Stefan Noesen got behind Durzi at the net, then deflected a point shot into Vejmelka to force a rebound, then pounced on it to beat Veggie for the 2-1 lead. 2-1 Devils

The Devils then played their style of hockey, bend but don’t break and don’t give up any quality chances. They took 3 or 4 more shots all period. Utah played along, not getting any quality chances for most of the rest of the game, throwing a single shot out before getting cleared. There was no cohesion, no sustained pressure or multiple attempts, just a lot of one and done.

Game was played very basic from the power play goal to the end, and while I wish there were more details to it all, that’s actually about the best I can give you.

Utah got a late power play, running 6 on 4, but was unable to capitalize, and they lose at home 2-1 to a massively depleted Devils squad.

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3 GOALS (THE GOOD):

Butylicious How happy did it make you to see But’s face? He screamed like a little kid after scoring – like a pee-wee player getting his first goal in front of his mom. But, this pee-wee player is a gigantic monster with immense talent.

It’s a damn shame that he wasn’t up with the big club from opening night. With as much size, skill, and intensity as he plays with, he could have been a major difference between a mediocre November and the one we got.

The Right Foot Alexander Kerfoot got back into the swing of things almost immediately. While Kerfoot didn’t contribute on the scoreboard, his presence really helped provide some solid footing for the 4th line. With Stenlund having difficulties at the face-off dot for a few weeks now, and with the lack of scoring from Stenlund and O’Brien on the 4th line, Kerfoot offers Utah a good option for offense, while giving a chance to spell Stenlund as a 4C, PKer, and all purpose player as needed.

Kerfoot may not be captain, but having his experience and his calm demeanor on the sideline is going to be massive for the team moving forward.

Driven Michael Carcone is one of three players that have no quit in them. The other two (right now) are Daniil But and Kailer Yamamoto. Carcone continues to impress, using his small frame to lay hits, fight for pucks along the boards, and generally cause a ruckus.

He’s good for 13 minutes a game, playing on a line with But and both seem to feed off each other. Impressively, Carcone is costing Utah just $775,000 – league minimum – and is outplaying guys making 5 times as much as he is.

Carcone last year left a bad taste in people’s mouths when he said he wanted a bigger role. Now, he has it, and it’s making good use of it. It’s time to look at giving him a shot at a multiyear deal and keep him in the fold. He’s small, but he’s playing well above his size and has been all year.

3 CHIRPS (THE BAD):

Time out I said in the preview that the Mammoth should be able to win a special teams battle if they were able to draw penalties from the Devils. With just a 50% PK rate to face, and with a PK of their own pushing close to 90%, the Mammoth had a clear edge.

What happened, though, was that edge got thrown away by spending 10 minutes – one half of a period, shorthanded. Sure, the Devils power play is 12%. Sure your PK is like 89%. Give enough tries, though, and a team will score. Your PKers shouldn’t be your top list of time on ice…

Alternatively, the Mammoth couldn’t get more than 1 goal against the worst PK in the league. Sure, they were able to get one by. That’s great! But when you have a 6 on 4 at the end of the game that you’re down 1 on, and you get 2 shots and that’s all? That’s just putrid.

Caveman Utah has a few people that would make great cavemen. One of them, Liam O’Brien, already looks the part. He also plays the part a bit – he’s got hands of stone. What he was supposed to do, though, was use his body as a weapon, laying hits and blocks and bringing energy to the team.

Well, people say “He’s adding energy” as justification for O’Brien being in the lineup. That’s great, but there’s no stats for energy. There’s stats for fights, hits, and blocks though.

In his last 5 games, O’Brien has 3 shots, 1 assist somehow, 8 hits and 2 blocks.

Know who else has 2 blocks in that time? But, Guenther, Keller, McBain, Schmaltz, Stenlund, and everyone on defense. Yes, Stenny and McBain play on the PK so blocks are going to be expected there, but Keller? Gunner? These are top line players sacrificing the body.

3 shots? Kerfoot and Yamamoto have fewer, and neither has 5 games like LOB does. DeSimone at 2 games has 4 shots. And don’t get me started, either, on O’Brien. Career wise, he’s a 6% shooter. He’s above that this year because he got a puck from a goaltender who was behind his own net. And he got credited for a shot when a pass got kicked in from 3 feet out. Neither of those were shots, neither required skill beyond “don’t fall when you push this puck somewhere”.

8 hits in 5 games is more than most of the team. The “more” is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that sentence. It’s a difference of his 3rd position of 8 hits, followed by 6 hits from Carcone – aforementioned world-beater, and 5 from Yamamoto in fewer games.

The last time there was an incident – Stenlund getting hit high by Vegas – O’Brien didn’t answer the bell. Brandon Tanev did. When he has fought this year, he’s been dummied by Ross Johnston and Ryan Lomberg.

What’s his role anyway?

Stone Headed or Bear headed perhaps is a better phrase. I just outlined Liam O’Brien and what he doesn’t bring to the team. But you know what happens? Liam takes a spot anyway. The person sitting for him? Kailer Yamamoto.

Yamamoto’s last 5 games saw a goal and an assist – that goal was “assisted” by a Liam O’Brien missed shot. He shoots more, and he’s scoring at a 20% shooting pace – above his average of 14%. That’s 3x what O’Brien historically has.

Yamamoto can fill in on the power play if and as needed. Yamamoto – with more playing time – has had a number of game winning goals (and he would have had one against the Kraken had we not given up a garbage goal with 30 seconds left).

Hits? 5 to O’Brien’s 8. Yamamoto is 4 inches shorter and 35 pounds lighter than O’Brien, and he’s putting up similar physicality numbers.

Most importantly, on a 4th line that sees Kevin Stenlund scoring 2 goals since November 1st, your options are Liam O’Brien and his 1 goal (2 points) in that time frame, or Yamamoto and his 4 goals (8 points) as options to add alongside Kerfoot.

It absolutely baffles me that Yamamoto – with his push for play, his aggressiveness, his physicality, and his scoring touch – is less deserving a roster spot than an enforcer that can’t enforce, a defensive specialist that doesn’t really defend. Absolutely ludicrous.

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Next up:

Back on Sunday to face the Jets…