As someone that has gone all-in on getting Hall in the Hart Trophy conversation, I suppose I should have been a bit more careful in what I wished for. What the Devils have done - or more accurately, haven't done - throughout the last three games is give a performance enhancing shot in the ass to the relative value of their most dynamic player. What it's come at the expense of, however, is their once likely opportunity to play well into April. Taylor Hall hasn't just remained historically consistent* in providing offense during the most recent rendition of what's become a bipolar trend of giving themselves some breathing room only to almost immediately work themselves back into a situation where everyone's left holding their breath. He's been the offense, in a "give him the puck and pray it somehow ends up n the back of the net" sort of way that's only as oddly sustainable as their playoff spot if things don't change quickly. For a team that somewhat surprisingly chose to scoop some formidable forwards at the deadline, the soreness of their leading scorer's back tells a much different story of depth. Obviously it's a bit early to expect Michael Grabner and Pat Maroon to have achieved full comfortability in an unfamiliar system. But the rest of the lineup - sans #9 - has only made that transition period seem more tedious with an inability to seal the deal that compares favorably to your friend that's high on charisma and low on alcohol tolerance. It's not time to panic quite yet because - as hot and cold as they've run - they've still been a forgiving post or generous puck away from picking up points in tightly contested defeats. Still, timely goals should theoretically be harder to come by as they are about to face one of the more difficult schedules in the league down the stretch, and if they don't somehow make them happen then they'll end up on the outside looking in. Rebuild or not, there's no more excuses. No matter what the ill-informed might dwell on, Cory Schneider has kept up with the trend started by Keith Kinkaid and made more than enough saves to give this team a chance to win. The defense, for what it lacks in top-end talent, has done a decent job limiting opposing forwards. It's their own forwards, that are now as plentiful as ever, that need to get the job done if they don't want to leave a glaring hole in the resume of the player that serves as their heart and soul while letting their General Manager's faith go unfulfilled. Despite being sloppy at times, the Devils haven't necessary been bad throughout the last stretch of games. They have, however, been highly, highly dependent. I hate to say it, but if this Oscar-worthy one man show continues then the Hart Trophy is the only trophy that a Devils' player will maintain even the slimmest odds of getting his hands on, because it's going to require a team effort to ward off those fighting for their playoff spot. *If the concept of a jinx had legs then Taylor Hall would easily be able to slide the puck through them, but I'm still not writing about the streak until it's over out of superstition.
1 Comment
Paul K
3/5/2018 02:13:42 pm
Hall has been remarkable and the GM should take credit for acquiring but the GM should take the blame for lack of help. Vineterri for Henrique was a bad move. Adam would be providing stress relief for Hall.
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