This is Maverick’s World, and the entire NHL lives in it. It is a world where every coach and player feels the need for speed, as if they are all competing to become Top Gun.
Look across the Hudson River. Once upon a time, the Devils were labeled as the NHL’s trap-happy, entertainment-killing antichrists, despite winning three Cups in nine years (1995-2003).
After decades as the poster team for the NHL’s Dead Puck Era, however, the tide has changed. Where once every club desired to be “Heavy,” the catchphrase for 2022-23 is “Fast.”
And no team better exemplifies the drastic transformation in style brought about by a young generation of great talent than the Devils. Their entire game is around speed, exerting pressure, and pushing and pushing and pushing.
In fact, they had amassed a 21-5-1 record before to Monday’s match at Madison Square Garden against a Rangers squad that likes to think of itself as a speedy squad, but has matured into a more methodical unit despite the presence of a number of elite wingers.
Chris Kreider told The Post, “It’s touch and go for us.” “We want to play quickly, and when we’re on, we are quick. We didn’t have many scorchers when I first arrived, but we played quickly because we were in the correct locations and knew where to drop the puck. It wasn’t simple hockey, but it was straightforward.
“Now, when we experience discontinuous stretches, we are sluggish. We desire to play at a quicker pace. But this requires poise.
“But what about this? How did it look tonight.”
After New Jersey had taken a 3-1 lead midway through the second period on a spectacular goal by Jack Hughes, the Rangers stifled the Devils’ speed game and turned it against them, recording possibly the club’s most satisfying victory of the season.
“There’s a fine line between opening it up too much and being too conservative against any opponent, but especially New Jersey,” Adam Fox told The Post after Filip Chytil’s goal at 2:15 of overtime capped the Blueshirts’ three-goal rally for the 4-3 victory that extended the club’s winning streak to four games.
“We want to slow them down while matching their velocity, if that makes sense. Simply stating that you wish to “play quickly” is arbitrary. We want to play the game properly.”
Natural Factor Inferred from the official NHL game sheets, Trick records rush attempts. The numbers are probably not absolute. However, as is the case with all publicly accessible analytical calculations, they accurately depict trends.
The Devils entered the Garden with seven of the top 26 players in the NHL in terms of rush attempts, with Miles Wood and Erik Karlsson tied for the lead with 17 each. Ryan Graves, a defender, ranked third with 14 points.
In New Jersey’s first 27 games, Yegor Sharangovich (12), Jack Hughes (11), Nico Hischier (9), Dougie Hamilton (9) and Jonie Siegenthaler each had nine or more rush attempts (9).
Chris Kreider and Vincent Trocheck shared the Rangers lead at the time. With four per person.
The Devils’ 149 rushing attempts are nearly off the charts, 19.9 percent more than the second-place team in the Eastern Conference, Tampa Bay’s 122. Florida ranks third with 58 points.
This is comparable to the American League home run race, with the Devils serving as Aaron Judge.
And such was the theme of the first half of this game, in which New Jersey twice maintained a two-goal lead while racing away from its opponent. And 1:45 after Hughes scored the 3-1 goal after getting behind Alexis Lafreniere, No. 86 was again in alone before being brought down by Braden Schneider. On the subsequent penalty shot, though, Igor Shesterkin deflected the puck away from Hughes, and the tide of the game turned irreversibly.
Late in the first period, Kreider scored on a two-on-one by converting Vincent Trocheck’s assist from the left wing to trim New Jersey’s lead to 2-1. Nine minutes earlier, Kreider had failed to get his own two-on-one feed through to Julien Gauthier. The Rangers gained access to open ice.
Seven seconds after the power play scored the tying goal at 13:38 of the second period, K’Andre Miller set up Kaapo Kakko with a beautiful pass after joining — or was it leading? — the rush off the center-ice faceoff. This was an attack by the Rangers. This was the Rangers attempting to rush the ball.
Obviously, the Blueshirts must manage the puck with discipline. But Monday’s final thirty minutes should serve as a model. It is acceptable to be systematic, but the Blueshirts frequently go too far. Nobody pays Artemi Panarin or Mika Zibanejad to chip the puck into safe areas.
Monday, the Rangers slowed down the Devils and increased their own pace. Perhaps New Jersey fell prey to a trap.
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