That was an excellent performance tonight, the whole team to a man was very good. The powerplay was cohesive, the team defence was there, and Bowns had a great game.
Martin, Cox and Sanford looked like they’d clicked tonight, they carved some beautiful chances for each other.
Crandall looked like he was firing and Batch looked a completely different player following his goal Wednesday. These two were clearly running short on confidence.
A mention though has to go to Riley Brandt. We all love his tenacity and the big hits, but that shift he put in for Davies’ goal was possibly his best in a Devils jersey…
He showed just how much more there is to his game and his hockey IQ is very high. His shift started in the offensive zone he dropped to the blue line when the d man pinched, and he prevented the puck leaving the zone as a result…
Then 15 seconds later he was in his own zone and he read the play beautifully to break up the Panthers offense down low. He could have line changed there but instead he drove with the puck, back into the Panthers zone, held off a player and made a superb pass for his line mate to score.
Classic example of playing not where the puck is but where it’s going to be.
Sign him to a 10 year deal please.