Playoff 1/4 Final 1st Leg Post Game Review vs Stars

Score After One Leg; 4:2. Devils

It was an eagerly anticipated game that officially marked the end of the 23/24 season on home ice for the Devils and it was a game that lived up to its expectations.

Brine started in net and managed to keep his team as close as possible to their hosts, whilst his skaters in front of him frustrated the good guys and came to play.

The game also saw the anticipated return of forwards Tyler Busch and Cole Ully and they didn’t disappoint their fans.

Here are some key takeaways from the 2024 playoff quarter final first leg;

Busch Comes Up Big

Tyler Busch was missing for quite some time prior to this game, with many wondering if his season was effectively done, however little information came out regarding injury and if it would be long term.

He got on the board early in the second frame, by guiding an errant puck through Brine during a phase of chaos in front of the Stars net, that restored a slender lead over their visitors, who had just equalised seconds before.

He added a second in the start of the last frame, which put him on a hatty watch for the rest of the game. It was clear he was determined to remind the entire organisation he has a role to play here, as he played direct, won the majority of his face offs and was a menace around the boards.

He has a great level of support around the fanbase, so with his brace of goals, he really helped his own cause for a potential second season if it would be presented, at least at this stage anyway.

Ully Returns, Shines Bright

Along with Busch, Cole Ully made his much anticipated return, as it has been consistently reported he was expected to return much earlier. Caution favoured the brave in this decision, as he linked up on both goals for fellow returnee Busch, earning primary and secondary assists, adding to his already stellar portfolio this season.

He was greatly missed in the closing part of regular season, with his sharp skills, smooth hands and skating and at times dazzled through the Stars. There was some rust to his game though, so maybe the extended wait was slightly overcooked there, however, now is the time to have as strong a squad as possible, much to the delight of everyone involved.

Special Teams, Specialised

The chances to utilise the special teams didn’t arrive until midway through the initial period, where there was some questionable calls made, on balance either way to be fair to the officials. It was slightly chippy, but nothing to the levels of the last few meetings between these teams.

Dundee came to play and play they did. There was just 4 penalties each in this game, with both PK’s, while similar in success, working very well, with the only breakthrough in the second period from a Bode Wilde clapper through Brine. And oh it was so fine.

This was the exclamation on the hard work and effort the team put in against a very determined team who played with a lot of respect and pride from their very well travelled group of fans.

Depth Guys Bringing The Goods

The game was run was really well bench wise and the main criticism of this team over the season was that there wasn’t enough four line hockey played.

The opening goal proved that. Yes, this line went out and brought the energy, as it is supposed to do. Either making the hits, creating turnovers, capitalising on give aways or simply trying to draw penalties (at times this went against them).

The first goal was sublime, with all three forwards getting some reward from a deft Duggan goal to get the game underway, after a very cagey, embattled start to the first period for them.

It arrived following a phase of end to end play which saw some iron being pinged both ways, to a nifty breakaway which Davies carried across the NZ to send a shot on Brine, which allowed a tap in rebound from an unmarked Duggan. As fine a goal anyone could score to kick off their playoff run.

Of this line, in part due to Sanford taking a knock early on, Brandt was utilised across the bench, finding the puck, players and lets say, victims, on each shift. This helped to steady the cagey atmosphere on the ice and build the teams confidence going forward.

Brandt, Davies and Duggan not only generated offensively, they also blocked a number of shots, helping out their captain in this department massively and of course, stemming a flow of offense against their goalie. Each one of this line being defensively responsible. This became the key difference of the game.

Off The Draw and Into The Fire

As mentioned earlier, Stars came to play. They put up just as many shots, 57:56 respectively and both goalies produced some great saves along the way.

Both teams made their chances count and at times, Stars controlled the game as much as their hosts did.

The one area that was definitively dominated was on the face offs.

With the return of Busch, meant the return of the regular starting centres for Martin, Arniel and Davies respectively. This showed.

There was 75 face-offs in this game, 50 won by the good guys. This was something that was evident as the start of the game was controlled by Dundee, but as the draws started to gain traction for the home team, so did the game swing to their favour, however, it was like a pendulum at times, with the tilt dancing up and down the ice, eventually it was finally settled by the Devils.

This will be something of focus for the elimination game later today, so hopefully this continues.