Taylor Hall was the star of the night as the Devils notched their first win of the 2016-17 season (Photo by Andy Marlin/Getty Images)

Recap

It was quite the home debut for Taylor Hall. He scored two power play goals in the second period that would ultimately be enough for the Devils to notch their first win of the 2016-17 season. The Devils came out a bit shaky in the early minutes of the first period. They took two penalties in the first 10 minutes, one of which Anaheim managed to capitalize on with a Sami Vatanen goal.

After Vatanen’s goal, the Devils settled down and played a strong game, specifically at even-strength. New Jersey dominated a second period that was filled with four Anaheim penalties. If not for John Gibson, the Devils could’ve easily managed to score a couple more goals. Despite dominating the second period, it wasn’t without some tense moments. Mike Cammalleri made a bad turnover in the neutral zone that led to a Chris Wagner penalty shot for Anaheim. Fortunately for New Jersey, Wagner lost control of the puck and it went wide of the net. In the end, Taylor Hall’s first two goals as a Devil and another strong performance from Cory Schneider were enough to beat Anaheim for New Jersey’s first win of the season.

Game Notes

• Taylor Hall was the star of the night. Not only was he scoring, but he was all over the ice using his speed and skill to creating scoring chances at even-strength and on the power play. With him getting more comfortable with the team, you can expect quite a few more performances like last nights.

• The Bennett/Zacha/DSP line had an impressive outing. They had a 64% possession line at even-strength and were certainly noticeable when they were on the ice. They were constantly applying pressure in the offensive zone, creating scoring chances and wreaking havoc on Anaheim in their own end.

• Despite not recording a point (he did have a goal waved off), Yohann Auvitu had a strong game for the Devils. He created chances on the offensive end and was an effective quarterback on the power play when he was out there. He’s certainly making a strong impression early on in the season.

• Kyle Quincey quietly had another solid outing for the Devils last night. He was +7 in shot attempts, granted his minutes were a bit sheltered. That being said, he was still solid defensively and has made for a good third defensive pair with Auvitu through the first three games of the season.