Everyone knows that Taylor Hall is the engine that has been driving the Devils toward their unknown destination this season. The 26-year old left wing has had a marvelous year, one worthy of consideration for the Hart Trophy as the league MVP. He has continued his elite play into the NHL playoffs, recording two goals and three assists in the first three games of the best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinal series against top-seeded Tampa Bay.
Rookie forward Blake Coleman, also 26, is one of the so-called spare parts. But he is an essential component of the Devils' identity, and his contributions to New Jersey's season-saving 5-2 victory over the Lightning on Monday at the souped-up Prudential Center should be more than a mere afterthought. Instead of being on the brink of an ignominious four-game sweep, the Devils now trail two games to one with Game 4 slated for Wednesday at the Rock.
Coleman's empty-net goal to put the Devils up 4-2 with 58 seconds remaining while defending four-on-six was a fitting denouement to his performance.
"(Coleman) certainly deserved it," Devils coach John Hynes said. "He was a big factor, so it was nice to see a guy like that, the way he played. I thought he played extremely hard all night. Defensively, offensively -- he really played to how we want to play as a team. He is an identity player for us, so for him to get rewarded for his hard work and thankless jobs that you do shift in and shift out, (it was) nice to see him get that goal."
With the last line change at home, Hynes switched assignments for Game 3. Coleman's line with Travis Zajac and Stefan Noesen was matched against the Brayden Point/Tyler Johnson/Ondrej Palat trio that utterly destroyed New Jersey in the first two games. All three skilled forwards were held off the scoresheet Monday.
Coleman's game is all about aggression. Listed at 5-foot-11, 200 pounds, the Texan doesn't back away from physical play. He's a puck-pressuring pest. And when he gets to his speed, he can be an offensive threat. His six shots on goal Monday tied him with Hall for the team lead.
Coleman almost didn't make it through the increasingly nasty game -- twice. With six minutes remaining, he took an elbow to the head from Lightning defenseman Mikhail Sergachev at center ice. Coleman then wobbled back to the bench.
"I didn't see much," he said of the hit. "I just turned around there and just felt my head get whiplash. It's one of those stingers where your arm goes dead for a little bit. Fortunately, I went through the medical tests with Kevin (Morley, the Devils' trainer), and everything checked out, so I was able to get back in the game."
Fortunately, indeed. Hynes had reconfigured the lineup after two defeats in Tampa to the point where Coleman and Zajac were his only reliable penalty killers. Michael Grabner, Brian Gibbons and Jesper Bratt were all healthy scratches, leaving the Devils short-handed for when they would be short-handed against one of the league’s most potent power plays.
Though Tampa Bay scored twice with the man advantage in five opportunities Monday (they are converting at an outstanding 55.6 percent clip this series), only the first one occurred while Coleman was on the ice. Even then, the fault lay with Devils defensemen Sami Vatanen and Ben Lovejoy, neither of whom covered the net front, where Alex Killorn buried Nikita Kucherov’s feed to give the Lightning a 1-0 lead early in the second period.
Coleman played 3:44 of the 7:10 the Devils were a man down, none more vital than the clock ticks after Hall was whistled for tripping with 2:46 remaining and New Jersey nursing a 3-2 lead. About 45 seconds into the kill, with Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy pulled for an extra attacker, Steven Stamkos fed defenseman Victor Hedman at the top of the left circle for a one-timer. Hedman, who has a booming slap shot, saw his potential tying goal blocked by Coleman‘s leg. The rookie immediately limped to the bench and down the tunnel into the locker room.
Hynes called the last two minutes "chaotic," as he wasn’t sure of Coleman’s status. Again, Coleman returned to make the big play, racing after a loose puck along the left-wing boards in his defensive zone and shooting it into the empty net.
”I haven’t had much luck when I shoot for the net, so I figured if I just shoot near the net, maybe I’d get a bounce,” Coleman said.
Coleman nearly had another short-handed goal in the second period, when he bull-rushed Hedman into Vasilevskiy and nudged the puck through, but it was waved off because the net was off its moorings.
”I didn’t even see it,“ Coleman said. “It was just a hard play, trying to get to the net. If our PK can provide some offense and some energy like that, then it’s going to give our team a jolt and really help us turn the series around.”
Coleman’s energy was infectious in the Devils’ biggest game of the season, but he wasn’t even listed among the three stars of the game. Those honors went to Noesen, who scored the game-winner, goalie Cory Schneider, who was superb in replacing Keith Kinkaid in net to win for the first time in his last 13 starts dating back to Dec. 27, and Hall.
Unsung? Maybe, but not unappreciated by his coach and teammates.