Holtz Gets His Goal, Devils Beat Bruins in Season Tune Up | GAME STORY

Alexander Holtz saved his best performance for his last game of the preseason.
The chances have been there through the preseason, but tonight in Boston the chances turned into a goal. Holtz opened the scoring of the game, paving the way for an offensive outburst by him and his teammates. Dawson Mercer also scored his first of the preseason, Holtz connected with Jack Hughes for Hughes' third preseason goal, and Yegor Sharangovich had a no-look snipe past Linus Ullmark. New Jersey finished exhibition play with a 5-3 win in Boston.
There were some tense moments as the game closed out, with a 4-1 lead dissolving, but the Devils hung on for the win with Tomas Tatar scoring the empty net goal with just 17 seconds left in the game.
The scoreline was closing in on the team as the clock was winding down, but head coach Lindy Ruff chose it as a learning lesson for his team.
"I actually thought part of the training when the game tightened up, I wanted to see who could handle the pressure," Lindy Ruff said after the game, "I didn't like a couple plays that we made in the last three, four minutes, just puck plays. And if we're going to be in that situation, every guy has to have confidence in what we're trying to do and where we want to put pucks."
After seven preseason games New Jersey come out with a winning record of 5-2-0.
Now, it's on to the real deal with the regular season opening for the Devils on Thursday night in Philadelphia.

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WHAT'S NEXT
The Devils open the regular season on Thursday in Philadelphia against the Flyers. The game can be seen on ESPN+ and heard on the Devils Hockey Network, including right here at NewJerseyDevils.com. Puck drop is 7:08 p.m. ET.
Here are a few observations from the game:
- Alexander Holtz finally gets his first preseason goal. It had been a long-time coming and not without an extraordinary amount of work and patience. Earlier this morning, Lindy Ruff talked about seeing Holtz get his chances, yet hasn't been able to finish them. The narrative has changed tonight, as Holtz is the first on the board in the game. His celebration was humble and subtle, clearly a sense of relief. Ruff said before the game he thought Holtz may be squeezing his stick a little too much in frustration. Hopefully, that pressure has been released and Holtz can find another stride.

"It's nice," he said after the game, "I've been working hard for it, so I think it was well deserved as well."

Holtz would follow it up later in the game with a behind-the-goal-line assist to Jack Hughes for New Jersey's third goal of the game, making it a two-point night for the young Swede. It does look like the pressure of being without a goal has eased. As a player, you have to take every minute of ice time you get and make the most of it. Tonight, Holtz certainly did that.

"I feel like I made a strong case for myself this preseason, with the rookie tournament and scrimmages as well," Holtz said of making the final NHL roster, "I'm looking forward to what's upcoming next."

- Mackenzie Blackwood had another solid night in net, as he continues to build on his strong preseason play. While the games in the preseason don't count in the standings, they count in other ways, especially as a player returning from extensive injury trouble and rehab. The competition against the Bruins was the heaviest NHL-calibre lineup Blackwood and the Devils have faced and he played to his strengths. One of the most noticeable differences in Blackwood's game is the ease at which he moves in his net. He has been one of the most athletic and acrobatic goaltenders in the league, and that form

It won't be a perfect season for anyone but there is something to be said entering a season with a confident goaltender.

Blackwood's night ended just over midway through the second period, having made 15 saves on 16 shots, including all 10 at five-on-five, and all three shorthanded shots he faced.

Vitek Vanecek subbed in for Blackwood with 8:12 remaining in the second period, an attempt to get both goaltenders work in the final game before the regular season.

- Don't be surprised if we see a lot of face-off work in the coming days of practice. For the last few games New Jersey has been on the losing end of the face-offs and face-off percentages. Against Boston, the difficulty continued, no one above 33 percent efficiency. Erik Haula and Michael McLeod finished with those top numbers.

"I haven't been over-playing Haula or McLeod on face-offs, I want to see what Jack can do, I want to see what Mercer can do," Ruff said, "You know when we get matchups and they're tighter, you're probably going to see the load with McLeod taking the draws, and when Nico is back we know what he can bring. We've got some guys that are maybe a year away from being really good on face-offs, but I can tell you one thing, they work on it every day and we're going to continue to work on it."

Mercer finished with and 11 percent face-off success rate, while Hughes finished with 17 percent.

- Perhaps not intentional, but it was a nice touch to see best friends, now NHL opponents Jesper Bratt and Bruins Pavel Zacha were both in their respective starting lineups. The two lined up opposite one another for the opening face-off, surely a strange moment for them both. Zacha then proceeded to welcome Bratt to TD Garden with a hit along the boards in the opening minute of the game.

Speaking with Bratt this morning, he said the two still talk every day, remain best friends and that it's been a little strange not having Zacha to ride with on the way to the rink in the morning.

- John Marino finished the game with two assists, one on Holtz's goal and again on Hughes'.