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Taylor Hall breaks through; Ducks? Not so much

Tuesday’s New Jersey Devils - Anaheim Ducks match had the feeling of one of those “something has to give” moments. It all came up New Jersey.

After a frustrating start coming off the heels of a frustrating trade, Taylor Hall broke through in an impressive way, scoring both of the Devils’ goals in a 2-1 win.

Here’s video of the game-winner, while his first with New Jersey appears above:

While the Devils got their first win, the Ducks remain without a victory in the second Randy Carlyle era.

And, make no mistake about it, some of the blame falls on their oft-criticized head coach. Big picture wise, his system might be a little ... behind the times.

This, along with the sustained impasse between the Ducks and rising star defenseman Hampus Lindholm, provides some real doom and gloom in that sunny hockey market.

On the other hand, slow starts aren’t just an issue that plagues Carlyle’s teams. NHL.com’s Curtis Zupke reminds us that the Ducks began the 2015-16 season with an 0-3-1 record, too.

So, the good news is that the Ducks fought through this sort of malaise before. The natural, uncomfortable question, is how many times can you defy conventional wisdom?