The New Jersey Devils returned to action on Sunday evening, taking on a fairly talented Minnesota Wild team. With captain Nico Hischier out of the lineup (upper body), some lines were shuffled and the team needed to buckle down to hold down the fort in his absence. They did so successfully, as they edged out the Wild in a 4-3 regulation victory in front of a sold-out Prudential Center crowd.
Finally First
It was bound to happen eventually…the long seven-game curse of giving up the first goal of the game was broken. For the first time all season, the Devils struck first and got to play with a lead in the opening frame. That was thanks to an even-strength tally by Jesper Bratt off of a picture-perfect feed from John Marino.
The first period as a whole was a tremendous improvement from every other game in the young season. Defensively, breakdowns were kept to a minimum and the offense was generating consistent chances.
While that was a step in the right direction, the Devils still continued their other poor trend of needing to come back to win a game. Even though they scored first, they gave up the next two goals and found themselves trailing. They then did what they do best and came back to win, but they still have yet to win a game this season where they were not trailing. All five Devils’ wins have come after they were losing, which is an even further exaggeration from last season where half (26/52) of their victories were comebacks.
It’s great that they’re able to not let anything phase them and can storm back from basically any deficit. That speaks to their insane offensive talent. But to be a true powerhouse year in and year out, they need to be able to tighten up defensively and not fall behind every single night.
The Devils could really benefit from a game where they score first and don’t ever look back, leading the entire way.
Special Teams Thrive
It’s been eight games now, and it’s fair to say that the Devils’ powerplay is not a fluke. They’re legit. They went two-for-three on the man advantage with goals from Tyler Toffoli and Bratt.
This raised their total season percentage to 42.4% (14/33), which leads the entire NHL by a wide margin. The next closest is the New York Rangers, who are 10-for-29 (34.5%).
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A large portion of why the powerplay has seen such rampant success has been the quarterbacking ability of Luke Hughes, who has played much better as of late. Similar to his brother Jack, he’s able to make tape-to-tape, no-look passes in the blink of an eye. The puck movement has looked infinitely better since L. Hughes replaced Dougie Hamilton on the top unit. The younger Hughes now has five points in his last three contests.
Head coach Lindy Ruff has clearly emphasized wanting Luke to get accustomed to the pace of the NHL early on in the season. He’s top-five on the team in ice time with just under 20 minutes a night. His Corsi stands at an impressive 60.3%, as the Devils have generated 46 more chances than the opposition this season when he’s on the ice. And that’s despite playing on the third pairing with Brendan Smith, who has had some rough games lately.
Yes, there will be some growing pains for the just-turned 20-year-old. But he’s really starting to show what he’s capable of, and it’s impressive.
The penalty kill (PK) had a much better showing, as they successfully melted off five of the Wild’s six powerplays. The PK units appeared to be a little more aggressive and had less of an issue with clearing the puck. It’s only a matter of time before they settle in for good, since this unit was second in the entire league last season.
Michael McLeod Steps Up
Great teams have great depth. The Devils have a plethora of players who can slot into the top-six if needed, guys like Alexander Holtz, Erik Haula, Ondrej Palat, Dawson Mercer, and now Michael McLeod.
With their captain injured, McLeod slotted up to become the second-line center, skating alongside Palat and Bratt. That line was dynamite, as even-strength chances were a whopping 14-3 (82.35%) between them.
McLeod’s blazing speed and strength on the puck were on full display, and looked very much like he’s been skating in the top-six for years.
It should mean the world for this team that they have a player as versatile as McLeod, who can literally play anywhere in the lineup and be effective.
As for the season, McLeod is top-five on the team in Corsi (58.2%) among guys who have played in every game.
Bratt was quick to praise his teammate: “Nico is obviously a tough guy to lose in a game like this (but) Mikey did a great job. He brings it every night. You know what you’re going to get from him, his grit and his speed and his intensity on the puck…opened up space for me.”
Getting By
Despite some struggles in certain areas, the Devils are a very respectable 5-2-1 and sit in second place in the Metropolitan Division, trailing the Rangers by a single point.
And they’re not even clicking yet. Once their defense and penalty kill get settled in, along with guys like Mercer who have been entirely snakebitten, the Devils are going to string together many wins (barring catastrophic injuries).
They’re now set to take on a four-game slate on the road, taking on the Wild, the St. Louis Blues, the Chicago Blackhawks, and then the Colorado Avalanche. The first of those, a rematch with the Wild, will come on Nov. 2.