The Devils were playing some unexpectedly sound hockey to start the season, and then, the coronavirus spread through the team like a wildfire. After picking up three points over a back-to-back in Buffalo ending on January 31, New Jersey had to shut down operations, with up to 19 players at one point on the team's COVID-19 protocol list.
As the Devils return to full strength for their resumption Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden versus the Rangers, it's important that they don't forget the ingredients that got them their 4-3-2 record, which was good enough for fifth place in the ultra-competitive East Division before their hiatus.
In other words: don't dismiss the youth.
Of the three Devils who share the team scoring lead with eight points apiece, two (center Jack Hughes and defenseman Ty Smith) can't order a postgame beer at a bar. Miles Wood, with a team-high five goals, has received most of his ice time over their last four games alongside Michael McLeod and Nathan Bastian, who had a combined 40 games of NHL experience entering the season.
That trio went from being a token fourth line to the Devils' "Identity Line" through their hard play along the walls that often hemmed opponents in their own zone. Per NaturalStatTrick.com, the line has a 14-5 advantage in high-danger scoring chances, with three that were potted into the net versus none against, in just 17:37 of five-on-five ice time. Coach Lindy Ruff would have to have a head wound if he's thinking about breaking that line up, even after Nico Hischier, Travis Zajac, and Nikita Gusev are cleared from the protocols and force a roster reckoning.
Nor should Ruff use the addition of veteran Sami Vatanen to squeeze Smith out of his power play role. The Devils went 1-for-11 with a shorthanded goal against with the man advantage in their first four games, where Smith was receiving the third-most ice time among the team's defensemen. The power play has looked much sharper since Smith supplanted P.K. Subban on the first unit, even if Smith's goal and assist in 15 opportunities were the only scoreboard successes.
Three games ago, Ruff got Smith away from the anvil to his right that was Matt Tennyson and started pairing Smith with Damon Severson, who has gotten off to his best start in his seven seasons in New Jersey. The newly formed duo has posted dominant advanced metrics – a 78 percent Corsi and a 14-2 edge in high-danger scoring chances in 30:37 of even strength time.
Then there has been the Hughes leap, one that I admittedly didn't see coming. The first overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft, Hughes looked like the 18-year old he was in an underwhelming rookie season. However, he stated that he added 15 pounds this offseason and has come out of the gate like gangbusters. It hasn't been just his superior skating and vision that has wowed Ruff; Hughes has been noticeably stronger on pucks, falling a lot less, and working to win back possessions.
In the three games since wing Jesper Bratt rejoined the club, the Hughes/Bratt/Andreas Johnsson combination has been a whirlwind, with a 70.15 percent Corsi and three unanswered goals.
In theory, the team should only get stronger when Hischier, who has yet to play this season due to an offseason leg injury and COVID-19 protocols, gets back on the ice – so long as it isn't at Hughes' expense. Hischier is a stronger two-way player and a future captain, but Hughes has been a dynamic game-changer.
Given all these positives, you're probably wondering why the Devils aren't undefeated. In truth, the team has been let down by veterans like Kyle Palmieri, Subban, and Gusev, who may only be in his second NHL season but is 28. Their muffed opportunities, defensive lapses, giveaways, and other gaffes have directly led to negative outcomes that, in certain games, have offset the otherwise outstanding goaltending the Devils have gotten from Mackenzie Blackwood and backups Scott Wedgewood and Eric Comrie – a trio that has helped New Jersey to a fourth-place ranking in team save percentage.
In my view, the Devils' best lineup, with all hands on deck, would be as follows:
Johnsson-Hughes-Bratt
Gusev-Hischier-Palmieri
Yegor Sharangovich-Zajac-Pavel Zacha
Wood-McLeod-Bastian
Ryan Murray-Subban
Smith-Severson
Dmitry Kulikov-Vatanen
Blackwood
Aaron Dell
Scratches: Will Butcher, Connor Carrick, Janne Kuokkanen
The Devils had to postpone seven games from their original schedule, so they have a lot to make up. Good thing they have a host of young legs to help them work their way back into shape.
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