Hughes-Less Devils Need To Keep Finding Ways To Win

In past years, an injury such as the week-to-week upper body malady incurred by Jack Hughes would have immediately sent the Devils into a tailspin. New Jersey’s 21-year old All-Star center was in the midst of a heater, with a league-leading 28 points (17 goals, 11 assists) in his past 15 games before being shut down for Thursday night’s home tilt versus Seattle. Bear in mind that the Devils had tallied 59 total goals for in that period, meaning Hughes took part in nearly half of them.

It's impossible to replicate such dynamism, even in hockey’s “next man up” culture. Instead, the Devils had to turn back the clock to beat the ascending Kraken, 3-1, relying on the age-old formula of productive special teams, tight defense, and stellar goaltending.

All three Devils goals were notched by defensemen, with Dougie Hamilton ripping a pair of power play snipes and John Marino finding an empty net from the neutral zone with 1:11 remaining. Hamilton, who is on a six-game point streak, is now up to a career -high 51 points in 51 games, the fastest to reach 50 points by any defenseman in franchise history.

But it was goalie Mackenzie Blackwood who literally saved the day. He stopped 33 of 34 Seattle shots, including all seven that NaturalStatTrick.com labeled as high danger chances (though that seemed like a significant undercount). The Kraken carried the play for the majority of the game and were granted 1:04 of a 5-on-3 advantage in the second period, yet they were held scoreless until a seemingly harmless wrist shot from the right point by former Devil defenseman Adam (“the trade is one-for-one’) Larsson found its way past a screened Blackwood about nine minutes after the Devils killed off both penalties. Hamilton, though, tied the contest just 24 seconds later and added his second midway through the third period.  

Blackwood did have some help in front of him, as the Devils blocked 27 Kraken shot attempts, tied for the second most this season. To show the commitment it took to win, New Jersey’s forwards contributed 12 of the blocks, led by captain Nico Hischier and fourth-line wing Nathan Bastian with three apiece.

Marino’s return after a 17-game absence due to an upper body injury has come just in time. His steady presence allowed Devils Head Coach to roll with young Kevin Bahl more often than he usually does with a sixth d-man.

In the third period, New Jersey did a much better job clamping down on potential Seattle rushes and limited their turnovers in their own end. Blackwood was called upon to make just six saves after the Devils took the lead.

Every contending team has this formula in their toolbox since relying solely on an up-and-down game won’t get you very far in the Stanley Cup playoffs. It just hasn’t been the most consistent part of the Devils’ game this season, even as they’ve been winning (12-2-2 in their last 16 games).    

With Hughes out for however long (per Elliotte Friedman’s 32 Thoughts podcast, the injury was NOT the result of a dirty throwdown by Ottawa’s Brady Tkachuk at Saturday’s All-Star game), the open question will be how long can New Jersey succeed playing this grinding style exclusively. They’re not overly big and physical and their goaltending tandem of Vitek Vanecek and Blackwood, which has thankfully been above average for most of the season, is always at risk of regressing to their prior means.

Sometimes, it’s easier to simplify your game on the road, which could be why New Jersey has accumulated 8 more points away from home, where they are a ridiculous 19-3-2, despite three fewer games than those played at Prudential Center. Maybe then it’s fortunate that the Devils are now set to embark on a four-game road trip, starting with Saturday’s affair at Minnesota.

Though New Jersey (34-13-4) has to date defied expectations by a mile in hanging onto the second seed in the Metropolitan Division, they haven’t accomplished anything yet. The third-place Rangers aren’t going away—their recent addition of talented wing Vladimir Tarasenko for nothing of substance should have lit a fire under Devils General Manager Tom Fitzgerald--and any material slippage will quickly send them tumbling down the standings towards fending off wild card competitors.

Even when the Devils have not had their “A” games, Hughes has bailed this team out with individual brilliance so often this season that now even the mainstream hockey media is including him in the conversations related to the Hart Trophy as the league’s MVP. It will tell a lot about the Devils’ growth if they can keep finding ways to win without their superstar.

Publishers Note: I will be taking an indefinite break from posting, so this will be the final newsletter until I return.