Merely put, issues have been going fairly properly for the New Jersey Devils. Their 18-9-2 document places them second in a very aggressive Metropolitan Division, barely behind the Washington Capitals.
A big part of that success is their unit of six defensemen who’re reliable in almost any situation. They’ve been in a position to evenly distribute ice time and, in flip, keep wholesome and recent with out sacrificing on-ice outcomes.
Luke Hughes is a chief instance of this. He’s averaging precisely two and a half minutes much less per evening from final season, but his play has risen dramatically. He was thrown into the hearth in 2023-24 as one of many solely constantly wholesome defensemen. He performed with a whopping eight completely different companions then, together with 216 minutes with Brendan Smith the place the duo turned one of many worst statistical pairings within the NHL.
This season, it’s method completely different. Since Seamus Casey and Simon Nemec have been despatched all the way down to the American Hockey League (AHL), the Devils haven’t wavered from their pairings of Hughes with Brett Pesce, Jonas Siegenthaler with Johnathan Kovacevic and Brenden Dillon with Dougie Hamilton. All three have been stellar.
L. Hughes advised The Hockey Writers (THW), “Yeah, I believe (the depth has made life simpler). I believe with Pesce as my D associate, he’s very easy to play with, simply an older and deeper D core this yr. It’s very easy to play and enjoyable to look at.”
Head coach Sheldon Keefe added to that, with an emphasis on Luke’s stellar play, telling THW, “Having six guys the best way that we do and to have the ability to deploy them considerably evenly and never must be too involved about matchups and issues like that, I believe it actually helps, particularly a younger participant (like Luke) who missed coaching camp…I’ve actually, actually appreciated his recreation.”
Traditionally Good Begin for the Devils
Based on MoneyPuck, the Devils’ principal defensive pairs have mixed for a 57.77 anticipated targets for share (xGF%), second to the Carolina Hurricanes. It’s an enormous motive why the Devils have already got a aim differential of plus-24, which might put them on tempo for about plus-68 on the finish of the season. That will be their third-best output in franchise historical past, trailing solely 1993-94 and 2000-01.
Jack Hughes echoed the identical sentiment to THW earlier within the week, saying, “The again finish is what drives our group. All six of them have been enjoying some actually good hockey.”
L. Hughes, Dillon and Hamilton are seeing much less ice time from final season, whereas Kovacevic, Siegenthaler and Pesce are seeing extra. That stability will not be solely key now however will stay key come playoff time.
It’s nonetheless early, however each button Tom Fitzgerald pushed within the offseason was seemingly the right one. We’ll see if the Devils are in a position to preserve it rolling.
