The All-Star break could not have come at a better time for the New Jersey Devils. This team is struggling immensely with the injury bug and is in desperate need of healthy bodies. However, the team has remained in the thick of things when it comes to the playoff race. The Devils currently sit outside the playoff picture but are six points out of the second wild card spot and five points out of third place in the division.
The Devils have done enough to remain in the mix but the margin for error is slim. As the team enters the second half of the season, they look to right the ship. In their last ten games, the Devils have gone 3-6-1, which is how life without Jack Hughes, and several others, have looked. With a tough stretch of games right out the gate, here are three things that need to happen in an effort to make a push for the playoffs.
1. Getting Healthy Bodies Back
It has been a tough go for the Devils when it comes to injuries. Timo Meier has been injured on two occasions this year and the Devils are down badly on the blue line. Dougie Hamilton is out for the season but could make a return for the playoffs and Jonas Siegenthaler, who reportedly skated on Sunday, has missed a ton of time. Losing your top pair defenseman is never easy and thankfully rookies Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec have held the fort down to the best of their ability. However, the biggest thing is getting the injured bodies who are able to, back as soon as possible.
The Devils are also without Brendan Smith, who has struggled at points but is an upgrade over some of the current options New Jersey has and has been a net positive defensively. Most importantly, the team has been without Jack Hughes. Hughes got hurt in their game against the Chicago Blackhawks (Jan. 5) and was been ruled out of playing in the All-Star game. There are plenty of players that are valuable to their team but Hughes arguably is the most important.
In his absence, which also coincides with Siegentahler’s and soon after Smith’s departures from the lineup, the Devils have not controlled the shot attempts nearly as much posting a Corsi-for percentage (CF%) of 47.47. Another area where they have missed Hughes is on the power play. In his absence, the Devils have scored just two goals with the man advantage, which is second fewest and only ahead of the lowly San Jose Sharks. The team had the third ranked power play unit which has now dropped to sixth in the league.
With all that being said, it appears reinforcements are indeed on the horizon. On Monday, head coach Lindy Ruff confirmed that each Siegenthaler, Hughes, and Smith skated on their own. He also seemed to confirm that Hughes is close to returning to practice. Further, the team is also likely to get back forward Tomáš Nosek, who has been out for most of the season with injury. He was a full participant in Sunday’s practice, and took like rushes with the fourth line.
2. Goaltending Needs to Be Sharp
Despite having three rookies on the blue line for the Devils, for most of the season, the defensive unit was playing pretty strong. Granted, it has taken a step back in recent weeks, but with reinforcements on the horizon, goaltending needs to be better.
Overall this season, when it comes to shot suppression, the Devils have allowed the fifth fewest shot attempts and seventh fewest shots on goal. Despite this, the team is still giving up a ton of goals (29th in goals against per game).
Well, there is a leak in the hose and that hose is the goalies. The Devils sit 31st in team save percentage (.881) and right near the bottom in team goals saved above expected. It is not an ideal scenario, especially with what happened last season. Simply put, it needs to be better if the Devils want to have a fighting chance for the playoffs.
Vitek Vanecek
Vitek Vanecek was terrific with the team in his first season last year. However, things have fallen off the tracks this season. Vanecek is rocking a subpar 3.24 goals against average (GAA) and a .886 save percentage (SV%). In addition, he has the second worst goals saved above expected (-12.3) in league. It has been tough this season, as there are numerous times he looks out of position and has let in savable goals.
Encouragingly, It has been better as of late, as January was his best statistical month. Vanecek posted a 3-1-1 record with a 2.85 GAA and a .899 SV%. It is not great, but it’s arguably the best Vanecek has looked and they’ll need him to continue to play this way exiting the break.
Nico Daws
With the play of Vanecek being subpar, the Devils turned to the younger Nico Daws. It has been a tough go for Daws this month and not the time for the Devils goalie woes to continue. He received the bulk of the starts for the Devils in January, going 2-5-0 in the month. Also, he got pulled in the game against the Hurricanes, after allowing three goals on 12 shots. He finished with a 3.66 GAA, a .891 SV%, and a -1.61 GSAx for the month.
It has been less than ideal for the Devils, and a position that’s held them back this season. It remains to be seen what general manager Tom Fitzgerald does regarding the position, with the trade deadline quickly approaching, but these two need to improve as they hit the final stretch.
3. Hot Starts
This one is as simple as it gets but the Devils need to have better starts to the games. In 47 games this season, the Devils have allowed the first goal of the game in 35 of them. It’s never ideal to start the game being from behind, but that’s been a mantra for the team during the 2023-24 season.
The road ahead for the Devils is not going to be easy and the Devils have work to do. They’ll want to build better habits, as playing playoff hockey seemingly starts now.