RSS Devils Team Notes

[New Jersey Devils]

Moore-On or Moron: Pre-Thanksgiving Edition

We’re a quarter of the way through the season, so it’s time for everybody’s favorite game…..Moore-On or Moron.

I am a person who prides myself on having good takes and great opinions. Some of them are just spot on, A+ takes that more and more people should be saying. Others might be on the right track, but they need more time in the oven before they’re ready. Regardless, I like to throw out Devils takes in this article and then grade them. Are they the ramblings of an actual moron? Or am I on to something, hence, Moore-On. There’s only one way to find out.

Before diving in, I wanted to wish all of our readers, commenters, and contributors a happy and safe Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Yes, even the ones I argue with in the comments section all the time. You know who you are, but it’s all in good fun and I have nothing but love for people who take the time to comment. I may even throw some Thanksgiving dinner takes in at the end if I’m feeling my oats.

The Devils Can’t Rest on their Laurels Being in a Playoff Spot on American Thanksgiving​

If you’re a longtime NHL fan, you’re probably familiar with the trend of NHL teams being in a playoff spot come American Thanksgiving and their likelihood of maintaining that spot.

It’s not a perfect science by any means. The Edmonton Oilers have been out of a playoff spot the last two seasons on American Thanksgiving only to wind up representing the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup Final. The St. Louis Blues famously went from worst to first and won the Stanley Cup in 2019. But when upwards of 80% of the teams holding a playoff berth on Thanksgiving wind up making it, it’s a talking point for a reason. It’s part of the reason why I preach that banking points early in the season is so important. It’s gets harder to make up points as the season goes along, even if you’re “only four points” out of a playoff spot.

I think a lot of people are looking at this year as potentially being different, and I can understand that with the level of parity we see across the league. We’re in the middle of a season where nobody is tanking, nobody wants to admit they’re rebuilding, and teams are trying to be good. There hasn’t been much of a separation in the standings like there has been in year’s past, thanks in part to the loser point, but also thanks in part to the aforementioned teams trying to be competitive.

The Devils are in a playoff spot at the moment, but they’re only four points clear of the cutoff. Compare that to three years ago or last year when the Devils were 9 points clear of the cutoff and I get the trepidation from fans that their spot is far from secure.

Frankly, those people are right. They may be in a playoff spot on Thanksgiving, but nothing is assured. And while it is hard to make up points in this league, its still a league where everyone goes on a run at some point and everyone has bad weeks at some point. The Devils had a bad week last week on the tail end of their road trip, and another bad week or two opens them up to getting overtaken for their position.

In two of the last three seasons, the Devils banked so many points in the first half of the season where their playoff spot was secure and all they really needed to do was go NHL .500 the rest of the way. They built a cushion where every regular season game didn’t feel like a must win.

That’s not there this year. And that could actually be a good thing.

The Devils can’t just sit back and go on cruise control. They have to scratch and claw to get every point they can. They can’t take opponents lightly. They can’t take nights off. They have to play hard.

Now, they need to play better than what we’ve seen of late. I don’t think anyone is disputing that. The Tampa and Philadelphia games last week were two of their worst performances of the season. They beat Detroit, but Detroit controlled the pace for large stretches of that contest.

The good news for the Devils is that the schedule does ease up a little bit here. They have a lot of home games coming up and they’re unbeaten in regulation on home ice. And as much as they’ve been ravaged by injuries, they’re eventually going to start getting guys back. They got Cody Glass back the other night. Brett Pesce will be back at some point. So will Jack Hughes and Johnathan Kovacevic.

Nothing is set in stone though, which is why the Devils need to get back to how they were playing during the eight-game winning streak. It starts with being better defensively, being more structured, and making better decisions with the puck.

Verdict: Moore-On

The Department of Player Safety Once Again Has No Idea What They’re Doing​

A few weeks ago, I wrote about the injury epidemic that has spread across the NHL this season.

I tried to offer a few potential solutions at the end of that article, with one of them being simply having the officials call the actual infractions on the ice as they happen. A novel concept, I know, but I still suggested that. I also suggested that if the Department of Player Safety was actually all that interested in the safety of the players, they would put their foot down and make an example of somebody with all of the tomfoolery we see in some of these games before a player gets seriously hurt.

Watching the game against the Detroit Red Wings on Monday, I was reminded yet again that the league really doesn’t care about the wellbeing of their players.

J.T. Compher set the tone for what was to come with his dangerous boarding penalty on Nico Hischier. It’s the type of hit that really has no place in today’s game, and Hischier was fortunate to escape with no serious injury. The officials actually did call a boarding minor penalty there, so I do give them some credit there.

I also didn’t have an issue with the officiating crew letting Stefan Noesen go after Compher in response after he exited the penalty box (and nearly scored). It was the type of hit that required a response, and I would’ve had a bigger issue with the Devils had they allowed a hit like that on their captain to go unanswered. I did think Noesen getting an extra two minutes out of a scrap where Compher dropped his mitts first was a little excessive, but if that’s the price to pay for sticking up for your captain, so be it.

The problem is that the referees ultimately let things get out of control by continuing to swallow their whistles, only calling Dougie Hamilton for a pair of minor infractions from that point on. It’s actually wild that for as physical a game as this was, Detroit didn’t get called for any penalties until after the game was over. By continuing to allow the boys to police the games themselves and not being the adult in the room, they let things get out of hand with every post-whistle shoving match over the next couple periods. Players would go 15 feet out of their way to finish checks (something James van Riemsdyk did in the second period as he chased after Simon Nemec). When he wasn’t busy embellishing taking Evgeni Dadonov’s butt to the face and acting like he got hit by the Rikishi stink-face, noted crybaby Dylan Larkin was shoving Nico Hischier after scoring a goal.

Which led to Ben Chiarot attempting to spear Simon Nemec twice in a scrum, connecting once.

Which led to Jonas Siegenthaler getting a measure of retribution by knocking Lucas Raymond to the ice with a blindside hit several minutes later.

Which led to the postgame scrum and a whole lot of pushing and shoving when fake tough guy Dylan Larkin and the rest of the Temu Florida Panthers wouldn’t take their loss like a man and get off the ice.

Of course, the Department of Player Safety could have stepped in after the fact and at least made a cursory effort to pretend to do their jobs. After all, you’re definitely not allowed to spear someone in hockey. It’s supposed to be an automatic major penalty and game misconduct. The DoPS could’ve sent the message that this won’t be tolerated and try to regain some semblance of control by giving Chiarot a game when the officials failed to catch it on the ice during an actual game.

Instead, they slapped a repeat offender in Chiarot on the wrist.

Crazy how much Corey Perry's chin resembles the outline of #nhljets Ben Chiarot's butt-end. #NHL is reviewing the incident. No call on play, could've been a match penalty. Perry needed 20 stitches, including some below top layer of skin. pic.twitter.com/VfWOzNbwqz

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) November 25, 2017

Detroit’s Ben Chiarot has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for butt-ending New Jersey’s Simon Nemec.

— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) November 25, 2025

Clearly, Chiarot hasn’t learned from his previous transgressions, as fining a guy $5K when he has made over $33M in his career isn’t an actual deterrent. But that’s what we’ve come to expect from the DoPeS at the DoPS. When you let a former goon in George Parros run the department and they’re too afraid or incompetent to hand down some discipline with actual substance, boys will continue to be boys and the inmates will continue to run the asylum policing themselves. It’s probably not going to change until the next Todd Bertuzzi-Steve Moore incident happens and everyone is horrified at the resulting injury, resulting in a PR nightmare for the league and all sorts of unwanted attention.

I want to be clear that I get this sounds like I’m coming across as being whiny about the physicality in the sport. I don’t have an issue with physicality. I don’t have an issue with checking, or finishing checks, or a well-timed hit to separate a player from the puck.

However, I do have an issue with physicality that I deem unnecessary, and it seems like there was a lot of that in this game. Between Compher’s hit (that wasn’t fined) and all of the extracurricular nonsense, its a minor miracle that Hischier and Nemec didn’t get hurt, and I am going to be sensitive to that when it seems like the Devils are losing somebody to injury every game.

Verdict: Moore-On

The NHL Officials Have it out for Sheldon Keefe, and by Extension, the Devils​

Kruton made an interesting comment in the postgame thread the other night and I wanted to highlight it here.

“Devils are second-to-last in penalties drawn this season and boy was it apparent tonight! I don’t know what the hell is going on.”

I don’t know what’s going on either buddy, but I thought it was worth looking into and maybe you’re on to something.

According to Moneypuck, the Devils are indeed second-to-last in penalties drawn at 5v5. They’re 31st in PIM/60 at 6.37, with only the Penguins getting a more unfavorable whistle. The Devils aren’t getting punished more than other teams though, as they’re in the Top 10 in terms of fewest penalty minutes taken per 60 at 7.79. This wasn’t the case last year in Year 1 under Sheldon Keefe, as they were 14th in PIM drawn/60 at .799 and 14th in PIM taken/60 at 8.37. It should also be noted that for most of Keefe’s tenure as Maple Leafs coach, Toronto ranked somewhere between average and below average when it came to drawing penalties.

On the surface, it doesn’t make a ton of sense that a team that skates as well as the Devils aren’t getting more calls than they are. You would think that they’d draw more of the clutching and grabbing, holding and hooking types of penalties as guys like Jack Hughes, Luke Hughes, and Jesper Bratt make a move on a guy and a defender gets beat. It seems like the only calls the Devils are getting are the ones that are blatantly obvious…..tripping calls, high sticking (although the refs missed one of those last night as well), and what I would deem procedural penalties like puck over the glass or too many men.

Sheldon Keefe certainly has a reputation for working the officials. It seems like every time the MSG cameras pan to the Devils bench, Keefe is giving one of the linesmen an earful. He’s been (wrongly) ejected from games before. Wes McCauley, who is one of the NHL’s longest tenured officials and likely has a lot of influence behind the scenes being as he’s the son of former NHL Director Of Officiating John McCauley, has a noted conflict of interest when it comes to Keefe. Yet, for whatever reason, the league hasn’t seen fit to remove McCauley from games Keefe is coaching in.

I think there’s a natural inclination in any fanbase to think that the officials are out to screw them and their team. We tend to view things through rose-colored glasses and come up with narratives to ultimately suit our own agenda. I also think hockey is a fast game, referees miss a lot of calls, and their tendency to call games even stevens so neither team has an advantage has more of an impact on games than if they just called a bunch of penalties on one team. If its a penalty, its a penalty. Call it.

That said, I don’t think there’s any sort of league-wide conspiracy to screw over Sheldon Keefe, and by extension, the Devils. At least, not yet.

Verdict: Moron (although I reserve judgment to change my mind if new information presents itself)

Simon Nemec Should Be Off Limits in Trade Discussions​

There’s been a lot of bumps in the road getting to this point, but after 109 NHL games, it looks like Simon Nemec is on his way to being the potential top-pairing right-handed defenseman that the Devils envisioned when they made him the #2 overall pick in 2023. He hasn’t even turned 22 years old yet, and he’s just beginning to scratch the surface of what he can be.

I’m not giving up that type of player easily.

I’m certainly not doing it now with the Devils other right-handed defensemen in Brett Pesce and Johnathan Kovacevic on LTIR. But under the very hypothetical situation that the Devils ever get all of their players healthy at one time…..take a minute to pause and laugh at that idea that THAT will ever happen…..I’m not taking Nemec out of the lineup. And I’m certainly not shopping him in a trade for your run of the mill second line scoring winger.

Never say never, of course. If the Edmonton Oilers were dumb enough to offer Connor McDavid for Simon Nemec, I’m doing that trade. But they’re not doing that, and I’m not trading Simon Nemec for, I dunno, Jordan Kyrou or Ryan O’Reilly or Nazem Kadri or Elias Pettersson or whoever is on the NHL Trade Boards nowadays.

Verdict: Moore-On

Once the Canucks Read the Writing on the Wall, The Devils Should Be All Over Quinn Hughes​

Elliotte Friedman reported late Monday night that the Vancouver Canucks have let it be known that they’re willing to listen to offers on “veteran players”. It should be noted though that that does not include Quinn Hughes at this time.

Of course, with half the players on the Canucks having bloated contracts and various no-move and/or no-trade clauses, what does that even mean? Are they trading Conor Garland or Thatcher Demko before their contract extensions (and no-move clauses) kick in? What do you think you’re getting for rentals such as Evander Kane or Teddy Blueger? What do you actually have that other teams want? There’s not really a whole lot on that Canucks roster that interests me.

With one obvious exception of course in Quinn Hughes.

The Vancouver Canucks are heading nowhere fast. They’re near the bottom of the NHL standings, they have an average at best prospect pool, and their best player and captain is a year and a half away from walking out the door for nothing. They are heading towards an inevitable rebuild. One where they really don’t have a whole lot of say in the matter when, not if, Quinn Hughes decides he’s not going to sign there long-term. The Canucks are going to have to take their medicine whether they want to or not.

The Canucks should trade Quinn Hughes sooner rather than later, and when they do, the Devils need to be all over it.

Of course, we’ve talked about this topic before. We’ve talked about once the Canucks stop being stubborn about their position and face a reality we all saw coming from a mile away, they should try to maximize what they have in their best trade chip in Quinn. We’ve talked about how they should take the best offer for Quinn, whether its from the Devils or not. We’ve talked about how if they do this sooner, they’d get a better return from a team knowing they’d get Quinn for two playoff runs. Where even if Quinn leaves as a free agent, who cares if he does….IF you win it all with him.

Whether or not the Devils put together THE most competitive offer if the Canucks shop him around the league is up for debate. But they certainly need to come to the table and try to land the second best defenseman in the NHL right now if they can. You don’t just wait until July 1st, 2027 to “get that player for free” when “all he’ll cost is money”. Not when you can win now and the player in question can separate you from the rest of the pack. Not when you can get a Norris-caliber defenseman who probably has every intention of resigning with you so he can play with his brothers.

I get the Devils cap situation is what it is at the moment and how exactly are you fitting Quinn in right here and right now with the Devils already operating in LTIR. I leave that to smarter people than me to figure out. All I’m saying is that I’m not letting first round picks, Anton Silayev, Seamus Casey, Lenni Haamenaho, Dougie Hamilton, Jonas Siegenthaler, Brenden Dillon, and a bunch of the other mid-tier contracted players on the Devils stop me from making this deal.

Not Simon Nemec though. I gotta draw a line somewhere.

There’s a path to a trade. Figure it out….assuming Vancouver is willing to play ball.

Verdict: Moore-On

Mac and Cheese is the Go-To Thanksgiving Side Dish​

No.

I don’t know how macaroni and cheese became a Thanksgiving side dish. If there was a meeting, I wasn’t consulted on it and I should be consulted on such things. Mac and cheese is fine on its own but much like your weird Uncle Steve, I don’t want to see or hear from you on Thanksgiving Day.

But here’s a quick Thanksgiving side dish power rankings courtesy of an expert in the field. If you don’t believe me when it comes to my expertise, check my waistline. You’re free to comment on these rankings but if you disagree, it likely says more about you than me.

1. Bird Stuffing
2. Sweet Potatoes
3. Regular Stuffing
4. Mashed Potatoes with Gravy
5. Corn
6. Fresh Rolls/Baked Bread
7. Cranberry Sauce
8. Some sort of house salad
9. Green Beans
10. Getting Speared by Ben Chiarot After Eating Too Much at Thanksgiving Dinner
11. Mac and Cheese

Verdict: Moore-On the great Thanksgiving side dish power rankings. Moron on Mac and Cheese.

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/general/63527/moore-on-or-moron-pre-thanksgiving-edition

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Ondrej Palat Should No Longer Be an Every Night Player for the New Jersey Devils

Ondrej Palat’s contract has been maligned since the day he signed it with the New Jersey Devils. The five year, $30 million deal that was inked back in July of 2022 was never seen as a deal that would age well. It was a bit too much per season for a guy who had broken 60 points just once in his career. It was also seen as a deal taking up too much of the Devils’ cap space going forward for them to make other impactful moves in the seasons that would follow. While I’m glad to say the Devils have done alright regarding that last point, the money was definitely too much per season. As for how it’s aging?

I think saying that it aged like rotting milk would be too generous.

Palat’s first season in New Jersey I would deem passable, as he did contribute 23 points (0.47 points per game) in 49 games; the other 33 were missed mostly due to injury. While a 38 point pace for a $6 million wing isn’t fantastic, I’m willing to forgive a bit due to again the injury as well as the strong postseason performance that he turned in. Everything after that 2022-23 postseason, however, has been a steeper decline than most would’ve expected. 2023-24 saw Palat appear in 71 contests and record just 31 points (0.44 ppg) while last season he increased his games played to 77, but saw a drop again in production to just 28 points (0.36 pg) in those regular season contests. He did put up two assists in five playoff games, but didn’t really do much on the ice aside from that.

I think what’s most disappointing about Palat isn’t just his production, but how low it is when you consider who he’s frequently on a line with. He’s regularly been given ice time with Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt for most of the last two seasons when he (and Bratt and/or Hughes) has been healthy. Considering the point totals they’ve put up, it’s concerning to see how little Palat has produced. IT’s to the point where I have referenced him as an anchor to both of those players at this point. Heck, Jack and/or Jesper might have eclipsed 100 points in a season of their respective careers if they had someone on their line who could put their passes into the net.

And now this season? If this isn’t rock bottom for him as an NHLer, I don’t know what is.

Through the first 23 contests of 2025-26, Palat has two whole points. That’s right, just one goal and one assist in 23 appearances. To give even more perspective on how bad that is, Brenden Dillon has outscored him. Cody Glass has played roughly half the number of games and has double the points Palat has. Ditto that for Paul Cotter, albeit in the same number of games as Palat. Stefan Noesen has one more point in six fewer games, and he missed training camp and the preseason with an injury. Brett Pesce has only played in nine games and has three points. PTO player turned signee Luke Glendening, who is making league minimum has three points! A winger who is making us much as Palat is being tied for SEVENTEENTH in team scoring alongside known offensive defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler is ridiculous!

Which leads to my main point: Ondrej Palat should no longer be playing every night for the New Jersey Devils. Is he honestly bringing anything at this point that a replacement level player couldn’t bring? Heck, at least if it’s a prospect playing, there’s still a higher ceiling for them to achieve. Palat is just out there clogging up a lineup spot and forcing whatever line he’s on to feel as if they’re playing shorthanded.

As a final aside, I know Palat has been discussed a lot on this site, and he’s certainly been the target of my ire more than once. The man was a legit NHL player, cup champion and deserves the respect he’s earned for his accolades. At the same time, whether his play style finally caught up to him, his skill decline came on earlier than it does for many, or if the ever faster game just passed him by, he’s not playing like an NHL level player anymore. I know we’ve said it will be easier to stomach buying him out this coming summer (or trying to move him) but having him on the ice every night isn’t the Devils icing their best 20 available players. The team sits at the top of the Eastern Conference as I finish writing this. If they want to remain there, they need to play their best available group every night.

Even with a few injuries right now, that still should mean that Ondrej Palat is shifting into the press box role, rather than being a part of Sheldon Keefe’s Middle Six every night.

What are your thoughts on Palat’s 2025-26 so far; do you think his ineffectiveness merits him coming out of the lineup? Do you still believe he should be playing every game for the Devils? Do you think a healthy scratch or two might jump start his production? Would you be okay if he was consistently used in a fourth line role? Will the Devils move him or buy him out this summer? Leave any and all comments down below, thanks as always for reading, and Happy Thanksgiving to all of you who celebrate!

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/d...-every-night-player-for-the-new-jersey-devils

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Finding Wins: Simon Nemec Scores Overtime Goal to Deliver 3-2 Devils Win Over Blues

First Period​

The New Jersey Devils had a chance to take a lead in the first minute of the game when Dougie Hamilton bounced the puck off of Jordan Binnington, giving Nico Hischier a rebound opportunity. His shot was saved, and the puck bounced over Timo Meier’s stick as he came crashing towards the crease. A couple of shifts went by, and Cam Fowler gave the St. Louis Blues the lead on their first shot of the game. From wide by the boards, he wired a slap shot right past Markstrom’s glove.

Juho Lammikko had a wide-open chance to tie the game off a feed from Stefan Noesen, but he could not convert the point-blank shot. He shot it right into Binnington. A couple minutes later, Jesper Bratt took a long pass from Dougie Hamilton off a faceoff for a partial breakaway, and his shot glanced off the far post. The Devils then iced the puck twice, already getting their third and fourth icings of the first seven minutes of the game.

The Devils’ dominant possession finally paid off just a minute or so past the halfway mark in the first. After Meier shot a one-timer off Binnington, off a turnover generated by Bratt, Dougie Hamilton funneled a centering shot-pass that was deflected down. With chaos in front, Timo Meier tied the game at 1-1!

The Devils went to the power play when Nathan Walker was sent off for interference on Timo Meier less than a minute after their goal. The Devils tried to create chaos in front again on the power play, but Mercer was tied up on an early chance in front. Then, Nico Hischier shanked a one-timer opportunity, which led to Dougie Hamilton taking a cross-checking penalty on Mathieu Joseph. The teams played at four-on-four for a minute. Robert Thomas made Markstrom look foolish on a wrist shot above the blocker, as Markstrom didn’t move on the goal that gave the Blues another lead.

Timo Meier was hooked down on a clean breakaway with a minute and 15 seconds to play, but no call was made.

Second Period​

The Devils had a poor start in the second period, looking like a team that was having trouble motivating themselves to play again. Jacob Markstrom finally got a chance to make up for his previous misplays when Dougie Hamilton missed Oskar Sundqvist at center ice. Sundqvist went off on a breakaway with Hamilton and Gritsyuk chasing him, and Markstrom stopped the backhand. This set the stage for the rest of the game, with Markstrom building confidence from here.

Getting their second power play of the game after a penalty by Justin Faulk, the Devils had their first big break of the middle frame. Glass had been tripped up in the neutral zone. Dougie Hamilton lost the offensive zone off the draw, and the Devils turned it right over after the re-entry. It took nearly the entire first minute to regain possession, which led to a blocked shot from the point. The Devils regained the zone again, and Timo Meier had a long shot saved by Binnington. Jesper Bratt took the puck and looked for a lane to zip the puck through, turning back and finding Luke Hughes. Hughes passed across for a Meier one-timer, and Nico Hischier tied the game on a rebound five-hole goal!

Juho Lammikko finally got on the box score, but with a penalty for hooking Dalibor Dvorsky. Brenden Dillon blocked a shot from Jordan Kyrou to start the penalty kill. After a second draw, Kyrou had another shot blocked before sailing one over the net. The remainder of the kill looked much better, with the Devils causing some issues for St. Louis’ puck movement. Ultimately, Markstrom only had to stop one shot.

Third Period​

The Blues had Jordan Kyrou with an early opportunity, but Nico Hischier made an excellent play on the puck before he could shoot on Markstrom just halfway through the first shift of the period. After a minute and a half of some bottom six play and an waved-off icing that looked like it should have been called, Ondrej Palat took a high-sticking double-minor penalty. Jacob Markstrom made some huge saves on Jimmy Snuggerud in the second minute, as the Devils killed the first half of the penalty.

The Blues cycled slowly in the second half of the power play, but Markstrom made a stop on Kyrou to freeze the puck with just a minute left to kill. This led Jim Montgomery to call timeout for the St. Louis bench, allowing his top power play unit to stay on the ice for their biggest chance to retake the lead again. Hischier and Mercer went out, but St. Louis won the draw. Jake Neighbors tried to backhand the puck through his legs to the front of the net, allowing the Devils to clear the puck all the way down. After three more clearing plays, the Blues saw their power play go by the wayside.

Jacob Markstrom made a huge save on Mathieu Joseph in front to keep the game tied with under seven minutes to play, and the game grew more chaotic as the teams started to take some runs at each other. Unfortunately for the Devils, this seemed to be coming at the expense of their defensive play. Still, the Devils were able to create some chances. Ondrej Palat had one such chance that he sailed high and wide of goal, as he had space to shoot but pulled the puck a little too much.

Overtime​

The Blues had the first possession in overtime, and they accordingly tried to waste time before Broberg turned the puck over to Hischier. The Devils changed, and Timo Meier went wide of goal before passing out to keep possession. Jesper Bratt beat Halloway in the neutral zone and went around the net, spinninig back to the blueline before playing catch with Meier. Bratt kept cutting and cutting until he passed Hamilton, whose shot missed the net. Hamilton’s later shot glanced off the glove. The Devils changed again with offensive zone possession, leading to some tired Blues skaters. Broberg, halfway through overtime, had not yet been off the ice. They finally got a change when the Devils lost the zone on their own.

Nico Hischier came back onto the ice and had a chance to take the puck around the net. He did so, finding Simon Nemec for a one-timer at the side of the net! Nemec gave the Devils yet another overtime winner!

The Game Stats: The NHL.com Game Summary | The NHL.com Event Summary | The NHL.com Play by Play Log | The NHL.com Shot Summary | The Natural Stat Trick Game Stats

Markstrom’s Bounceback​

Things did not start very well for Jacob Markstrom tonight. In the first period, it looked like he was having trouble tracking the puck, and he was sitting a bit too deep in the net. Between letting a shot from the wall beat him on the glove side and not even moving on the goal by Thomas, I was holding my breath and trying to prepare for another rough outing. I even hoped for Sheldon Keefe to bring Jake Allen in. But Markstrom never gave that third goal up, and he earned his victory and second star tonight. I do not think that Markstrom was as good as he was in Detroit, personally, but it’s good to see him have consecutive winning performances. It does seem like he’s starting to have some of his prowess on breakaways and high-danger chances again.

Nico Being Nico​

Nico Hischier factored into all three Devils goals today with primary points on each. Through 23 games, Hischier now has eight goals and 21 points, putting him on track for a similar output to the last few seasons. On top of this, Hischier has been having a strong defensive impact, facing the toughest matchups that teams have to offer. His penalty killing is improved from last season, and he is making more plays at even strength again. This is the kind of elevation that the team needed from its captain after Jack Hughes went out with his hand injury, and we are thankful for it.

Nico’s resurgence over the last few games has also boosted Timo Meier, who has been getting involved along the boards and in front of the net. With a second-straight multi-point game, Timo goes up to eight goals and 19 points on the season. If he maintained this pace for the entire season, Meier would finish this season with the second-highest single-season point total (67) of his career. Doing this while crunching defensemen behind the opposing goals makes the top line that much tougher to play against.

What would be nice is more consistency from the rest of the team. Natural Stat Trick reports that the Devils had 18 scoring chances at five-on-five in the first period compared to just five for the rest of the game. High-danger chances were even harder to come by. Nemec’s overtime goal was the first even strength high-danger chance the Devils had after Timo Meier had a chance in front of the net with 1:22 remaining in the first period.

Three of the Devils’ seven five-on-five high-danger chances were created by Stefan Noesen for Paul Cotter and Juho Lammikko, who combined for zero goals on four shots and 0.64 expected goals on those plays. After Lammikko was benched in the third period after his penalty, Noesen had to find shifts with other lines (the Devils had a 100.00 xGF% when Noesen played with players other than Glendening and Lammikko tonight). If Keefe does not trust Lammikko to play in a fourth line wing role, Fitzgerald really needs to make a call to someone in Utica — and he needs to swap Palat and Noesen in this lineup.

Untouchable​

Simon Nemec now has five goals and 14 points this season. Two of the five goals are of the game-winning variety. One tied a game to give the Devils an overtime point. The other two were part of a hat-trick performance, leading to one of those overtime winners. And, of course, he also won the game against Washington with a shootout winner. Nemec now has more goals this season than he had points in the 2024-25 regular season. Most importantly, he is doing this while taking on a top-pairing role again. It would be one thing if Nemec was eating up bottom six competition on a third pairing, generating some goals in sheltered minutes. But that’s not reality for the Devils right now, who miss Pesce and Kovacevic while they wait for Hamilton to actually return to form from his injury. If Nemec was not playing like one of the best offensive defensemen in the league right now, the Devils would only be in the playoff bubble, rather than first in the Eastern Conference.

Happy Thanksgiving​

As we close out this recap for now, I would like to take a moment to wish a happy Thanksgiving to all. Happy Thanksgiving to the readers of this blog, as well as to the dedicated writers who keep the ship sailing. Happy Thanksgiving to the New Jersey Devils, who have rewarded their fans with hockey that is often interesting to watch, with a flair for the dramatic.

The Devils officially reach the Thanksgiving benchmark in first place in the Eastern Conference.

Your Thoughts​

What did you think of tonight’s game? Did you think the Devils deserved to win? What did you think of the change in pace from the first period to the second and third? What did you think of Markstrom’s performance down the stretch? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and thanks for reading.

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/d...ime-goal-to-deliver-3-2-devils-win-over-blues

 

[New Jersey Devils]

2025-26 Gamethread #24: New Jersey Devils at Buffalo Sabres

The Matchup: New Jersey Devils (15-7-1) at Buffalo Sabres (9-10-4)

The Time: 4:00pm ET

The Broadcast: TV – MSG, Radio – Devils Radio Network

The Game Preview: Jackson had the preview this morning.

The Song of the Day: Out of Rochester, New York, King Buffalo is a neo-psychedelia outfit that, well, sounds pretty good. Today’s song of the day is their “Balrog.” May the Devils bring the hellfire to

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/d...thread-24-new-jersey-devils-at-buffalo-sabres

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Allen, Gritsyuk Lead Devils Past Sabres, 5-0, Keeping First Place

The Game Stats: The NHL.com Game Summary | The NHL.com Event Summary | The NHL.com Play by Play Log | The NHL.com Shot Summary | The Natural Stat Trick Game Stats

If you’re having trouble remembering the last time the Devils won a laugher, it’s because it’s been awhile.

Twenty seven days to be exact.

So it was nice to finally spend a third period not waiting for a bad bounce or sketchy call or late goal against to set up an overtime or shootout that’s essentially a coin flip; even more so with a rematch with Metro Division rival Philly looming less than 24 hours away.

Arseny Gritsyuk scored twice, which was more than enough support for Devils goalie Jake Allen, who was razor sharp in a 42-save, 5-0 shutout on Friday afternoon at KeyBank Center in Buffalo.

Gritsyuk put the Devils up 2-0 on his fifth of the season 7 minutes, 45 seconds into the second period. It was a back-breaking goal for Buffalo, which had carried play to start the second. Shots in the period were 5-1 Buffalo when Gritsyuk buried a centering pass from Dawson Mercer.

Thanksgiving leftovers taste better with some Grits. pic.twitter.com/43BX4PImgq

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) November 28, 2025

The Devils got a pair of early third period goals from Brendan Dillon (a one-timer from the left circle set up by Connor Brown) and a breakaway from Paul Cotter (sprung by Brown in the neutral zone).

Move so nasty you’re gonna need to watch it 47 times. pic.twitter.com/3XUIDvG6SO

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) November 28, 2025

Gritsyuk would notch his second of the night and sixth of the season at 16:49 to ice the win. He scored off a give-and-go with Ondrej Palat, who scored as many points Friday (2) as he had in the first 23 games this season.

The Devils didn’t need five goals the way Allen was playing though.

It was redemption for the 35-year-old journeyman, coming off what might be his worst outing since coming over at the trade deadline in 2024. Last time out he gave up four first period goals to Philly, including three in just 26 seconds. He made amends Friday afternoon. His 42 saves were the most he’d made in a game since stopping 45 against Columbus late last season. It was his third 40-plus save game as a Devil.

He was at his best in the third period stopping 17 shots.

With the win, New Jersey improved to 16-7-1 and took sole possession of first place in the Eastern Conference. They left Buffalo a point up on Tampa Bay in the conference standings and three ahead of Carolina in the Metro standings, which is something, considering the black cloud that seemed to hang over the Devils for the last month.

It was only the third time since beating the L.A. Kings 4-1 on Nov. 1 that the Devils didn’t need overtime/shootout to secure points. Five of November’s eight wins came in extra time, and Monday’s 4-3 win against the Red Wings was in doubt till the final seconds. They’re now 4-3 in the two weeks since Jack Hughes injured his hand at a team dinner in Chicago on Nov. 12 and have shown they can still bank points despite missing their franchise center.

The Game Highlights​

Up Next​

The Devils host the Flyers at 7 pm Saturday night. Philly, which has won two in a row, beat the Islanders in a shootout on Friday and sits third in the Metro, four points behind the Devils. They’ve been a much better home than road team. They’ll face Jacob Markstrom for the first time this season after torching Allen a week ago. Markstrom, who got off to a horrendous start this year, has looked much better his last two games.

Your Thoughts​

So what did everyone think? The Devils have shown themselves to be really resilient, especially this past week. Things were looking pretty ugly a week ago after lifeless losses to Tampa, Florida, and Philly. They showed a ton of fight in the two wins at home this week though and then routed Buffalo despite the high shot total they allowed. With (hopefully) only a month to go before Hughes returns they’re banking points and staying at or near the top of the standings.

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/d...n-gritsyuk-lead-devils-past-sabres-into-first

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Game Preview #25: Philadelphia Flyers @ New Jersey Devils

I don’t know about you, but I’d like to see much more of this tonight, and a LOT less of whatever the Flyers did the last time these two teams faced each other. | Photo by Rich Graessle/NHL via Getty Images

• The Matchup: Philadelphia Flyers (13-7-3) @ New Jersey Devils (16-7-1)
• The Time: 7:00pm EST
• The Broadcast: MSGSN, Devils Hockey Radio

Last Devils Game​

On Friday afternoon, the Devils defeated the Buffalo Sabres 5-0. The game started at 4:00pm, which was thanks to it being the day after Thanksgiving. This game had everything a Devils fan could hope for. El Capitan Nico Hischier continued his point streak with his 4th game in a row with at least a point. He now has 9 points in his last 4 games. Paul Cotter finally got on the board again with an assist on Brenden “Bobby Orr” Dillion’s 3rd goal of the season, and with a nice breakaway goal of his own in the 3rd period. Ondrej Palat had 2 primary assists. Arseny Gritsyuk had his first 2 goal game of his career.

However, the biggest positive of the game, in my humble opinion, was the massive bounce back game from Jake Allen. It’s no secret that I’ve been a big Jake Allen supporter this season. It’s also no secret that Allen did not have a good game in his last outing, which was a 6-3 loss to Philadelphia on 11/22. However, Allen went out tonight to prove that the game against the Flyers was a fluke, and shut down any doubters with a 42 save shutout against the Sabres. Jacob Markstrom has been playing better, and Allen is back playing how he has been all season, minus that one game we all want to forget. Put simply, the game could not have gone any better today for the Devils.

Last Flyers Game​

Also getting in on the 4:00pm game action, the Flyers defeated the New York Islanders today, 4-3 in the shootout. The game was the 3rd game of a 4 game road trip which ends tonight in New Jersey. It was also their 2nd win a row and their 4th win in their last 5 games. The Flyers ended the 1st period of the game up 2-0 thanks to 2 goals 22s seconds apart. It’s nice to see that the Flyers are also doing this to other teams and not just the Devils.

The Flyers scored again, less than 2 minutes into the 2nd period, and it looked like they might run away with the game at that point. While not quite as bad as the 3 goals in less than 30 seconds that the Flyers scored against the Devils in their last game, the Flyers did blow a 3 goal lead in the 2nd period. The Islanders scored 3 goals in less than 15 minutes, to end the period tied at 3-3. Any momentum the Flyers had quickly evaporated with the game now tied.

The game eventually went to OT, and when not settled there it went to the home run derby, I mean the 3 point contest, I mean the shootout. The Flyers scored on their 1st attempt. The Islanders tied in up in round 2, before Travis Konecny won it in round 3.

Injuries, Roster for Tonight, Yada, Yada, Yada.​

There was a brief injury scare when Paul Cotter headed to the locker room after a hit, however he came back to score in the 3rd period and appeared to be fine as he finished the game. As expected, there have been no new updates as far as any injured players returning tonight. I suppose there is a small chance there could be some news on Pesce between Friday night and tonight, but that’s doubtful.

As of this writing there has also been no official announcement on the starting goalie for tonight either. I would also expect an update on that at some point today. My gut says that Keefe will go back to Jacob Markstrom for tonight. But I also would love to see Allen get “revenge” for his last game against the Flyers. We’ll have to wait and see. Luckily, with their recent play, both goalies have been giving the team a chance to win.

Grimace’s Prediction and 2025-2026 Record Tracker​

Grimace is very happy to be back in the win column with his correct prediction against St. Louis and feels confident the Devils will hit a 4 game winning streak tonight.

Grimace’s 2025-2026 Season Prediction record currently stands at 8-5-0.

Your Take​

For the first time in what feels like forever, everything went the Devils way against Buffalo. Markstrom has improved. Allen bounced back and both the Devils stars and supporting cast contributed. What else can you say but, let’s have more of this tonight please! Feel free to leave your thoughts and comments below and thanks for reading!

In a shameless bit of non hockey related self promotion (approved by Chris – thanks Chris), I wanted to plug my brand new podcast on here, if any of you are interested in listening. We have a light hearted, fun discussion about any movies, music or video games mostly from the 1980s and 1990s. Please feel free to listen to us on any of the formats below and any feedback is welcome (positive and negative). Also, please follow us and subscribe, even if you think we stink.

YouTube

Apple Podcast

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Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/d...view-25-philadelphia-flyers-new-jersey-devils

 

[New Jersey Devils]

The Magic at Home for the Devils Comes to an End

You can’t win them all at home, but with a 4 point swing on the line against a frisky Flyers team you’d hope for a better effort than what we got tonight. The Flyers came to the Rock after playing in Long Island last night, while our heroes were back from curb stomping Buffalo.

This game was largely predicated on defensive lapses and questionable calls but the Devils looked a step behind the Flyers all night. While they mounted a comeback effort in the 3rd they eventually fell short, losing in a final of 5-3. Tippet (1g, 2a), Koncny (1g, 1a) and Zegras (1g, 1a) led the way for the Flyers while the Devils saw major contributions from Mercer (1g, 1a) and Bratt (2a).

1st Period: Started Badly/Finished Strong​

The Devils were quickly derailed by a phantom high stick by Nemec on Forrester less than a minute into the game. We really need to bring back shame, because that was a Golden Globe worthy performance by Forrester (not giving him the credit for an Oscar), but to the kill we went just :48 seconds in. Fortunately, the boys provided a solid kill but it left the Devils disjointed. The Neutral zone play was particularly sloppy and after a turnover an innocuous looking rush by Dvorak and Tippet quickly turned dangerous. Nemec was slow to stay with Tippet who took a floater in front from Dvorak, dangled past Markstrom and it’s 1-0 them.

The Devils did slowly got some ice back finally getting to their game at about the 11 minute mark. Nico led them in on a slick zone entry, tucking the puck under the defender’s stick to Bratt who cut across the high slot, and left it on a platter for Nemec. With Timo and Nico driving the net dragging the D with them Nemec was cocked and ready, ripping it home off the shoulder of Vladar at 12:09 for his 6th of the year. That goal vaulted him into the top in goals for defenseman this season and puts him on pace for almost 20 goals – truly remarkable.

View Link

From there the Devils took control of the first, leading to their first PP opportunity. The best chance came right as the buzzer sounded on a Timo one-time blast from the right circle, but we went to the period tied at 1.

2nd Period: Another Meltdown​

The Devils started the 2nd on the power play that didn’t really generate much dangerous. Immediately after our last shot was deflected into the corner, the Flyers caught a break with Michkov flying out of the box, creating a 2-on-1 off a nice stretch pass from the D-Zone. He got the pass from Konecny practically on top of Markstrom, where he was able to sneak through. It looked like Michkov might’ve pushed Markstrom causing the puck too cross the line, but Keefe choose not to challenge, so it’s 2-1 Flyers just 53 seconds into the period. Just a few short minutes later after a brutal D-zone shift for the 4th line, the puck came up to York at the blue line who put Noesen on roller skates, walked a few steps in and left it off for Travis Konecny who wired it home. 3-1 Flyers at 3:16.

Dread was creeping in as it really was looking like we were unraveling again against the Flyers as they added a 4th goal off ANOTHER 2 on 1, shortly after a snakebitten Jesper Bratt hit the post on a breakaway. The Flyers quickly countered as Tippet blew past Nemec on the left wing boards, and floated a nice looking saucer pass over to Zegras who buried it. Markstrom got a little piece, but it was 4-1 Flyers at 13:03.

at 16:04 Dillon and Couturier went off after getting into a conversation about gardening (probably) that started with a reverse hit that Dillon didn’t like. They discussed proper watering patterns in front, perenials around the side, and winter care back in front until Dillon decided to break his stick across Couturier – that led to 4 minutes for Dillon and 2 for Couturier. Shortly in the ensuing Flyers advantage though, The Deivls caught a break at 17:48 as the Flyers were called for too many men, leading to a power play for our boys.

After some good puck movement, great chances for Timo and for Mercer, we finally cashed in with :27 seconds left in the period. Bratt found himself onto the the left wing boards, was able to walk in and shot-pass to Mercer, who tipped it off Vladar’s pad, and Timo found the rebound, burying it short side.

View Link

3rd period: Can We Get a Comeback?​

Welp, we could not, but it wasn’t without one of the best goals of our season – and an absolute highlight reel play from Dawson Mercer for his 10th of the year. After some tenacious forechecking by Gritsyuk, the Devils kept the pressure on, with Mercer making a stand at the offensive blue line. He rag dolled Trevor Zegras, walked around a diving Seeler AND Zamula before depositing a slick backhand through Vladar’s legs. Just an incredible individual effort that was all started by strong forechecking and a good neutral zone gap from Siegenthaler.

View Link

So anyway, the comeback was not to be, albeit we got some great chances to tie it up. The refs missed a blatant high stick on Luke that really could’ve swung this thing, but somehow, someway didn’t see it (even while STANDING RIGHT THERE). I’d love to put the blame on the refs, but this was a poor effort and with the goalie pulled, Nemec fumbled it at the blue line, forcing him to take down Tippet who was awarded the goal as is the rule. 5-3 final, bad guys win.

Some Scattered Thoughts​

Luke and Nemec had a brutal game and we might be seeing some fatigue here from 25+ minutes a night. Both were puck watching all night – and were on the ice for all 4 goals each, and probably 3 could be attributed to one of the other’s weak defensive play. The decline in Luke’s play has been steady for the two weeks. He is no longer winning his minutes, and is generating very little offense like he was to start the season. Nemec looked like last year’s Nemec defensively, just too much passivity in both their games tonight. Not sure what the solution is because the alternative is Cholowski.

Markstrom saved what he could, but was largely left out to dry. He still makes me nervous and is absolutely swimming back there. He did make an outrageous glove save that kept it 4-3 in the 3rd. Hopefully we see his game creeping back to where we need it (and never wears the goatee mask again).

The 4th line is borderline unplayable (Lammikko-Glendening-Noesen). Just got buried in their minutes, outshot 7-1, had an xGF of 14.7% in 6:46 of ice time – that 3rd goal against was back breaking. Noesen is a shell of himself.

Glass, Brown, and Cotter didn’t look as bad, but were out shot 4-0 and generated .01 xGs as a line. Going to need more out of a 3rd line than that.

We were largely a two line team, with the Nico line and Mercer line dominating their minutes.

Bratt is still racking up assists, but man this guy needs to bury one. I’m not really going to kill him because he set up 2 of our 3 goals, but burying that breakaway would’ve really changed the tone of this game.

Siegs is a lowkey menace. Every little after whistle scrum or “conversation” there he is right in the middle.

Loved Dillon’s physicality tonight. He was trying to set the tone all night and had a couple of nice big hits. We would be in a world of trouble defensively if he wasn’t playing at the level he is.

There is basically zero wiggle room in Metro. Can’t win them all, and we were going to eventually drop one at home. Not sure what it is about the Flyers, but they have us figured out.

LGD

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/d...-magic-at-home-for-the-devils-comes-to-an-end

 

[New Jersey Devils]

2025-26 Gamethread #25: New Jersey Devils vs. Philadelphia Flyers

The Matchup: New Jersey Devils (16-7-1) at Philadelphia Flyers (13-7-3). Flyers blog: Broad Street Hockey

The Time: 7:00pm ET

The Broadcast: TV – MSGSN, Radio – Devils Radio Network

The Game Preview: Matt had the preview this morning.

The Rules: If you have been a reader here, you already know the rules. But for the rest, a reminder: please do not swear in the comment section, and keep comments relevant to the hockey game going on. Beyond that, do not attack any other commenters, and do not ask for or pass along illegal streams on this board.

LGD!

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/d...d-25-new-jersey-devils-vs-philadelphia-flyers

 

[New Jersey Devils]

The November 2025 Month in Review of the New Jersey Devils

What Happened in November?​

November started excellently.

The Devils went 4-1-1 through the first six games of the month, though four of those games (3-0-1) went to overtime. Their only bad game was the back-end of a back-to-back on November 2, when they lost 4-1 to the Anaheim Ducks. On November 12, things finally started to really look up after the late-October loss of Brett Pesce, with Simon Nemec scoring a hat trick, including an overtime game winner, against the Chicago Blackhawks. This came just two days after he scored a dramatic game-tying goal against the Islanders at home, preserving the Devils’ then season-starting point streak at the Prudential Center.

There were some worrying moments in the Blackhawks game. Right after returning from prior injuries, Zack MacEwen and Cody Glass were hurt. The Devils were not looking forward to filling their third-line center hole with Dawson Mercer again, while MacEwen turned the fourth line from a mess to both a scoring threat and a physical presence.

Then Jack Hughes sliced up his pinky on some broken glass at a steakhouse in Chicago.

Fortunately for Jack, the glass did not cause a season-ending injury, and he should be back sometime between Christmas and right after New Year’s. In the meantime, though, the Devils had to make it work without Hughes or Glass in the lineup for several days, forcing Juho Lammikko into a third-line center role while Dawson Mercer centered the second line. The results were not pretty. After Simon Nemec helped the Devils steal a shootout win over the Washington Capitals, three Devils magically returned from their injuries for their matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning. None of Dougie Hamilton, Connor Brown, or Evgenii Dadonov looked quite right off the jump, and the Devils lost three straight, including blow outs by the Lightning and Flyers. Between those games, they were shutout, 1-0, by Florida.

But things turned around when the Devils came back home. With Cody Glass returning to the lineup, they won a very chippy game against the Detroit Red Wings, and then beat the Blues in overtime. On Black Friday, they blew the Buffalo Sabres out, 5-0. Looking to finish the month strong, they completely sleepwalked through the first half of their game against the Flyers last night, turning it on much too late in a 5-3 loss (that included an empty-netter against). In the end, an 8-5-1 month in which the team was dealt a devastating injury blow and had to have Juho Lammikko center a third line for multiple games doesn’t seem that bad. Let’s break down the games a bit more by injury availability:

• With Jack: 4-1-1
• Without Jack: 4-4-0
• With Glass: 6-1-1
• Without Glass: 2-4-0
• With Lammikko at 3C: 1-3-0
• Without Jack, with Glass at 3C: 3-1-0

And by defensive dressings and availability:

• With Cholowski and White: 3-0-1
• With Cholowski and Hamilton: 2-4-0
• With White and Hamilton: 3-1-0
• Total, with White: 6-1-1 (2-1 regulation record)
• Total, with Hamilton: 5-5-0 (3-5 regulation record)
• Total, with Cholowski: 5-4-1 (1-4 regulation record)

By the Numbers​

All stats come from Natural Stat Trick, except where mentioned. Stats ranked 20th or worse are colored red, while stats 11th or better are colored green. The closer to 1st or 32nd the stat is, the stronger the shade. All stats are of the morning of November 30, so there are four games that may slightly impact their placement.

5v5 Play: The New Jersey Devils looked like they had work to do in October at even strength. But after several more injuries and lots of lineup shuffling, things largely got worse for the team.

Given the injuries the Devils sustained, it’s not incredibly surprising that the team looked worse in most areas. They played the entire month without Brett Pesce, their best defensive right-handed defenseman, while Jack Hughes was injured midway through. Jack Hughes in particular was doing great in the six November games he played, with a 59.41 CF% and 56.77 xGF% at five-on-five. Among forwards, he was second to only Arseny Gritsyuk in those categories. Farther down the lineup, though, things were atrocious. Connor Brown looked like he may have returned a bit too quickly from his injury, with second-worst mark at a 34.48 CF% and a team-worst 28.86 xGF%. Evgenii Dadonov had similarly bad numbers before going back on the shelf with another (or an aggravated) injury. Among the 14 forwards with over 15 minutes played in November, here were the top six by expected goals percentage:

• Arseny Gritsyuk: 57.85
• Jack Hughes: 56.77
• Jesper Bratt: 55.15
• Ondrej Palat: 52.48
• Stefan Noesen: 49.81
• Nico Hischier: 46.72

And here were the bottom five:

• Connor Brown: 28.86
• Luke Glendening: 35.47
• Evgenii Dadonov: 35.88
• Paul Cotter: 36.27
• Juho Lammikko: 42.72

Given these numbers, it would apparently be in the team’s best interest to move Stefan Noesen off of the fourth line, likely demoting Cotter or Brown to play with Lammikko and Glendening. This season, Stefan Noesen has a 58.75 xGF% when playing on any other line, which is a mark that would have would have put him as the top forward by quality of possession in November.

Thankfully, while Dougie Hamilton looked like he was holding himself back a little bit after returning from his injury, he was not as out of it as Brown or Dadonov. Also improving the defense, Colton White held a 49.15 xGF% to Dennis Cholowski’s 41.17 mark, vastly improving the team’s defensive results in those minutes as well. Getting Hamilton and White into the lineup also lifted the team in another area: they helped make it possible to separate the Dillon-Hughes and Cholowski-Hughes pairings. Luke Hughes clearly misses Brett Pesce, as shown by the team giving up a whopping 17 even strength goals against in November’s 14 games with Luke on the ice, though his results began to match his expected numbers more when paired with Simon Nemec. Nemec had a surge down the stretch this month on that pairing until last night, when he played his worst defensive game of the season. It happens.

Power Play Situations: The Devils were great at generating chances, and less great at finishing them.

I will cut the Devils a bit of slack here. Ever since they got off to an insanely hot start on the power play, officials have made a note to make them work twice as hard for power plays. See last night, when Nemec was tagged early for a clearly phantom high stick that should have been an embellishment penalty on Philadelphia. While most crews would go into game management mode, Brenden Dillon was later tagged for an extra unsportsmanlike after trading crosschecks with Sean Couturier, while Couturier got away with a blood-drawing double minor high sticking in the third period on Luke Hughes. The officials quickly made up halfway for that one with a minor penalty call a few seconds after play resumed, but it was a perfect image of the one-sided officiating the Devils have been dealing with since halfway through October.

Teams that spend little time on the power play are going to have a hard time generating goals. To date, the Devils have a stunning 13 power plays below average, according to Hockey Reference. Whether you think it’s the official’s relationship with Sheldon Keefe, or an understanding among officials that the Devils will stomp other teams when given power plays, other teams pretty much have free reign to do whatever they want to the Devils. If the Devils were given power plays at an appropriate rate for the league, I imagine that shooting percentage would have ticked a few percentage points higher.

Penalty Kill Situations: The New Jersey Devils’ penalty kill nearly fell apart in November, but the goaltenders are keeping them afloat.

For reference, The Devils had a sixth-ranked 6.98 xGA/60 on the penalty kill in October. There is only so long you can expect this to go on before the goals against start flooding in, but the ratio of results has not changed at all this season. In both October and November, the Devils have scored 25 percent of the goals while on the penalty kill. But in November, the underlying metrics on the defensive side have fallen apart. But it’s not just because of the loss of Pesce.

First and foremost, Dougie Hamilton missed four games in November, and he only played the fourth-most minutes among defensemen (18:49) on the penalty kill. Yes, you heard right: Dougie Hamilton is the best penalty killer on the New Jersey Devils, minute for minute and pound for pound. In November, he had a defense-leading 6.99 xGA/60 and a 3.19 GA/60. With Dougie on the ice on the penalty kill, the Devils have an insanely high 28.30 xGF%, which is usually an effect only forwards can bring to the team — but Dougie manages to do it. By comparison, the team should venture to completely eliminate Nemec’s penalty kill minutes, as the team gave up 13.85 GA/60 and 18.7 xGA/60 in his 8:40 of PK time in November. Meanwhile, Siegenthaler, Dillon, and Hughes all range from 9.9 (Siegenthaler) to 11.28 (Hughes) xGA/60. The constant force of good? Dougie Hamilton.

There has also been regression from some forwards. Luke Glendening (15.12) and Connor Brown (18.08) had the worst xGA/60 marks among the forwards by a wide margin, eclipsing Nico Hischier’s 9.1 xGA/60. The difference between the former two and the Captain, though, is that Nico has combined with Dawson Mercer to play an aggressive, at times offensive style, while Brown and Glendening have yet to create a shorthanded scoring chance.

Just as the team can improve their process and results by playing Hamilton more over players like Nemec and Hughes on the penalty kill (possibly replacing the other entirely with Colton White, as well), forwards who might be able to improve the kill with more usage include Ondrej Palat, Stefan Noesen, and Cody Glass. Palat ran a 6.48 xGA/60 in his six minutes and change of usage in November, with the Devils holding opponents scoreless. Importantly, Palat also had an impact on the frequency of point shots, reducing the CA/60 to a much better 86.17 in his minutes. Meanwhile, Stefan Noesen saw exactly zero shot attempts against in over two penalty killing minutes. This is a small sample, but the Devils have allowed zero goals against in around 41 penalty killing minutes by Noesen since he rejoined the club last season — and the team does not allow high-danger shots with him on the ice. By combining Noesen with Palat or Glass, who has seen pitifully low penalty killing usage with the Devils (zero goals against in 14 minutes since last year), the team might be able to get more out of their third-line range of players.

Goaltending: It was an improved month for Markstrom, with more excellence from Allen.

While Jacob Markstrom continued to struggle with high-danger shots, the Devils actually got well above league average goaltending in the month of November. A lot of the disparity here actually comes down to the penalty kill. Jake Allen stopped all 16 shots he faced on the penalty kill, while Jacob Markstrom gave up six goals on 41 shots (.854), including four goals on 14 high-danger shots (.714). But can you blame Markstrom? The penalty kill was much worse in November than in October, leading to Markstrom having 0.62 goals saved above expected on the kill throughout the month. Allen, by comparison, only faced 3.38 expected goals against on the penalty kill (-1.63 per 60, compared to Markstrom), indicating a significantly better team performance in front of him.

In the end, though, Allen saved an entire goal against above expected per every 60 minutes played, in all situations, as Allen improved his high-danger save percentage from .729 to .905 from October to November. Throughout the league, only the top 10 goalies by all situations save percentage managed a goal saved above expected per 60 minutes played in the month of November. On the positive side of things for Markstrom, he massively improved his medium-danger save percentage from an incredibly poor .848 to an elite .946, while his low-danger save percentage went from an unplayable .833 to a dead-average .950.

Moving forward, these trends should encourage Sheldon Keefe to move forward with a pretty even split of games, perhaps with Allen continuing to get a bit of an edge in starts. To date, Allen still has an extra two starts on Markstrom across the entire season, as he is on track for an even 41 starts for the season.

Devil of the Month​

In the month of November, the team’s success was largely driven by four players: Nico Hischier, Timo Meier, Simon Nemec, and Jake Allen. In the cases of Simon Nemec and Jake Allen, they had some excellent individual performances. Jake Allen stole two games from Pittsburgh and Washington early in the month, allowing three goals in total in those games despite both going to shootouts. Later on, he did his best to keep the Devils in against Florida, but the offense had a hapless bottom six at that point of time, leading to a 1-0 shutout. Then, Allen had a bit of a stinker against Philly before shutting out the Sabres. In total, I would credit Allen for helping the team steal two standings points throughout the month, though he could have helped them steal up to four if the offense held up their end.

Nemec is a wild card. His defense still needs a lot of work, as shown by last night’s performance against the Flyers. However, he scored six goals in November, plus a shootout goal. They were all incredibly impactful:

• Game-tying goal with under 5 seconds left, vs. Islanders on 11/10 (OTL)
• Hat-trick, including game-tying game-winning goals at Blackhawks on 11/12 (OTW)
• Game-winning shootout goal, vs. Capitals on 11/15 (SOW)
• Game-winning goal, vs. Blues on 11/26 (OTW)
• Game-tying goal (1-1), vs. Flyers on 11/30 (5-3 L, 5 GA for Nemec)

In total, Nemec’s goal scoring added five standings points for the Devils, while his game against the Flyers yesterday may have helped prevent them from getting two more. Still, how many hat tricks do you see defensemen score?

Nico Hischier was having a rough season until Jack Hughes got hurt. By the time Hughes was announced out with a hand injury, he only had three goals and nine assists in 17 games. Since then, Hischier has six goals and five assists in eight games. In the Devils’ four wins in that span, Nico has three goals and three assists. After the team looked like they were having trouble fighting without Jack, Nico had a two-goal, three-point night in a loss against the Flyers. Then, when the Devils returned home, Hischier set-up the opening goal against Detroit and then re-took the lead in the first period for them after DeBrincat tied it. The Devils never coughed up that second lead, and Hischier ended up trying to fight Dylan Larkin after Detroit acted very dumb following the final horn. Then, he factored into all three goals against the Blues with a goal and two primary assists. With the last win of the month, Hischier had the icebreaking goal in the first period against Buffalo (then an important goal, as Buffalo didn’t fall out of it until the third). Nico really shone after Jack got hurt, preventing the Devils from falling apart on offense, helping to swing at least four standings points the Devils’ way in the second half of November.

Timo Meier has largely rode shotgun for Hischier this season, and he had two goals and three assists in the team’s latest (and crucial) three-game winning streak. He has done a great job of setting the tone for the Devils, upping their physicality on the forecheck and getting under the opponents’ skins. He was crucial in the win over St. Louis with a goal and primary assist in regulation, as the Devils would not have reached overtime without him. From the November 22 loss to the Flyers to the November 26 win over the Blues, Timo had the first goal of the game each night, while he set up Nico Hischier’s icebreaking goal on November 28 in Buffalo. Timo largely sets the tone for the Devils, and we cannot overlook that.

In the end, I think I have to give the All About the Jersey Devil of the Month for November 2025 to Nico Hischier. Yes, Allen was phenomenal, but I cannot give the award to a goalie who played fewer than half of the games and only had three of the eight wins (even if he deserved one or two more). Yes, Nemec may have had the clutchest month in recent hockey memory, but he was too inconsistent on the ice and still has a lot of work to do, defensively. Timo Meier was the tone-setter, and the rest of the team would do well to pick up some of his edge in their minutes. But Nico Hischier stopped the ship from going down after Jack Hughes got hurt, and that’s what you need from your team Captain.

Nico led the team in goals and primary points. He took 275 of the team’s 744 faceoffs. He led the forwards with 14 shots blocked. He tied Timo Meier for the team lead in high danger chances with 28. He had the strongest iCF to iHDCF ratio on the team at 5:2 (70 to 28), indicating that he never wastes possession with bad shots. And how could he? Without Jack Hughes in the lineup, offensive generation is falling squarely on Nico’s shoulders. And more than he has since the first couple weeks of the season, Nico Hischier looks like an elite two-way center again. He’s keeping them a playoff team while they wait for Jack and Pesce to return.

Concluding Remarks and Your Thoughts​

The Devils had 28 potential points in November, and they took 17 for a .607 points percentage. This is a step down from their October mark, but it is by no means “bad.” Across a whole season, it would be a 99.57 points pace, which is generally good for a playoff spot. As of this writing, the Devils are tied for fourth in the league by total points and fifth by points percentage. With 33 standings points, they are first in the Metropolitan Division and second in the Eastern Conference with an extra game played over Carolina at the moment, but the Hurricanes will match them in games played this evening. They are tied for third in the league in regulation and overtime wins.

Could they be better? Yes. Would I expect them to continue being this good with these underlying metrics? No. But they were missing Jack Hughes for the majority of the month and Brett Pesce for the entire month and skated out the other side with a winning record in November. I will take that every time, as frustrating as individual games might be.

But what did you think of the Devils in November? Did you enjoy watching them? Did you think they were better or worse than expected, given the situations? What do you think they need to do to have a successful December? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and thanks for reading.

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/d...2025-month-in-review-of-the-new-jersey-devils

 

[New Jersey Devils]

The Devils Need To Play Better Against The Metropolitan Division

This past Saturday, the New Jersey Devils lost in regulation to the Philadelphia Flyers. It was their second regulation loss to Philadelphia in a week. Those losses by themselves don’t spell doom for New Jersey, but they are emblematic of a budding concern for the team: Mediocre results against Metropolitan Division opponents.

Just take a look at the Metro standings. The division race is absurdly tight, with first place and last place being separated by a mere six points entering Sunday. It’s kind of hard to believe, but one bad week could see New Jersey plummet all the way down from the penthouse of the division to the basement, the margin for error is that thin. That’s why back-to-back regulation losses to the Flyers are so frustrating, as four-point swings make a huge difference right now. If, say, the Devils had split regulation wins with the Flyers instead of losing both games in 60 minutes, New Jersey would be six points clear of Philadelphia instead of two. And since Philadelphia currently has a game in hand on the Devils, that theoretical six-point margin would ensure that New Jersey could not be caught if the Flyers win that game in hand. Instead, the Devils are only two points up on a team they’ve already lost to twice.

New Jersey has thus far gone 3-3-1 against Metropolitan Division teams. That’s not a good record, but thankfully it’s not terrible either. The other problem, though, is that only one of those three wins came in regulation: The October 13 game in Columbus against the Blue Jackets. A game, by the way, in which New Jersey got outshot 33-28 and, according to Natural Stat Trick, posted a 5-on-5 Expected Goals For% of 39.21. So the only division game this year where the Devils did not allow their opponent to get any points was a game where they were lucky to get any results in the first place.

Put another way, out of a possible 14 points, Metropolitan Division opponents have collected 10 of those available points against the Devils. New Jersey has only attained seven of 14 possible points, meaning they are losing the collective battle against their Metropolitan Division foes, which could haunt them down the stretch of the regular season.

In case you need a reminder, here is a rundown of this year’s matchups against each Metro team:

---

Carolina Hurricanes​

Games Played So Far: 10/9 (6-3 regulation loss)

Points Gained: 0/2

Opponent Points Gained: 2/2

Future Games: 1/4 (home), 1/17 (home), 3/28 (away)

Columbus Blue Jackets​

Games Played So Far: 10/13 (3-2 regulation win)

Points Gained: 2/2

Opponent Points Gained: 0/2

Future Games: 12/1 (home), 12/31 (away), 2/3 (home)

New York Islanders​

Games Played So Far: 11/10 (3-2 overtime loss)

Points Gained: 1/2

Opponent Points Gained: 2/2

Future Games: 12/23 (away), 1/6 (away), 2/5 (home)

New York Rangers​

Games Played So Far: none

Points Gained: N/A

Opponent Points Gained: N/A

Future Games: 3/7 (home), 3/18 (away), 3/31 (away)

Philadelphia Flyers​

Games Played So Far: 11/22 (6-3 regulation loss), 11/29 (5-3 regulation loss)

Points Gained: 0/4

Opponent Points Gained: 4/4

Future Games: 4/7 (home)

Pittsburgh Penguins​

Games Played So Far: 11/8 (2-1 shootout win)

Points Gained: 2/2

Opponent Points Gained: 1/2

Future Games: 1/8 (away), 2/26 (away), 4/9 (home)

Washington Capitals​

Games Played So Far: 11/15 (3-2 shootout win)

Points Gained: 2/2

Opponent Points Gained: 1/2

Future Games: 12/27 (home), 3/20 (away), 4/2 (home)

---

I am aware that there are legitimate excuses for why New Jersey has struggled against the Metro this season. For one thing, they’ve played many of these division games (including both contests against the Flyers) without their best player, Jack Hughes. Aside from Hughes, we all know how decimated by injuries New Jersey has been in the early part of the season. The schedule hasn’t helped either, serving up a hellacious run of quality opponents with not much rest to be had. All are legitimate extenuating circumstances to be sure.

Still, despite the reasonable excuses, this is a results-oriented business. And the inter-division results thus far have not been good. The Devils have a chance to get back on track tonight at The Rock against Columbus, the team that’s dead last in the division entering today, but only six points behind New Jersey. A regulation win would put eight points between the Devils and Blue Jackets, but a regulation loss would allow Columbus to climb to within four points of New Jersey. It’s a big game, but considering how tight the division is at the moment, every Metro matchup is a big game.

Now, you would expect the Metropolitan to ease up a little more as the season goes on. The Penguins and Flyers are wildly exceeding preseason expectations, so perhaps they come back down to earth soon. The Islanders are better than most people thought, so maybe they fade as well. The Blue Jackets are as scrappy as they were last season, but they still might not be ready to win yet. The Rangers and Capitals are established playoff contenders, but they’re both old teams with significant vulnerabilities. That leaves Carolina as the only major threat in the division.

But there are no guarantees in life. Maybe the Penguins, Flyers, and Islanders never fade away. Maybe the Blue Jackets are ready to take that next step from plucky young team to playoff contender. Maybe the Rangers and Capitals overcome their flaws and continue to be postseason fixtures. The point is, New Jersey cannot bank on the Metropolitan Division gifting them a playoff spot, which is more or less what happened a season ago. I don’t expect lightning to strike twice, so if the Devils want to maintain their grip on a playoff spot and get another crack at the Stanley Cup, they need to figure out how to start getting results against their Metropolitan Division rivals.

What do you make of New Jersey’s early struggles against the Metro? Do you expect the results to get better as the team gets healthier? Aside from Carolina, which team in the division concerns you the most? As always, thanks for reading!

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/d...play-better-against-the-metropolitan-division

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Devils Decked by Jackets as Dillon Leaves With Injury in 1,000th Game

That one hurt, literally and figuratively.

Bad enough for the once unbeatable-at-home Devils to have dropped two in a row to a pair of division rivals at Prudential Center in what, let’s face it, were the most winnable games on this current four-game homestand. But to lose in the manner they did by blowing a two-goal lead; and now it’s looking like they may have lost defenseman Brenden Dillon. …

Miles Wood scored one goal and set up another, Adam Fantilli had three assists, and Columbus scored four unanswered goals to beat New Jersey 5-3 in a fight-filled game Monday night.

The Devils dropped to 4-5 since losing Jack Hughes to injury back on Nov. 12 and a lot of the goodwill they’d generated from a gutsy three-game winning streak last week seems to have evaporated.

Goalie Jake Allen was as bad in Monday’s loss as he was outstanding in Friday’s win over Buffalo.

Allen allowed five goals on 24 shots – a .792 save percentage. The worst of a bad bunch came at 13 minutes, 31 seconds of the third when he grabbed a puck behind his net and passed it right onto the tape of Columbus forward Charlie Coyle’s stick. Coyle fed Wood in the slot and the former Devil buried his seventh of the year to put Columbus up 5-3 less than two minutes after New Jersey had made it a one-goal game.

Woody's feeling right at home!

CBJ x @FanaticsBook pic.twitter.com/3gcSi6iffC

— Columbus Blue Jackets (@BlueJacketsNHL) December 2, 2025

And it all started out so well.

The Devils came out flying and grabbed a 2-0 lead in the first 3:03 on just five shots.

They got a power-play goal from Nico Hischier 1:26 in with Zach Werenski in the box for hooking.

Ondrej Palat scored his second of the year just 1:37 later after Arseny Gritsyuk forced a turnover and the Devils looked to be rolling.

Leading 2-1 late in the first New Jersey appeared to go up 3-1 on a Timo Meier goal at 16:46. But Columbus won a goalie interference challenge to keep it a 2-1 game.

The momentum turned about a minute into the second when following a scrum around the Devils net Dmitri Voronkov dropped Dillon in a fight. Voronkov came down on top of Dillon, who hit the ice face first. Dillon, who was playing in his thousandth career NHL game had to be helped to the locker room and only returned briefly in the second period.

Brendan Dillon has left tonight's game after a scary moment during a fight with Dmitri Voronkov pic.twitter.com/n67Ui10pNG

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 2, 2025

Twenty-seven seconds later Sean Monahan knotted the score at 2-2 by walking around Jonas Siegenthaler.

The Devils spent the rest of the period looking for payback. Siegenthaler fought Fantilli, who’d taken a pretty viscious slash from Connor Brown and got kicked out for not having his jersey tied down. Later in the period Stefan Noesen fought Voronkov and Paul Cotter fought Brendan Smith.

With Dillon unable to return and Siegenthaler ejected, the Devils played the last 36:02 with just four defensemen. Simon Nemec played over 30 minutes and Luke Hughes played 26:29 and both were clearly worn down.

Hughes was a minus-3, and was on for two Columbus goals 34 seconds apart in the third.

He was also the intended recipient of Allen’s ill-fated pass that led to Wood’s goal.

Up Next​

Things don’t get any easier from here. The Devils host the Dallas Stars at 7 p.m., Wednesday night. The Stars are the second best team in the West, and in the NHL at 17-5-4 and they’re real, real good away from home (9-1-3).

Your Thoughts​

Talk about what a difference a couple of games makes. Things seemed so much brighter Friday afternoon afternoon. Now they’ve lost two to division rivals and may need to add another AHL defenseman to their decimated corps. Is anyone else feeling less than optimistic about December?

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/devils-game-recaps/63803/devils-dillon-decked-by-jackets

 

[New Jersey Devils]

New Jersey Devils Prospect Update: The Daniil Orlov Show

It’s been a mixed year for prospect development in the Devils system, but one Russian defender is rising quickly up the ranks.

Orlov’s Breakout​

Thirty games into the season, Daniil Orlov has already set his KHL career high in points with 16. Drafted as a defensive defenseman, Orlov has shown flashes of offense in the seasons that followed, albeit in limit opportunities as a young defender in the KHL. Utilizing his speed, Orlov excels on the rush when given the chance. Take a look at this goal from last week.

3rd of the year for #NJDevils prospect Daniil Orlov

30 GP 3-13–16 PTS #SPR #KHL pic.twitter.com/6uoAd7OcP4

— Hockey News Hub (@HockeyNewsHub) November 27, 2025

That’s an impressive goal for someone who was once considered purely a “defensive defenseman” when he was drafted according to Elite Prospects. The Devils will have to wait on Orlov, who is signed through 2027-28. At 21-years-old, Orlov will still be in his prime years at the conclusion of that contract. Whether he ever comes over is an open question, but the timing may work out as Siegenthaler and Hamilton’s contracts both expire that season.

The Hot List​

• Goaltender Jakub Malek has settled in with Adirondack of the ECHL and is 1-0-1 with a 1.91 GAA and .930 SV% in two starts.
• Winger David Rozsival is still hot, becoming the first Devils prospect to score 10 goals this season. Rozsival, a sixth round pick in this year’s draft, has 16 points in 23 games for the Green Bay Gamblers of the USHL.
• Center Samu Salminen had a two-goal night on Saturday, increasing his point totals to 13 in 15 games for the University of Denver.

Samu Salminen's 2nd marker of the night is tonight's @Safeway Goal of the Game. pic.twitter.com/beGg5eMvSQ

— Denver Hockey (@DU_Hockey) November 30, 2025

The Not List​

• Goaltender Nico Daws gave up 10 goals in 2 games this week for Utica, losing both contests. After a sterling start, Daws has faltered recently after taking over the starting net, somewhat of a pattern in his career. Daws currently sits with a 2-7-3 record, a 2.99 GAA, and .885 SV%.
• This summer was very encouraging for winger Kaspar Pikkarainen, who early last season, seemed as if his hockey career may have been over due to a serious injury. In 20 games for TPS of the Liiga this year, Pikkarainen has two assists. Not great numbers, but at only 19-years-old, Pikkarainen still has plenty of time to develop.
• Winger Cam Squires has struggled to get a footing in Utica, playing only three games, and bouncing around between the AHL and ECHL. In Adirondack, Squires has fared better with 3 points in 8 contests, but overall, it’s been a rough adjustment for the promising winger, reminiscent of Josh Filmon’s struggles last year.

Your Take​

Have something to say? Post your comments below.

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/p...s-prospect-update-daniil-orlovs-breakout-year

 

[New Jersey Devils]

2025-26 Gamethread #26: New Jersey Devils vs. Columbus Blue Jackets

The Matchup: New Jersey Devils (16-8-1) versus the Columbus Blue Jackets (11-9-5).

The Time: 7:00pm ET

The Broadcast: TV – MSGSN, Radio – Devils Radio Network

The Game Preview: Check out this preview from today.

The Rules: If you have been a reader here, you already know the rules. But for the rest, a reminder: please do not swear in the comment section, and keep comments relevant to the hockey game going on. Beyond that, do not attack any other commenters, and do not ask for or pass along illegal streams on this board.

LGD!

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/d...26-new-jersey-devils-vs-columbus-blue-jackets

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Sorry Vancouver, You’re Not Getting Jesper Bratt For Quinn Hughes

I have to ask these questions before we start this week.

Is Canada some sort of fantasy land where people just say things and expect it to come to fruition?

Do Canadian NHL front offices, media, and fanbases think all of the teams, fanbases, and media of teams from ‘The States” or “Down South” were born yesterday? Or that they have no concept of value, or leverage, or anything else for that matter pertaining to trades.

It’s something that I’ve touched on in the past when the seemingly never-ending “Josh Anderson to the Devils” trade rumors that would always surface with anyone and everyone from Alexander Holtz to Luke Hughes to Simon Nemec to Dawson Mercer heading from the Devils to the Canadiens in exchange for the overpaid fourth liner. It never made any sense then thanks in part to Anderson’s bloated contract and the fact that he’s simply not very good and certainly wasn’t good enough to fetch that kind of return. Fortunately, those so-called rumors floated out there by a Montreal media group that was more or less wishcasting and carrying water for Habs management have more or less died out as time has gone on and we’ve since moved on with our lives.

Unfortunately, it would appear that regardless of where you go in Canada, people are just as delusional as their media brethren in Quebec.

From Sportsnet 590 The Fan in Toronto.

“Would you do Jesper Bratt, Šimon Nemec, plus? … If [Quinn Hughes] is not going to stay, you need to leverage to get as much as you can in return.”@DavidAmber, @RealKyper & @jtbourne discuss why the #Canucks should trade Hughes and what the haul might look like. #NJDevils pic.twitter.com/s91t41GFpx

— Sportsnet 590 The FAN (@FAN590) November 28, 2025

If you’re not so inclined to give that a click (or the tweet doesn’t display properly for whatever reason), here’s the cliffnotes version.

David Amber, the studio host for Hockey Night in Canada, joined Nick Kypreos and Justin Bourne on their show “Real Kyper and Bourne” on SportsNet. When asked about the Canucks situation with them being willing to trade veteran players, Amber suggested a trade involving Jesper Bratt and Simon Nemec to Vancouver for Quinn Hughes. The hosts replied that the Devils should also be giving two first round picks on top of that.

I mean, where do we even start here?

I think there’s a worthwhile conversation as to whether or not Simon Nemec could or should be part of such a deal. After all, he’s just now beginning to scratch the surface of what he might potentially be as an NHL player. He’s a right-handed defenseman who may or may not be an elite offensive producer but he’s not a nothing in that area either, playing nearly 20 minutes a night in his third NHL season. Even knowing he’ll need a new contract after this season, he would be a valuable piece to get back in any trade. I said last week that I’m not giving up that guy easily in any trade, and I mean that. But I do think it’s at least a conversation worth having in a potential Quinn Hughes trade.

But Jesper Bratt?

Let me stop you right there.

The Canucks are a dumpster fire of an organization right now. They’re doing everything that they can to avoid using the word “rebuild”, never mind actually committing to doing one. They made a bunch of short-sighted moves in an attempt to be competitive this season to try to show Quinn Hughes that they’re close to winning. Predictably, those moves haven’t worked, and they’re already looking to pivot by selling off veterans.

But again, what does that even mean when they have 7 guys with NMCs (not including Conor Garland and Thatcher Demko, whose NMCs kicks in next season when their extensions kick in). Yes, the Canucks should get what they can for guys like Evander Kane, Teddy Blueger, Kiefer Sherwood, and Derek Forbort, but none of those guys really moves the needle all that much by themselves. I wouldn’t want to be the team to overpay for Sherwood in a trade in a season where he’s shooting 24% just because he’s a “big, strong winger” who “plays the game the right way” and has a cheap, albeit expiring contract. But I digress.

Does anyone in their right mind think that Jesper Bratt, with his own NMC, sees what’s going on in Vancouver from afar and is saying to himself “You know what, that sounds great. I can’t wait to join a bad Canucks team that won’t have Quinn Hughes. Sign me up.”

There’s no chance that happens. It’s the type of dumb suggestion that appears on HFBoards trade proposals but aren’t based in reality. It’s the type of trade proposal that really shouldn’t even warrant a response, but at some point when you keep seeing suggestions like that haphazardly being thrown out there, eventually something needs to be said.

There’s also no chance that the Canucks, who just like every other team is looking for a Top Six center, is getting Nico Hischier. Obviously, they’re not getting Jack or Luke Hughes either for obvious reasons.

We’ve talked about this before when the topic of trading for Quinn Hughes has come up. The Canucks have some leverage in the sense that they don’t have to trade him to New Jersey. As I’ve said before, they should do what’s best for them when it comes to a return and get as much for a perennial Norris Trophy contender as they can. Having a Quinn Hughes for two playoff runs is inherently valuable, even as an extended rental. Even knowing that he’s probably not going to stay wherever he winds up. Whether or not New Jersey is that team is a whole other argument.

That said, you don’t really have as much leverage as you seem to think. Especially when everyone seems to know where this is ultimately heading. The worst kept secret in the league is that Quinn wants to play with his brothers. His brothers are both signed long-term in New Jersey. Quinn hasn’t said publicly that he’s not going to re-sign in Vancouver, but let’s be real, he’s not re-signing in Vancouver.

I don’t know what a Devils trade package for Quinn Hughes would even look like. I do think there are complicating factors that have to be considered like moving out salary (the cap is fake but its only so fake), and I have my doubts that players like Dougie Hamilton or Ondrej Palat with no-trade protection would be all that enthralled with the idea of going to Vancouver either. And this is assuming Vancouver doesn’t continue to be delusional and continue to hold on to Quinn through the end of this season. At the end of the day, its probably easier for Jim Rutherford and Patrik Allvin to sell the argument that “See, we tried, but Quinn Hughes never wanted to be here” than a rebuild, and Vancouver is exactly the type of organization that would pursue short-sighted PR wins like that rather than the hard work and hard truths that leads to playoff wins.

What I do know is that hoping and wishing you’re getting a Jesper Bratt or Nico Hischier back in this situation is exactly that. It’s hoping. It’s wishing.

At best, a trade return from the Devils might look something similar to what the Sharks got for Timo Meier, a quantity over quality trade. The 2026 equivalent of that is probably something along the lines of a guaranteed 1st round pick, another pick that could become a first if the Devils reached a conference final, Anton Silayev, Seamus Casey, Lenni Hameenaho, and maybe an NHL roster player like Stefan Noesen with limited trade protection to help offset some of the money. Or maybe instead of Noesen, the Devils loop in a third team and pay someone to take Palat off of their hands. But that’s probably within the ballpark of what you’re looking at.

Now, another team could and probably should be able to easily top that package. But if you’re Tom Fitzgerald and you know you can probably get Quinn Hughes as a UFA in 2027, you can also call Vancouver’s bluff and say take it or leave it. The Devils could just as easily turn around and trade some of what I just listed for the 3C or scoring winger that they’re currently lacking. As nice as having a Quinn Hughes would be, you don’t necessarily have to go and get him right this second.

At the end of the day, I don’t really care if the Canucks maximize value for Quinn Hughes. I’m not a Canucks fan so its no skin off my back if they continue to mismanage this situation and fumble the bag. I think the fact that Vancouver entered this season with Hughes reduced what they could command in a potential trade because there wasn’t anything they realistically could’ve done to compete for a Stanley Cup. All they accomplished was starting the clock when it comes to Quinn Hughes eventually reaching that proverbial “s— or get off the pot” moment. We’re inching closer to Quinn telling the Canucks that he’s not going to stay and sending the Vancouver media into a panic. It would be in their best interests to see the writing on the wall and make the tough trade, and the Devils are an obvious trade partner given his two brothers are also on the roster.

That said, if you’re going to make the obvious connection with the Devils, the least you can do is operate with some sense of reality. You’re not going to get a Jesper Bratt when he has all the power in the world to say no. You’re not getting the Devils captain back when they’re already down a center with Jack Hughes out. Maybe you can get a Simon Nemec back, but if I’m Tom Fitzgerald, I’m exploring every avenue when it comes to trading a Dougie Hamilton or Johnathan Kovacevic to clean up my RHD logjam before I’m giving up Nemec. I’m trading something closer to what I wrote about in that quantity over quality package.

As I said, Vancouver still has some leverage. They don’t simply have to take the Devils offer just because its there. They can shop Quinn around. They SHOULD shop Quinn around and do what they can to maximize a return. There will be a contender who will sign up for Quinn Hughes as their #1 defenseman for two playoff runs and worry about his free agency in 2027 when it comes. If a potential playoff team like Carolina or Detroit blows the Canucks away with an offer, they’d be smart to take it, but I doubt their offers will be all that much better than the Devils unless they’re blowing up their roster in the process, and I’m sure the same Canadian talking heads will wish for Lucas Raymond or Mo Seider or Seth Jarvis as the centerpiece of said return as much as they are with Jesper Bratt.

Sorry Vancouver. It ain’t happening.

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/g...else-you-think-youre-getting-for-quinn-hughes

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Lifeless Devils Shut Out by Stars, 3-0

With each new loss it becomes more and more obvious just how badly the New Jersey Devils miss Jack Hughes.

Take Wednesday night’s game against Western Conference powerhouse Dallas at Prudential Center. The Devils had nothing. At virtually no point during a 3-0 whitewash did they ever give the impression they had a chance of winning. Not once did they give a good-sized midweek crowd of 15,805 anything to cheer about after a pre-game ceremony honoring Brendan Dillon for playing in his 1,000th NHL game.

They threw 30 shots Jake Oettinger’s way, but didn’t make him work too hard for his second shutout of the season.

And if the outcome was ever in doubt after Miro Heiskanen scored at 11 minutes, 34 seconds of the second period to make it 1-0, Jason Robertson’s goal at 17:36 made the third period all but academic.

In the wake of this one there should be some serious doubts as to whether or not the Devils can weather the next month without their franchise center.

They’re now 4-6-0 without Hughes. The last five days have been an absolute disaster. They’ve lost three straight at home where they were once 9-0-1. Against lesser competition in Philadelphia and Columbus they were at least competitive, but against the Dallas Stars? It was ugly.

Dallas is 10-1-4 on the road this year and it’s easy to see why. Coming off a 3-2 overtime loss to the Rangers on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden, the Stars kept everything simple, played smart and patient hockey and waited for the Devils to make a mistake. And when they did, they made sure to make them pay.

Heiskanen’s fourth goal of the year came after Devils goalie Jacob Markstrom and defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler got tangled up in Markstrom’s crease.

Sizzler pic.twitter.com/WEKFVrmpMw

— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) December 4, 2025

Just 6:02 later Jason Robertson scored his 17th goal of the year to make it 2-0 when the Devils’ Dillon-Dennis Cholowski pairing couldn’t handle the Stars’ cycle, and at that point the only issue at hand seemed to be whether or not the Devils would get shut out on home ice for the first time this season.

If the Devils gained any momentum from killing off a late second period tripping penalty by Dougie Hamilton, it evaporated at 7:05 of third when Mikko Rantanen made a nifty little tip to himself for his 12th goal of the year.

Can't stop pic.twitter.com/9qPSGOnwhG

— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) December 4, 2025

Not even a week ago the Devils were sitting atop the Eastern Conference and Metro Division and looking forward to a four-game home stand to pad their lead. Now they’re at fifth in the conference and fourth in the division and looked lifeless and lost against one of the league’s best teams.

Unless they want to give back half the wins from the early season streak that put them near the top of the standings, all in their own building, they’ll need to play much better against the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday.

Up Next​

The Devils play Vegas at 7 pm, Friday, at Prudential Center. Vegas is coming off a 4-3 shootout win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday night. Carter Hart made his Vegas debut Tuesday night. Former Devil Akira Schmid was the backup and is 9-2-1 for the Golden Knights this year with a 2.51 goals against average and .896 save percentage.

Your Thoughts​

So what did everyone think? There’s not much good to take away from this one. No one got hurt? They were totally outmatched and clearly are not in the class as Dallas. Not a lot of teams are, but still. … That was not a good loss.

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/devils-game-recaps/63892/lifeless-devils-shut-out-by-stars

 

[New Jersey Devils]

2025-26 Gamethread #27: New Jersey Devils vs. Dallas Stars

The Matchup: New Jersey Devils (16-9-1) versus the Dallas Stars (17-5-5).

The Time: 7:00pm ET

The Broadcast: TV – MSGSN, Radio – Devils Radio Network

The Game Preview: Check out Matt’s preview from today.

The Rules: If you have been a reader here, you already know the rules. But for the rest, a reminder: please do not swear in the comment section, and keep comments relevant to the hockey game going on. Beyond that, do not attack any other commenters, and do not ask for or pass along illegal streams on this board.

LGD!

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/d...methread-27-new-jersey-devils-vs-dallas-stars

 

[New Jersey Devils]

The New Jersey Devils Line Combinations Don’t Make Sense Right Now

Injuries have taken their toll on the New Jersey Devils so far this season. They’ve lost games from players at every position this year, both for short and extended periods of time. While it worked for a bit and the team was able to tread water and continue to amass points, they’ve hit a bit of a wall as of late. While home was a haven for the Devils early this year, the last three games have all been losses, and there’s been some pretty ugly moments in all three games. It’s led me to wonder: why have the forward lines stayed stagnant across those three games?

The defense pairs saw some adjustments as there were struggles across the first three quarters of the current homestand, but the forward lines (outside of some mixing and matching during the games themselves, mainly due to special teams) have remained static. Maybe you would argue that the scoring was good enough and that if the defense and goaltending did more of their job in not surrendering five goals, the results would be different. While I do agree that the defense and goaltending weren’t good enough, the forward support hasn’t exactly been helping and the combinations put out on the ice are not helping with that either.

Last week, an entire article’s worth of space was spent on talking about how Ondrej Palat should not be an every night player anymore. He might not be the only one who fits this definition at this point, but he’s the only one who makes $6 million; he also still has been on the second line during this three game losing streak. He may have finally scored a goal, but it’s only his SECOND of the season through 27 games. A third of the season gone, and second line wing Ondrej Palat has all of two goals, on pace for a whopping six. The fact he keeps being placed so high in the lineup when Dawson Mercer and Arseny Gritsyuk could probably produce more points with an actual NHL player next to them is insane.

Speaking of insane, why are the Devils best three forwards all together on one line right now? With Jack Hughes still out, you would think that the team would want to divide Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt and Timo Meier to spread out the talent. At least moving one of them to a different line would create more difficulty in matchups for opponents. As it stands right now, teams only need to shut down that line, and the Devils chances of winning drastically go down. Mercer’s line? They’re basically playing a man down at all times anyway, no worry for opponents here. Paul Cotter, Cody Glass and Connor Brown? There’s some talent there, but that line is cold right now and they’re a depth scoring line that also probably not going to be consistently putting pucks into the net anyway. Stefan Noesen, Luke Glendening and Juho Lammikko? The very definition of a fourth line just being there right now; not a dangerous line on any night, especially considering how Lammikko has been a black hole for offense all season. Meanwhile Evgenii Dadonov, who has shown he can produce an the NHL level, has been a healthy scratch while having only appeared five times due to his injury earlier this season.

I’m not saying that the Devils should be shuffling their lines every game, but after consecutive 5-3 losses at home against teams they should be beating, would it hurt to try something different? Why not let Connor Brown play a game with Mercer and Gristyuk? Why not give Dadonov an extended chance and scratch Palat to try and light a fire under him? Again, how about splitting up the top line to spread out the talent and attempt to create more difficult matchups? I think Sheldon Keefe is a good coach, but I also think he’s either stubborn or prone to making some bad decisions. With how tight the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference are right now, there’s little to no room for many more bad decisions, especially with the Devils still being down Jack Hughes, Brett Pesce and Johnny Kovacevic. At some point, all of the underachievers have to be held accountable, and maybe that means Palat, Lammikko, Cotter and whoever else rotate out as healthy scratches until the results begin to change.

The New Jersey Devils are supposed to be in a contention window, not an “average hockey team” window. Getting more key pieces healthy will help (as would a goalie who could actually bail out the team occasionally) but until that happens, maybe some lineup changes would get the team better results.

What are your thoughts on the Devils line combinations; do you think spreading out the talent would help? Do you think the second line needs a new left wing? Will the eventual return of Jack Hughes help with the scoring balance and defensive responsibilities of forwards? Should underachievers be rotating into the press box until the team finds something that works in the meantime? Leave any and all comments down below and thanks as always for reading!

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/d...s-line-combinations-dont-make-sense-right-now

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Devils in the Details – 12/5/25: With and Without Edition

Here are your links for today:

Devils Links​

Another rough outing for the Devils on Wednesday night. The Stars came into Prudential Center and took a 3-0 win as the Devils dropped their third straight. [Devils NHL]

Fantastic stuff:

This is nuts … courtesy @MSGNetworks pic.twitter.com/mfnYLNN7UT

— Mike Morreale (@mikemorrealeNHL) December 4, 2025

“The good news is, their best players will be back. Further, the Metropolitan Division remains wide-open, and they are by no means out of contention. However, the Devils have long struggled to stay healthy. Who is to say the injury woes aren’t over? Right now, the Devils are proving they’re only as good as Jack Hughes is. And without him in the lineup, they’re no good. It’s same old Devils, but there’s plenty of time to flip the script. Hopefully, sooner than later.” [New Jersey Hockey Now]

“If Fitzgerald can improve the bottom of the lineup, this team can be a Stanley Cup contender. Whether that’s acquiring more top-six help and pushing other players down the lineup or just better bottom-six forwards, improving the forward depth should be trade priority No. 1.” [Devils on the Rush]

Conversations with Devils goalie prospect Mikhail Yegorov and Boston University hockey coach Jay Pandolfo:

A cool moment here for Brenden Dillon:

From mini-sticks to milestones, Brenden Dillon turned his childhood dreams into a reality. pic.twitter.com/a107gNoI3U

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) December 1, 2025

On Dillon’s 1,000 games in the NHL: “Through it all, he’s just been a kid chasing a dream. Dillon has carried himself with the kind of humility, heart, and leadership that make him beloved everywhere he’s gone. Teammates rave not just about the warrior who blocks shots and battles in the corners, but the friend who shows up for everyone, every single day.” [Devils NHL]

Hockey Links​

On hockey in the Olympics: “The National Hockey League and NHLPA are both very concerned about the state of these venues, but I can tell you that there’s also some optimism in all of this as well. One of the arenas is expected to be tested next week. Both are expected to be available for a full test run event in January, so that’s good news. There is expected to be a Zoom meeting on Friday involving the league, involving the Players’ Association to get a true progression report. But the bottom line is, as Bill Daly stated, if these venues aren’t ready, then the NHL won’t go.” [TSN]

“Which breakout NHL teams are built on a sturdy, sustainable foundation that will clinch them a playoff spot in April? Which ones are masquerading and likely to flame out the longer the season drags on?” [The Athletic ($)]

Ryan McDonagh gets a three-year extension:

*beep beep*

Mac Truck's locked in for three more years!

https://t.co/FKD7n2mCs3 pic.twitter.com/B3p9Z9ysE3

— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) December 4, 2025

Tyler Seguin is expected to miss the rest of the season:

Tyler Seguin is expected to miss the rest of the season after suffering an ACL injury, head coach Glen Gulutzan announced. pic.twitter.com/4SHo5WG2uA

— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) December 3, 2025

Feel free to discuss these and any other hockey-related stories in the comments below.

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/d...-the-details-12-5-25-with-and-without-edition

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Devils Lose 4th in a Row

Welp. Not much to highlight here, as the Devils drop their fourth straight and second consecutive 3-0 shutout at the hands of our old pal Akira Schmid and the Vegas Golden Knights.

The first period started with the Devils on their heels and disjointed as they featured some new look lines. They didn’t register a shot until just after the four minute mark, and didn’t get their second until six minutes in. It was a real struggle for them to even get anything past the redline for the first ten minutes. Markstrom was dialed in for once, making several key stops or this one could’ve gone south in a hurry.

We seemed to get on the board first as Timo barreled into the zone cutting across at the blue line and threw it on net where Mercer and Nico were creating havoc, and looked like they both got a stick on it. Scoring while getting dummied in run-of-play was a new one, but the joy would be short lived as Vegas challenged the play for offsides, and those almost never fail. Sure enough it got called back. I will say that it looked pretty clear to me that Timo still had control of the puck on the entry, except for a brief moment where it slid under a Knight’s stick – but that’s not what was called. One day I’ll finish my ref conspiracy blog that might be more of a book at this point.

Vegas also had a goal called back – this one was much more clear cut as Dorofeyev’s stick was well above the crossbar on a deflection. It looked like we were going to get to the room at 0-0 while being badly outplayed, but with 12 seconds left Shea Theodore let a bad angle wrister go that found it’s way through Markstrom – and it’s 1-0 them. This was a pretty pathetic period, as they only managed 5 whole shots, 3 scoring chances (none of which were high danger) for a whopping .17 xG and 13.44 xGF%.

It got better in the second and the Devils controlled play, generated some great chances, and largely kept Vegas at bay. They just couldn’t beat Schmid. This is what that feels like huh, New York? Nico had a great point blank chance on a 2 on 1, Bratt had a great chance streaking down the left wing, even the new look 4th line was controlling Ozone time – but just like the Dallas game they couldn’t finish. And quite frankly, while the chances were there, we weren’t exactly making it difficult for Schmid as most of our shots were buried in his crest or simple pad/glove saves, and he was freezing it with ease. Same thing for Oettinger on Wednesday night. With the score still 1-0, the Devils did show some life outshooting Vegas 11-7 on 12 scoring chances to their 5, and a 68.4 xGF% in the period.

The third was much lower event for both teams, and the Devils got an early power play at 2:06 to try and even things up. Well, nevermind that thought as the power play looked awful, was totally disconnected and they couldn’t string together 2 passes or come close to generating a chance. Good thing we got a second chance at redemption ten minutes later and… oh wait nevermind it looked even worse. The only shot we got through two power plays was a bad angle Noesen attempt from the short side. Not a great time for the power play to be a discombobulated mess.

At 14:11 Nico took a hooking penalty on Marner, and good teams make you pay and unfortunately Vegas is a good team. Marner got a clean shot from the point that an uncovered, untouched Tomas Hertl tipped in the high slot under Markstrom’s glove, and it’s 2-0. In the current state of the Devils this is basically an insurmountable lead, but just for funsies Nico took another penalty on Hertl, good teams make you pay and unfortunately Vegas is a good team, and its 3-0 them. Pack it up, good night.

Some Scattered Thoughts​

We only managed to created 1 rebound (according to money puck) the ENTIRE GAME. 1!!! Vegas and Dallas have big, good defense groups, but you gotta get inside somehow. We are far too perimeter. 1 rebound and 23 blocked shots is unacceptable.

Crookshanks had a good game and I noticed him more in his 10:36 of ice time than I have in all 15 of Lammikko’s games.

This drops the Devils below a .600 winning percentage since the early season – this is a bellwether number for me, as a .600 winning percentage is 98 points and likely a comfortable playoff berth.

Markstrom was actually good the past two games. He still has a ways to go to get back in the good graces of this fanbase and every shot makes me nervous, but it’s a start.

The bad news is we are now in 6th in the division, 2 points up on last place Columbus. However, we are also only 4 points out of first – the Metro is packed this year with only 5 points separating first and last.

Back at it tomorrow in Boston.

That’s all I got tonight gang, like I said at the start not much to write about here, I’m sure you all have a lot to say, so have at it!

LGD

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/devils-game-recaps/63954/devils-lose-4th-in-a-row

 

[New Jersey Devils]

2025-26 Gamethread #28: New Jersey Devils vs. Vegas Golden Knights

The Matchup: Vegas Golden Knights (12-6-8) at New Jersey Devils (16-10-1)

The Time: 7:00pm EST

The Broadcast: MSGSN, Devils Hockey Radio

The Game Preview: Matt had the preview today.

The Rules: If you have been a reader here, you already know the rules. But for the rest, a reminder: please do not swear in the comment section, and keep comments relevant to the hockey game going on. Beyond that, do not attack any other commenters, and do not ask for or pass along illegal streams on this board.

LGD!

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/d...-28-new-jersey-devils-at-vegas-golden-knights