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[New Jersey Devils]

Jack Hughes Scores Twice In New Jersey Devils’ 5-3 Win Over Edmonton Oilers

Sometimes when a game isn’t going your way, you just need your gamebreakers to break a game. The best of the best are capable of this, they can completely change their squad’s fortunes with a single shift, a single play, a single shot. Jack Hughes is one of these gamebreakers. Through 28 minutes of this afternoon’s battle between the New Jersey Devils and the Edmonton Oilers, the Devils just hadn’t been able to get anything going. They had isolated bursts of possession here and there, but for the most part the game was being controlled by the defending Western Conference champions. But then Jack Hughes broke the game, sparking a run that led to New Jersey securing a big 5-3 win over one of the best teams in the league.

This was one of those games where the Devils got stronger as time went on. The first period was pretty bad, as they got outshot 9-4 and posted a 5-on-5 Expected Goals For% just south of 30%. I would not say this was due to a lack of effort, I actually thought New Jersey had their legs today. I just thought their execution was way off early on. Every pass was either misfired or mishandled. Every read was just a shade off. Every shot attempt was flubbed. To my eyes, the Devils looked like a team that was battling themselves as much as the opposition. But again, I thought the effort was there, as evidenced by how well they defended Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and a high-flying Oilers attack. New Jersey might not have gotten anything going offensively in the opening frame, but they kept Edmonton off the board as well. That was a small win in and of itself.

But after the first intermission, the execution started to come. And it culminated in Hughes’ ice-breaker about eight minutes into the middle frame. Brett Pesce made a terrific play to catch an airborne puck in the neutral zone, get it down to his stick lightning fast, and slip a lead pass to Hughes right in stride. Hughes did the rest, knifing through three Oilers to get to the net before wiring a shot off the far post and in. And after weathering the storm, it was 1-0, Devils.

Later in the second, Jesper Bratt scored on a power play. The score came immediately following the faceoff, and it was a sweet play where Bratt completely fooled Edmonton goalie Calvin Pickard by faking to the forehand before pulling to the backhand and saucing an easy shot into a wide open net. Credit to Bratt for making it happen, but who had the primary assist on that goal? That would be Jack Hughes, who made a great pass through traffic to find an open Bratt in front of the net. Another superstar play.

Then late in the third, Hughes struck again. As the Oilers were trying to exit their zone, Bratt collected a turnover on the far wall and fed Hughes who was all alone behind the Edmonton defense. He skated in alone on Pickard, dangled him out of his pads, and tucked it home for his second of the day. That goal turned out to be the game-winner for New Jersey.

There are precious few players in the NHL that can flip a game on its head when everything is going against their team. The Devils are lucky to have one of those players on their side. Jack Hughes didn’t do it alone this afternoon, but he was by far the number one reason why New Jersey skated away with their fourth straight victory today.

Jack Hughes is a superstar.

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

The Game Highlights: Courtesy of NHL.com

The Supporting Cast​

Referring to the rest of the standouts today as “the supporting cast” might seem a little insulting, but I promise I mean no disrespect. It’s just that when Jack Hughes shines as brightly as he does, he is of course going to get most of the attention.

But there were plenty of others who deserve their flowers as well. I mentioned Bratt a few times, but it bears repeating how good he was today. He had a goal and an assist, and just generally looked dangerous whenever the puck was on his stick.

Meanwhile, Connor Brown was playing against his former team this afternoon, and he made sure it was a memorable game. In the middle stages of the third period, with New Jersey clinging to a 2-1 lead, the Devils went to the penalty kill (more on that below). It was a huge moment in the game, and Brown stepped up in a major way. Luke Glendening fought hard to muscle a puck out of the zone, past Evan Bouchard, and right to Brown, who suddenly found himself on a breakaway with more than half the ice in front of him. He moved in on Pickard, went backhand-forehand, then whistled a shot over Pickard’s glove for a massive shorthanded goal, giving New Jersey some much-needed insurance. Needless to say, Brown was pumped up to score against his former employer.

The other goal scorer I haven’t mentioned yet is Dawson Mercer. He potted an empty-netter that made it 5-2 Devils, Mercer’s third goal of the season. Aside from the goal, Mercer also continued to look good overall. Lousy first period aside (which, again, afflicted the entire team), Mercer controlled play well, ending with a 5-on-5 xGF% just under 60%. It was a very strong game for the Dawg.

I also thought Pesce was excellent today. He had that terrific assist on the opening goal, and whenever he was on the ice, New Jersey usually had the puck on their sticks, finishing with an xGF% 72.16%.

And finally, I want to highlight Jake Allen. His final numbers might not look amazing, but I thought he played a very strong game. He stopped 27 of 30 shots for a nice and tidy .900 sv%. According to Natural Stat Trick, he basically broke even in Goals Saved Above Expected, allowing the three goals he allowed on 2.86 Expected Goals according to NST’s model. Really, the only reason his numbers look as mediocre as they did was because of old friend Curtis Lazar’s goal with literally less than three seconds on the clock. It was the garbage time goal of all garbage time goals, and while it counts, the game was already decided by then. While the game was still in the balance, Allen played quite well. That has to be encouraging to see as New Jersey continues to rely on him until Jacob Markstrom returns.

Penalty Kill Killing It​

Even without Connor Brown’s shorthanded goal, the Devils penalty kill continues to be a huge source of strength for this team. New Jersey went a perfect 3-for-3 on the penalty kill this afternoon, and in fact outscored the Oilers 1-0 on those kills thanks to Brown’s marker. It is extremely hard to outscore a power play that features Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Evan Bouchard, yet somehow the Devils managed to do it.

Thanks to their 3-for-3 today, the Devils have now killed 16 straight penalties. They have already scored two shorthanded goals on the young season. I really wish New Jersey would stop taking so many penalties (Mercer took a high sticking penalty less than two minutes into the game, which might have contributed to New Jersey starting so slowly), but if they’re going to keep committing infractions, it’s nice to know the penalty killing unit is there to pick the team up.

Another Pelt On The Wall​

I feel like I write about the line of Timo Meier, Nico Hischier, and Dawson Mercer every day. But they’ve been so impressive early on this season that I can’t help it, and today was no exception.

According to Natural Stat Trick, in 10:25 of 5-on-5 ice time together, the Hischier line posted a stellar xGF% of 62.99%. That is impressive enough, but remember, the Hischier line always gets the toughest matchup. And there is no tougher matchup than Connor McDavid.

Meier, Hischier, and Mercer got hard-matched against McDavid’s line with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and a rotation of Andrew Mangiapane and David Tomasek. And just for good measure, the Hischier line was also force-fed Edmonton’s super-elite top pairing of Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm. According to NST, Meier and Mercer finished with an xGF% north of 50% against every single one of those six players. Hischier finished in the black against five of the six, with the only exception being McDavid, who Hischier finished with an xGF% of 45.53% against.

I cannot stress enough how impressive this is. Keefe continues to treat Meier, Hischier, and Mercer as the Devils’ sacrificial lambs, throwing them at elite competition on a nightly basis. And time after time, that trio not only survives their matchups, they thrive. We are only five games into the season, and this line will certainly have their off nights. But for now, the unit of Meier, Hischier, and Mercer continues to erase elite competition every single game. What a massive advantage it is to have a line like this.

The Rotation Continues​

Before the season, Keefe told us that his top power play unit will change on a game-by-game basis depending on the matchup. Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, and Jesper Bratt are the three constants on that first grouping, but Dougie Hamilton and Luke Hughes have taken turns quarterbacking, while Dawson Mercer and Timo Meier have rotated with each other as the fifth wheel.

Today, we saw Hamilton and Mercer back with PP1. The first opportunity they got was pretty darn ugly, but their second opportunity did yield a goal. They didn’t score on their third try, but it wasn’t a complete disaster like the first man advantage. Sometimes it can be hard to develop chemistry and get into a rhythm when you don’t have consistency, but I have to say, I do like this adaptability that the Devils are showing. The power play has not fully clicked yet, but they did score today, so perhaps the breakout is coming.

A Fun Little Nugget​

The Devils just beat the two Stanley Cup finalists from the previous season over their last two games. According to the MSG broadcast, this was the first time the franchise has beaten the two Cup finalists from the previous season in consecutive games since the 1987-88 season when they defeated the Flyers and Oilers in back-to-back contests. That’s a nice little feather in this team’s cap.

Our Long National Nightmare Is Over​

They finally did it. It took almost three full years, but those lunatics actually, finally did it.

The New Jersey Devils have a four-game winning streak.

The Devils have not had a winning streak of more than three games since January of 2023 when they rattled off a five-game heater. Since that time, they’ve had 13 three-game winning streaks (14 if you count their three straight wins in the first round of the playoffs in 2023). And every single time, the Devils have lost. 0-for-13 (or 14 if you include the postseason). An unbelievable streak of futility.

At long last, we can put this ignonimous stat to rest. The New Jersey Devils have finally won more than three games in a row. Take a breath Devils fans, our suffering is over.

Now let’s see if they can make it five in a row.

Next Time Out​

The Devils are back in action Tuesday, when they travel north of the border to battle the Maple Leafs. Puck drop from Toronto is scheduled for 7:00pm.

Your Take​

What did you make of today’s game? Who impressed you the most? How good does it feel to finally witness a four-game winning streak again? What changes do you expect for next game? As always, thanks for reading!

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/d...ew-jersey-devils-5-3-win-over-edmonton-oilers

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Nico Hischier, Timo Meier, and Dawson Mercer Vs. Elite Competition: A Look At The Numbers

Nico Hischier, Timo Meier, and Dawson Mercer spent a lot of time together last season. According to Natural Stat Trick, in 264 minutes together at 5-on-5, that trio posted an Expected Goals For% of 50.90%. They out-attempted (51.08% Corsi For%) and outshot (51.14%) their opponents in their minutes, and they won the Scoring Chances For (53.01%) and High Danger Corsi For (53.27%) battles as well. And for good measure, they outscored their opponents 9-4. They won in the run of play, and they won on the actual scoreboard.

And keep in mind, head coach Sheldon Keefe always gave the Hischier line the most difficult matchups. It’s impressive enough that this trio won their minutes last season, but doing so against elite competition night in and night out? Only the best lines in the league can do that.

So since this line had success in 2024-25, it made sense that Keefe would want to keep it together entering this season. The addition of Cody Glass for a full campaign opened the door to the Hischier line logging less brutal minutes, but I guess Keefe figured that if it ain’t broke, he shouldn’t fix it. Through five games this season, Hischier and pals continue to log some of the most hellacious minutes in the league.

So how has the Hischier line been doing in the face of such difficult assignments? At a macro level, they’ve been dominating. Per NST, this trio has been together for 48:31 of 5-on-5 time this season, and they’ve posted a stellar xGF% of 60.87%. They have also outscored their opponents 4-1 in their minutes, once again winning both on the spreadsheets and on the scoreboards. And these are just the Natural Stat Trick numbers. If you listen to Moneypuck, this line is even better than what NST would have you believe. Moneypuck has the trio of Meier-Hischier-Mercer at a 5-on-5 xGF% of 67.3%. Pure dominance.

But what about at the micro level? Those numbers above do not isolate for specific matchups, so while it looks like the Hischier line is dominating top competition, we can’t say for certain just looking at raw xGF%. Fortunately, Natural Stat Trick allows one to isolate how a player does against every other player individually. So for example if you want to see what Hischier’s xGF% numbers were against Sebastian Aho, you could do that.

So with that in mind, I wanted to see not only who the Hischier line was getting matched up against through the season’s first five games, I wanted to find out just how the line performed against their primary matchup. I went through the game logs at Natural Stat Trick and compiled the numbers, and while NST’s model isn’t the be-all end-all, it should give us a general indication of how Hischier and Co. have performed against elite competition.

Let’s dive in:

October 9 @ Carolina​

The season opener wasn’t a good one, and at the time of this writing is the only loss on the season for New Jersey. But the Hischier line did their job. In 10:45 together, they posted a 65.84% xGF%, a stellar mark against an elite team like Carolina.

What makes this even more impressive is that Hurricanes head coach Rod Brind’Amour, using his last change privileges, threw the Jordan Staal line at Meier-Hischier-Mercer. Staal has been one of the premier shutdown centers in the NHL for a long time now, and with Jordan Martinook and William Carrier as his wingers, they’ve combined to suffocated opponents.

But they didn’t slow down the Hischier line at all:

Matchup	TOI	XGF%
Hischier vs. Staal	9:30	73.84
Hischier vs. Martinook	8:46	74.27
Hischier vs. Carrier	8:00	70.18
Meier vs. Staal	11:30	68.51
Meier vs. Martinook	10:22	68.59
Meier vs. Carrier	9:24	71.80
Mercer vs. Staal	10:43	74.91
Mercer vs. Martinook	9:58	75.35
Mercer vs. Carrier	8:58	71.80

It was a clean sweep. Hischier, Meier, and Mercer won every single matchup handily. The Hurricanes have developed a reputation of being extremely difficult to play against in Carolina. Brind’Amour uses last change so effectively, he’s a master of getting the matchups he wants. Well his preferred matchup not only did not win their minutes, they got completely obliterated by the Hischier line. The rest of the game went pretty poorly, but when the Hischier line was on the ice, the puck was in Carolina’s end.

October 11 @ Tampa Bay​

New Jersey got their season on track in Tampa Bay, posting a 5-3 victory. This was a much better effort overall from the Devils, they controlled play from basically the word “Go” and never looked back. In this contest, the Hischier line played 9:19 together, registering an xGF% of 61.87%.

Lightning head coach Jon Cooper decided to sic his defensive ace, Anthony Cirelli, on Meier-Hischier-Mercer in this game. Cirelli has three top-five finishes in Selke Trophy voting in his career, including his first nod as a finalist a season ago, finishing third in the voting. The rest of his line consisted of Jake Guentzel, one of the best wingers in the NHL, and Yanni Gourde, a player in the twilight of his career but who can still bring it on the defensive end. Cooper also used Victor Hedman against the Hischier line. It’s true that Hedman is not the player he once was, but he’s still an imposing force.

Here’s how the Hischier line fared individually:

Matchup	TOI	XGF%
Hischier vs. Cirelli	7:24	48.67
Hischier vs. Guentzel	6:03	33.27
Hischier vs. Gourde	2:57	11.14
Hischier vs. Hedman	7:06	49.50
Meier vs. Cirelli	8:43	44.51
Meier vs. Guentzel	7:31	22.95
Meier vs. Gourde	3:00	11.14
Meier vs. Hedman	6:54	27.52
Mercer vs. Cirelli	7:52	45.57
Mercer vs. Guentzel	6:55	23.85
Mercer vs. Gourde	3:10	11.14
Mercer vs. Hedman	7:06	27.52

This one was not a win for the Hischier line. They weren’t totally awful against Cirelli (and Hischier handled Hedman reasonably well), but Guentzel and Gourde were an issue for the Hischier unit.

The good news is that while they lost their primary matchup, they absolutely feasted on everybody else Tampa Bay threw at them. That’s how they got to that terrific 61.87% xGF% overall during this game.

October 13 @ Columbus​

This game was notable for both of New Jersey’s goaltenders suffering injuries, Allen with cramps, Markstrom with a lower-body injury that he is still recovering from. It was also notable for this being the game the Devils’ power play finally got going, finding the back of the net twice in a 3-2 victory. They certainly needed the power play to come through, as the team got buried in the run of play, posting a team-wide 39.21 xGF%. In fact, New Jersey did not score a 5-on-5 goal in this contest, as their third tally was an empty-netter that proved to be the game-winner.

But even though the team as a whole struggled, the Hischier line did not. In 9:13 of ice time, the trio posted a 72.48% xGF%. Columbus decided to use the unit of Dmitri Voronkov-Sean Monahan-Kirill Marchenko against the Hischier line. Here’s how it went:

Matchup	TOI	XGF%
Hischier vs. Monahan	8:21	37.03
Hischier vs. Voronkov	7:49	45.16
Hischier vs. Marchenko	8:15	37.03
Meier vs. Monahan	7:31	63.62
Meier vs. Voronkov	6:43	64.70
Meier vs. Marchenko	7:33	64.66
Mercer vs. Manahan	9:01	36.74
Mercer vs. Voronkov	8:13	43.61
Mercer vs. Marchenko	8:40	36.74

As you can see, Hischier and Mercer didn’t do too well (though not egregiously so compared to the rest of the team), but Meier dominated the Monahan line. So this one was not as big of a loss as the Tampa Bay game thanks to Meier, but it’s another game where the Hischier line did not control the run of play overall.

So how did their overall numbers looks so good despite their lack of success against the Monahan line? Because whenever they were on the ice against anybody else, they thrived. You would like to see the Hischier line control play against a line like Voronkov-Monahan-Marchenko, but at the very least it was nice to see them post huge numbers against everyone else.

October 16 vs. Florida​

At long last, the Devils were able to utilize last change themselves. In their home opener, a game they won 3-1, the Hischier line played 8:46 together and registered an xGF% of 54.86%.

Florida was without Aleksander Barkov and Matt Tkachuk in this game, but the Panthers are still a dangerous team. In this game, Keefe decided to hard-match the Hischier unit against Florida’s top line: Carter Verhaeghe-Anton Lundell-Sam Reinhart. Injuries aside, that is still a potent line to have to deal with. And for good measure, there was also a healthy dose of Brad Marchand and reigning Conn Smythe winner Sam Bennett mixed in, so I’ll include them as well.

Here’s how it went:

Matchup	TOI	XGF%
Hischier vs. Lundell	3:52	85.15
Hischier vs. Reinhart	4:37	92.19
Hischier vs. Verhaeghe	5:01	85.15
Hischier vs. Bennett	4:21	48.59
Hischier vs. Marchand	3:04	52.23
Meier vs. Lundell	4:09	85.15
Meier vs. Reinhart	5:00	24.67
Meier vs. Verhaeghe	5:10	24.67
Meier vs. Bennett	4:01	23.94
Meier vs. Marchand	2:43	41.19
Mercer vs. Lundell	5:22	75.55
Mercer vs. Reinhart	6:19	23.80
Mercer vs. Verhaeghe	6:42	23.80
Mercer vs. Bennett	4:31	23.94
Mercer vs. Marchand	3:10	41.19

Everybody owned Lundell, but Meier and Mercer struggled against Florida’s other four top forwards. Hischier, on the other hand, consumed everyone in his path. He obliterated the entire Lundell line, and while he basically broke even against Bennett and Marchand, he did outscore them 2-0 while they were all on the ice together. That goes for Meier and Mercer as well, so while they didn’t win that matchup in the run of play, they certainly did on the actual scoreboard. Another mixed bag overall, but considering Hischier’s individual brilliance, plus this line producing a pair of goals against this deployment, I would say it was a matchup that the Devils got the better of.

October 18 vs. Edmonton​

On Saturday, the Devils welcomed Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers to town. It was another slow start, but New Jersey eventually found their game in a 5-3 win. Meier-Hischier-Mercer played 10:25 together, posting a 62.58% xGF%.

As you probably guessed, Keefe called Hischier’s number for the McDavid assignment. Not only that, but Keefe fed the Hischier line a steady diet of Edmonton’s top pairing of Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm. We’ll include those three players, plus the wingers on McDavid’s line: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on one side, and a rotation of Andrew Mangiapane and David Tomasek on the other:

Matchup	TOI	XGF%
Hischier vs. McDavid	9:25	49.98
Hischier vs. Nugent-Hopkins	7:37	53.99
Hischier vs. Mangiapane	4:22	71.33
Hischier vs. Tomasek	4:04	54.14
Hischier vs. Bouchard	7:07	52.96
Hischier vs. Ekholm	6:54	61.70
Meier vs. McDavid	10:06	58.79
Meier vs. Nugent-Hopkins	7:25	63.51
Meier vs. Mangiapane	5:21	83.46
Meier vs. Tomasek	3:49	54.14
Meier vs. Bouchard	7:18	74.00
Meier vs. Ekholm	7:07	59.62
Mercer vs. McDavid	9:12	60.03
Mercer vs. Nugent-Hopkins	7:06	65.04
Mercer vs. Mangiapane	4:33	74.73
Mercer vs. Tomasek	3:37	54.14
Mercer vs. Bouchard	7:27	53.19
Mercer vs. Ekholm	7:28	53.93

Aside from Hischier losing the xGF% battle to McDavid by an absolutely microscopic margin, it was a wall-to-wall victory. Against Edmonton’s top line and defense pair, including the best player in the world, Meier-Hischier-Mercer stepped up in a huge way.

Final Thoughts And Your Take​

So in the end, what does this data tell us? It tells us that the line of Meier-Hischier-Mercer is still getting the toughest matchups night in and night out. It also tells us that through five games, this line has two decisive wins (Carolina, Edmonton), one bad game (Tampa Bay), and two mixed bags (Columbus, Florida). So not total domination. But keep in mind, that’s only if we’re looking at their primary matchups. As mentioned at the top, according to Natural Stat Trick, this trio has combined for an xGF% of just under 61% (while outscoring opponents 4-1) in 48:31 together this season. Meanwhile, Moneypuck’s model is even more complimentary to this unit, tabbing them at a 67.3% xGF%. They may not be dominating against their primary assignments every night, but they’re holding their own, and when they skate against anything less than elite competition, they are utterly unstoppable. It makes me wonder just what they could do if they weren’t tasked with absorbing brutal deployment every game.

But that’s the benefit of having a line like this. Because the Hischier line can take care of elite competition, it frees up the rest of the roster to do some serious damage to other teams’ depth. This is less possible on the road of course, but as we’ve seen from the numbers, other teams throw their best players at the Hischier line when they have last change anyway. That’s how highly regarded the Meier-Hischier-Mercer unit has become.

So expect the Hischier line to continue logging the most difficult minutes on the team. And expect them to come out on top more often than not.

What do you think of the Hischier line’s performance thus far? Do you want them to continue getting the hardest assignments, or would you want another line to take on that role? Do you expect this line to continue their success, or are you concerned they’ll stumble down the road? As always, thanks for reading!

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/d...er-vs-elite-competition-a-look-at-the-numbers

 

[New Jersey Devils]

New Jersey Devils Prospect Update: Melovsky Bright Spot as Comets Flounder Out of the Gate

After blowing a two goal lead with three unanswered goals against on Sunday, the Utica Comets fall to 0-3-1 to start the season.

Falling Comets​

So far my prediction that the Comets would be much improved this season is not looking so great even with the low bar of last place in the North Division last year. After strong preseasons, promising prospects Shane LaChance and Lenni Hameenaho are still looking for their first points of the season. Goaltender Jakob Malek, who has excelled everywhere he has played until now is still adjusting to North American ice and is 0-2 after surrendering seven unanswered goals in a 7-4 loss on Friday night.

Amidst all the bad, one bright spot is emerging amongst the prospect class. Center Matyas Melovsky sits second in the Comets in points behind veteran Xavier Parent with a goal and three assists in the young season. Here is a look at his first professional goal.

Matyáš MELOVSKÝ vstřelil svůj premiérový gól v #AHL! Přidal k němu ještě jednu asistenci. Nastupuje na centru třetí formace a dostává prostor i ma přesilovkách pic.twitter.com/gl6DUEAK79

— Eliška (@eliska_tweetuje) October 18, 2025

No Time for Doomers​

The season is young. The Comets started poorly last year before finding some legs, but it was never enough to make up for the initial losing streak. Will that happen again? It’s too early to say. I fully expect Hameenaho and LaChance to up their games and Malek to find his form. All three prospects are too talented for it to not happen. In the meantime, I am encouraged by Melovsky, who plays a position of depth need for the Devils. Hopefully, he keeps thriving.

Around the Pool:​

• Center Samu Salminen has started his senior year hot for the University of Denver with two goals and an assist in four games, including this beautiful feed.

Sweet feed on the rush by Samu Salminen last night.pic.twitter.com/4i2dk5Ydj4

— Devils Insiders (@DevilsInsiders) October 18, 2025

• Center Mason Moe scored his first collegiate goal for the University of Minnesota with this snipe.

2025 3rd rounder Mason Moe opens his NCAA account.
pic.twitter.com/lK92AJLyJb

— Devils Insiders (@DevilsInsiders) October 18, 2025

• Defenseman Chase Cheslock, who is wearing an “A” for St. Thomas, continues to thrive this season in the NCAA and now has five assists in five games. Cheslock has been an under the radar prospect for the Devils, but that should change as Cheslock is playing top-pairing minutes this season.

Your Take​

Post your comments below.

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/u...right-spot-as-comets-flounder-out-of-the-gate

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Jack Hughes’ Hat Trick Keys New Jersey Devils’ 5-2 Win Over Toronto Maple Leafs

After being held without a goal through the first three games of the season, Jack Hughes is officially on a tear. He scored his first of the year in the home opener against the Florida Panthers, twice on Saturday against the Edmonton Oilers, and he followed that up with a hat trick tonight, as the New Jersey Devils beat the Maple Leafs, 5-2, up in Toronto. The Devils have now won five games in a row, their longest streak in almost three years.

This was a game that New Jersey controlled all night long. It was refreshing to see after the team had made a habit of getting out to slow starts this season. Prior to tonight, only the Lightning game in the opening week of the season stands out to me as one in which the Devils came out of the gates well. Even in their last game, a big win over the Oilers, New Jersey didn’t register a shot on goal until about 10 minutes into the contest. But tonight was different, as the Devils jumped on the Maple Leafs and seemed to get stronger as each of the 60 minutes ticked off the clock.

You wouldn’t know it by looking at the scoreboard after the first period, though. That’s because New Jersey native Anthony Stolarz was putting on a goaltending clinic. Keep in mind, this was the same Anthony Stolarz who robbed the Devils of a win last season at The Rock, stopping 38 of 39 shots to lead the Maple Leafs to a 2-1 overtime victory on December 10th. And through 20 minutes, he was doing it again. New Jersey was thoroughly controlling play, but Stolarz’ magic and a John Tavares goal that he batted out of the air and into the net conspired to put the Devils down 1-0 entering the second period.

And that’s when Jack Hughes and the Devils went to work.

Hughes and Jesper Bratt were absolutely flying tonight. They started their high wire act in the first period, but didn’t have any goals to show for it. The breakthrough came in the middle frame, as Hughes wired a wrister from the slot past Stolarz and in to tie the game. The marker came off a sweet feed from Bratt, and the Devils caught a break when Toronto head coach Craig Berube decided to challenge for goaltender interference. This was, quite simply, a bad challenge, as while Ondrej Palat was battling in front with Chris Tanev, Palat very clearly did not interfere with Stolarz. This unsuccessful challenge sent New Jersey to the power play, where they scored again. In the dying seconds of the man advantage, Timo Meier whipped a one-timer toward the net that was going wide. But it banked off a skate in front and right to Cody Glass, who buried the loose puck to give the Devils their first lead of the night.

The Devils were rolling, and they wouldn’t stop there. A few minutes later, Brenden Dillon took a nice pass from Luke Glendening and rifled a shot past Stolarz to finish off a 4-on-1 rush and extend New Jersey’s lead to 3-1. Please note, none of what you just read was a typo. That really happened, with that exact combination of players, under those circumstances. Really.

After Toronto got a goal back to cut New Jersey’s lead to 3-2, Simon Nemec (more on him later) made a nice play to force a turnover off the rush. Bratt scooped up the loose puck and made a killer stretch pass to Jack Hughes, who had a step on the Leafs defense and skated down the left wing on Stolarz. For the first time in what seems like generations, Hughes wound up and ripped a slap shot that beat Stolarz near-side, restoring the Devils’ two-goal lead.

When Brenden Dillon is finishing off 4-on-1’s and Jack Hughes is unleashing clappers, you know it’s your night.

And with that, the Devils took a 4-2 edge into the third period. The final frame was pretty uneventful, as New Jersey did a pretty good job of keeping their collective boot on the neck of the Maple Leafs, not allowing them any room to make a comeback. Then in the final minutes of the game, with the Toronto net empty, Bratt collected a puck in the neutral zone and made a pass across the ice to Hughes, who shot a puck that was partially deflected into the yawning cage to complete the hat trick, Hughes’ third of his career. The game would end on that 5-2 final score.

This was a great night for the Devils. Hughes was obviously the superstar, but just about every other player on the team contributed in some way. Hughes had the hat trick, Bratt assisted on all three of those goals, and eight other Devils collected points this evening. All while playing really good team defense and absolutely locking the game down in the third period.

The New Jersey Devils have won five straight games, and are officially rolling.

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

The Game Highlights: Courtesy of NHL.com

Allen Continues To Shine​

While Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, and the skaters put together a fantastic team effort, Jake Allen once again gave his team a quality start. Allen stopped 23 of 25 shots, good for a .920 sv%. According to Natural Stat Trick, he saved 1.07 Goals Above Expected. And he saved the best for last, absolutely robbing Morgan Rielly in the final minutes of the game. Keep in mind, that save came before Hughes’ empty-netter sealed it, so a goal there would have made the score 4-3 with enough time for the Maple Leafs to push for the tying goal. It was an absolutely monstrous save.

With Jacob Markstrom injured, Allen has been forced to take on a larger role than we all thought he would have at this point. But thus far, he has absolutely exceeded expectations. Things can change quickly in this league, especially with goaltenders, but between Allen’s terrific 2024-25 season and now his fantastic start to this campaign, it might be time to start taking about Allen as one of the higher-end goaltenders in the league.

Putting The “Special” In Special Teams​

The Devils continued to excel on special teams tonight. New Jersey’s penalty kill entered this contest having successfully killed off 16 straight man disadvantages. Well make it 18 in a row, as they killed both of Toronto’s power plays this evening. In fact, New Jersey was the team that almost scored during the first chance, as not only did the Leafs not register a shot on goal, but Nico Hischier almost buried one himself on a shorthanded 2-on-1. The only reason the Devils didn’t tally yet another shorthanded goal was because Stolarz made an incredible save. He gave up four goals tonight, but Stolarz had one of the best four-goals-against games I’ve seen in a while.

As for the power play, that unit went 1-for-2 tonight, with Glass’ marker in the second period proving to be crucial. Keefe continues to rotate his power play units, opting for Hamilton and Mercer in this game to go along with the staple forwards of Hughes, Hischier, and Bratt. It was his second unit that got on the board tonight though.

New Jersey relied on elite special teams to make it to the postseason a year ago, and early on in 2025-26, the Devils are proving that those units can be relied on again. The power play and penalty kill continue to be gamebreakers for New Jersey.

Palat’s Injury Scare​

Early in the first period, Ondrej Palat left the bench, leaving Hughes and Bratt to skate mostly with Paul Cotter until the opening frame ended. Palat did return at the beginning of the second and managed to finish the game, so he appears no worse for wear, which is nice to see.

At the time of this writing, I have not seen any indication why Palat left. I (and the MSG broadcast) only speculate that it was injury related. Maybe it was an equipment issue, who knows. Assuming it was some sort of health-related absence, it was nice to see him return. As much as a lot of us get on Palat, this team really cannot afford many more injuries.

Nemec’s Worst Game​

I thought Simon Nemec had a really bad game tonight. He did some noticeably good things, including creating the turnover that directly led to Hughes’ slap shot goal. He was also on the ice for the 4-on-1 that the Devils generated in the second period that resulted in Dillon’s goal.

But he was also the main character in the opening marker tonight, first icing the puck, then failing to box out Tavares in front, letting him bat the puck in to give the Maple Leafs an early lead. He was also the primary reason why Toronto scored their other goal tonight, stepping up on Tavares at the Devils’ blue line and failing to disrupt the play. This led to an odd-man rush and a tap-in goal for Matias Maccelli. According to Natural Stat Trick, Nemec posted a subterranean 5-on-5 Expected Goals For% of 15.59%. Per Hockey Stat Cards, Nemec was the worst Devil by GameScore this evening. My own personal eye test and multiple analytics models agree: Nemec was awful tonight.

At this point, I think Nemec has not forced head coach Sheldon Keefe to keep him in the lineup once Johnny Kovacevic returns. All the small sample size caveats apply, but while I do think Nemec has had his moments and has had a couple good games, he’s also struggled a little more than I would have liked on the young season. He’s getting mostly cushy deployment on the third pair with Brenden Dillon, and he’s still losing his minutes more than you’d want to see.

Again, it’s early and I still believe in Nemec long term. Heck, I believe in him short term too, as I think he is more than capable of rattling off a bunch of great games in a row. But at least through six games this season, Nemec has clearly been the sixth-best defenseman on the team in my opinion. And tonight was his worst game yet.

Keefe Finally Gets His Revenge​

Let’s end on a positive. Congrats to Sheldon Keefe for his first win over his new team. New Jersey lost all three games to Toronto last season, and they’ve struggled mightily against them in general in recent years, losing 14 of the last 17 meetings between the clubs.

But the win tonight finally gets the monkey off Keefe’s back. I have no idea if Keefe holds a lot of reverence or a lot of disdain for the Maple Leafs organization, or something in between. I’m not in the man’s head. But I do feel pretty safe in assuming that he really wanted to beat his old employer tonight after going 0-for-3 in 2024-25. Kudos to Keefe for that feather in his cap.

Next Time Out​

Tonight was the beginning of New Jersey’s first back-to-back this season. The Devils will return to The Rock to host the Minnesota Wild tomorrow night. Puck drop is slated for 7:00pm.

Your Take​

What did you make of tonight’s game? Aside from Jack Hughes, who impressed you the most? Do you agree that this was Nemec’s worst game of the season? Are you concerned at all with him? How encouraged are you by Allen’s start to the season? As always, thanks for reading!

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/d...ersey-devils-5-2-win-over-toronto-maple-leafs

 

[New Jersey Devils]

2025-26 Gamethread #7: New Jersey Devils vs. Minnesota Wild

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (5-1-0) at the Minnesota Wild (3-3-1).

The Time: 7:00 PM ET

The Broadcast: TV — MSGSN, Radio — Devils Hockey Network

The Game Preview: Matt wrote the preview this morning.

The Song of the Day: The New Jersey Devils are on a five-game winning streak, taking a win back from Toronto. Now, they play the Minnesota Wild at the Prudential Center in Newark. I couldn’t think of any Minnesota bands with a New Jersey connection off the top of my head, but the Devils are gathering wins at what you could call a supersonic pace. So, today’s song of the day is Supersonic by Soul Asylum, one of Minneapolis’s long-running music acts.

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...ethread-7-new-jersey-devils-vs-minnesota-wild

 

[New Jersey Devils]

The Good and the Bad for the New Jersey Devils After 7 Games

The New Jersey Devils completed their seventh game of the 2025-26 season last night, picking up a 4-1 win over Minnesota to improve themselves to 6-1-0 on the young season. They currently sit atop the Metropolitan Division and find themselves on the team’s first six game win streak in a long while. The odds of them winning the next 75 in a row are low, but right now there’s a lot going right for this Devils team. Today, we look at what’s been good through the first seven games, what could be better, and then finish it up with an optimistic outlook based on how the team has done so far.

The Good​

The Big Names are Delivering​

Jesper Bratt is leading the way with 11 points after adding an empty net goal last night. Jack Hughes has nine points, Timo Meier has seven, and Nico Hischier has six. Perhaps most surprising is that Dawson Mercer (who may or may not be a big name depending upon your definition) is well ahead of last season’s pace as he also has seven points right now as well. Maybe they all do not keep up their current pace, but seeing the leaders lead right out of the gate has been the start that the Devils have needed.

Meier and Mercer are especially encouraging. Timo has always been a streaky player, so to see him start a season healthy and have a strong streak right out of the gate is a good sign for a Devils team that needs its premier players to be putting pucks in the net. Ditto for Mercer who has drawn the ire of lot of fans for not really showing any growth after his sophomore season. If he stays relatively consistent with his pace going forward, we could be looking at 50-60 point Mercer again, rather than 30-35 point Mercer that we’ve seen for the past couple of seasons.

As per the big three, Hischier might have the fewest points so far of any player mentioned, but he’s still playing strong, creating a lot of chances and denying opposing players. Basically, Nico is being Nico, and if he were to score at his current pace across 82 games, he’d still finish with 70 points. Bratt and Jack meanwhile are on pace for 129 and 105 points respectively. Likely? Probably not, but let’s hope both stay hot and we get to see the first and maybe second 100 point season(s) in Devils history.

Jake Allen is Playing Exceptionally Well​

Allen has been somewhat forced into playing more games than maybe we would have expected him to at this point due to something I will talk about when I get to the bad, yet Jake has risen to the occasion. While he finally got a chance to rest last night, through his four appearances he’s sixth in the NHL with a .931 save percentage and seventh in the league with a 1.91 goals against average. He has also to this point saved 2.92 goals above average while also sporting a 4.33 goals saved above expected. Now, it is only four games after all, but Allen has played very well in front of the team, and he’s been giving them key/timely saves when needed.

Obviously, Allen is playing well above his career averages here, and one bad game at this point could send his stats plummeting, but having someone stabilizing the back end is always a plus. While the Devils defending has been pretty good overall, having a goalie not let in softies and bail out the team when they do make mistakes has largely contributed to their record so far. No matter who is in net on any given night, the whole team needs to play well, but again having someone to make the big saves when needed like Jake is doing now is a huge confidence boost.

The Penalty Kill​

Special teams early in the season can sometimes be misleading due to small sample sizes. For the Devils penalty kill, I would argue that being shorthanded 25 times across the first seven contests might be a decent enough sample. While it does mean the team needs to cut down on the amount of penalties they’re taking, the PK has been more than up to the task. Last night’s broadcast made mention that the team has killed 21 straight penalties, all across their last six contests, and have killed 24 of 25 overall. Yet somehow right now, a 96% kill rate is only good enough for third in the NHL! I’m aware Winnipeg and Buffalo are only .3% and .2% above them, but the absurdity of it still stands. Regardless of that, if the kill continues to remain a strength of the team, it should continue to lead to wins more often than not.

The Bad​

Jacob Markstrom: Hurt and Ineffective​

Markstrom currently finds himself on the injured list after a strange game which saw Allen depart after the second with cramps and Markstrom get bumped in the final minute resulting in him now missing time. What’s more concerning than being down one of the team’s main goaltending options for a couple of weeks is Marky’s play prior. Through seven periods of hockey, he’s only sporting a .845 save percentage, well below his career average. His goals against average is also almost at a 4 and he’s had a few bad goals go past him. Two and a third games isn’t a whole lot to go off if, but with the team’s tandem closer to the ends of their careers than the starts, it’s worrying to see Markstrom post such awful stats. If he doesn’t turn it around upon his return, the Devils might want to start looking into internal options to replace him rather than extending him.

Top Six Ondrej Palat​

Man, one injury and Sheldon Keefe just couldn’t help himself. After losing Evgenii Dadonov in game one, the team wasted little time putting Ondrej Palat back on the line with Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt. While the broadcasters have been complementary of Palat’s play, I just don’t see it. I don’t think he’s doing any of the little things on the ice that they say he is any better than any other player like a Paul Cotter could do. Additionally, while Jack and Bratt have combined for 20 points, Palat has just one point, and it was a secondary assist as part of the second power play unit. He has contributed practically nothing while on the ice with his even strength line mates. Right not, this combination isn’t hurting the team (as evidenced by the six straight wins) but it’s more because Jack and Bratt are playing so well in spite of Palat.

Final Thoughts and Your Take​

Honestly, with a 6-1-0 record, there’s not a whole lot of negative to be upset about. The first issue is something to be dealt with down the road once Markstrom returns, and the second might resolve itself once Dadonov is healthy. As long as the good from that section continues, and the Devils keep winning more often than not, then the small issues won’t compound and should wind up being of little to no consequence.

What are your thoughts on the good and bad happening with the Devils right now; do you agree with my highlights and lowlights? Is there something I missed that you think deserves to be spotlighted? Anything you have worries about as the young season continues? Leave any and all comments below and thanks as always for reading!

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/d...e-bad-for-the-new-jersey-devils-after-7-games

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Arseny Gritsyuk Scores First Career Goal As New Jersey Devils Defeat Minnesota Wild, 4-1

Way back in 2019, the late, great Ray Shero selected Arseny Gritsyuk in the fifth round of the NHL entry draft, 129th overall. Over the years, he developed from an intriguing dart throw in the late rounds to legit scoring winger prospect. However, as much as the Devils would have wanted him to contribute to their own lineup, Gritsyuk remained in his native Russia to continue lighting lamps in the KHL. But more than half a decade since Ray Shero called his name, Gritsyuk finally made the jump to North America to begin the 2025-26 season. And tonight, in his seventh career NHL game in front of a lively home crowd, Gritsyuk scored the first goal of his career in a 4-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild.

Ever since he was drafted, we’ve been told that Gritsyuk’s shot would be his best asset in the NHL. He hasn’t been able to get his shot off as much as we all might have liked through the first six games of the season, but when he did unleash it, we saw how dangerous it was. So it’s fitting that his first career tally came off a terrific shot where he just overpowered Wild goalie Filip Gustavsson for a power play goal. It came immediately off a faceoff win, and Gritsyuk put every pound of his bodyweight behind his shot for the score. It was an incredible moment for everyone’s favorite Telegram star.

It was also fitting that Gritsyuk scored tonight, considering this was his debut in the top six. Cody Glass did not play in this game (the club called it an upper-body injury, and after the game head coach Sheldon Keefe said he doesn’t anticipate it being a long term thing), so Dawson Mercer slid down to center the third line, and Gritsyuk took his place on the wing with Nico Hischier and Timo Meier. Although he hadn’t scored, Gritsyuk certainly earned the promotion to the top six. He collected a bunch of assists in the early going, he showed he can keep pace with the speed of the NHL game, and he proved he can effectively battle along the wall and in the defensive zone. Gritsyuk has showed a more well-rounded game than I think a lot of us expected, and head coach Sheldon Keefe rewarded him with a bump up to the Hischier line. Against a tough matchup of the Kirill Kaprizov line, I thought Gritsyuk performed well. And although it didn’t come at even strength, he was rewarded for his efforts with that first career goal.

Congratulations to Arseny. Here’s to many, many more goals to come.

Aside from Gritsyuk, tonight was a fantastic team effort all around. New Jersey outshot the Wild 35-30, with much of the damage Minnesota did coming when the Devils had a multi-goal advantage. In other words, score effects played a big role in making that shot count look as close as it was. The overall game was much closer to the 4-1 final score than the 35-30 shot count (New Jersey outshot Minnesota 14-8 in the first period, just to prove the point). Perhaps the best indication that the Devils outplayed the Wild this evening is that Kaprizov, Minnesota’s best player and one of the best players on the planet (as well as the highest-paid) was held without a shot in 21:35 of ice time. When the team is suffocating a world-class talent like him, you know it was a good night.

The new-look third line of Mercer, Connor Brown, and Paul Cotter was the best trio on the ice tonight in my opinion. Cotter got the scoring started in the first period, burying a slick feed from Brown off a nice cycle. In just over nine minutes of 5-on-5 ice time tonight, the line out-attempted their opponents 16-10, outshot their opponents 8-4, and outscored their opponents 2-0. That second goal came off the stick of Brenden “Bobby Orr” Dillon, who has now scored in consecutive games. He buried a long, seeing-eye shot from the point that found its way through traffic and into the back of the net. That goal doesn’t happen without some great work by the Mercer line, and while Keefe has not wanted to play Mercer at center this season, Mercer showed that he can at least hold his own centering a third line. Credit where it’s due: Mercer had a great game. He looked strong down the middle, he was responsible defensively, and he collected a pair of assists. I assume Mercer will return to the wing once Glass returns, but if tonight is any indication, New Jersey is in good hands with Mercer as their 3C.

The offense as a whole looked connected and cohesive, the defense looked tough to play against and structured, and the overall energy level was strong, especially for the second half of a back-to-back (more on that below). To me at least, there was not much doubt who the better team tonight was. New Jersey took care of business in front of their home crowd.

And now, they’re really rolling. Tonight’s win was New Jersey’s sixth straight victory. After going almost three full seasons without a winning streak of more than three games, the Devils have doubled that meager output seven games into this campaign. This six-game bender is the longest the franchise has produced since that now legendary 13-game winning streak from October to November of 2022. And it’s not like they’ve been picking on the dregs of the league either. After losing their season opener, New Jersey has beaten Tampa Bay, Columbus, Florida, Edmonton, Toronto, and now Minnesota. Aside from Columbus, those are all playoff teams from a season ago, including both Stanley Cup finalists. The Devils are looking unstoppable against some of the best teams in the league. And keep in mind, this has been done while absorbing a slew of injuries to prominent players. They’re getting healthier now, but they still aren’t at full strength, with Glass being another addition to the injury report.

The vibes are sky high around this Devils squad. Things can change quickly in this league, but early on, this team is showing just how dangerous they can be. Arseny Gritsyuk and the New Jersey Devils have officially put the league on notice.

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

The Game Highlights: Courtesy of NHL.com

The Debut Of Daws​

With Jacob Markstrom out, the Devils have been rolling with Jake Allen since Markstrom went to IR. They called Nico Daws up from Utica to replace Markstrom, but he hadn’t gotten into a game until tonight. Against a tough opponent on the second half of a back-to-back, Daws wasn’t exactly eased back into the NHL this evening.

And yet, Daws was terrific. He turned aside 29 of 30 shots, good for a .967 sv%. According to Natural Stat Trick, he stopped a remarkable 3.18 Goals Above Expected. I thought he looked poised and calm when he needed to be, as well as quick and energetic when he needed to be. The skaters in front of him supported him well, but Daws really brought his A-game in his season debut.

New Jersey has been getting incredible goaltending over this winning streak. Allen has been sensational, and now Daws has stepped in and not missed a beat. We can’t expect the goaltending to remain this hot all season long, but for now it’s been one of the most important factors in the team putting together a six-game winning streak.

Another Season Debut​

Aside from Daws, there was another Devil making his season debut tonight: Stefan Noesen. The veteran winger missed the early part of the schedule due to a groin injury that he aggravated in the offseason, but he was finally healthy enough to return to the lineup this evening.

In his season debut, Noesen played a modest 8:14, skating on the fourth line with Luke Glendening and Brian Halonen. He didn’t register a point or a shot on net, but he did throw two hits, so he was reasonably engaged based on the stats. Going by my own personal eye test, I honestly didn’t notice him much out there, which is both a good and bad thing.

We’ll see how long it takes for Noesen to get back up to speed. For now, it was nice to see him back.

Special Teams Continue To Dominate​

Another night, another killer outing from both special teams units.

Let’s start with the penalty kill. New Jersey entered tonight’s contest having killed off 18 consecutive penalties. Well they went 3-for-3 against the Wild, so the streak is now up to 21. This is even more impressive when you consider that Minnesota began the night with the league’s top-ranked power play, converting on almost 35% of their man advantages. And New Jersey found a way to shut down that high-flying unit. The Devils are just not allowing opponents anything on the penalty kill, and in the rare instances when a team does get a look at the net, Markstrom, Allen or Daws have been there to shut the door every time. It cannot be overstated just how much the penalty kill has contributed to the current win streak.

Meanwhile, the power play converted yet again thanks to Gritsyuk’s marker. Overall the power play went 1-for-2, and is now third-best in the league (30.0%) behind only Minnesota and the Vegas Golden Knights. Special teams carried New Jersey to the playoffs a season ago, and while the Devils are playing well enough at 5-on-5 to not have to rely on elite special teams, they have elite special teams to fall back on nonetheless. The Devils are firing on all cylinders in every aspect of the game right now.

Overpowering​

Last season, we would occasionally see Sheldon Keefe put Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, and Jesper Bratt out for a shift. Usually this would happen late in a period or when a TV timeout was imminent. I thought it was a smart move to try and load up on a line when a break in the action was close.

Tonight, we saw Keefe do this with Timo Meier in Bratt’s place. Hughes-Hischier-Meier got a shift with about 6:30 left in the first period and had a terrific shift where they created tons of chances. Then they got another one with about 13:30 left in the second period off of a Wild icing. It’s a small thing in the grand scheme of things, but I did want to point it out. I really like Keefe loading up on offensive firepower when he smells blood in the water.

Back-To-Back Tracker​

The New Jersey Devils have struggled with the second half of back-t0-backs over the past two campaigns. It’s been such an issue, I even did a deeper dive on it over the summer. In 2023-24, New Jersey went 3-11-2 in the second half of back-to-backs, and last season, they went 3-8-1. Completely unacceptable numbers.

Tonight was the first of these scenarios in 2025-26, and at least for one game, the Devils have figured out how to play with zero days of rest. They have 15 total back-to-backs this season, so they still have plenty of these left to go. But at least for one night, it was so nice to see them actually figure out how to win the second half of a back-to-back. Here’s hoping they can do it more often.

Yet Another Debut​

In addition to Nico Daws and Stefan Noesen, there was someone else making their season debut tonight:

Cory Schneider on Devils broadcasts.

Schneider had been doing analysis for New York Islanders games recently, and now he (and Mike Rupp, who we will see soon I imagine) have joined Devils telecasts on MSG for 2025-26. Tonight was his first foray into Devils hockey on TV. Overall, I thought he was solid. He didn’t wow me, but he certainly didn’t make me want to mute the television either. I wish I had more high-level analysis for you than that, but that’s how I truly felt about his debut.

In any case, Schneider was a great Devil that came to the organization at the exact wrong time. He was an elite goaltender for a few years when the team around him needed to rebuild, and when the Devils started to get good again, Schneider’s game (and health) started to fade, and he soon retired. It’s a shame, as I think Schneider deserved a much better fate in a Devils uniform, and I appreciated him during his time in the red and black. It’s nice to see him with the organization in some capacity again.

Next Time Out​

The Devils are back in action on Friday when they welcome the San Jose Sharks to New Jersey. Puck drop is slated for 7:00pm.

Your Take​

What did you make of tonight’s game? What did you think of Gritsyuk’s first goal and debut in the top six? What did you think of Daws and Noesen in their season debuts? What did you think of Schneider on the MSG broadcast? What are you expecting next time out against a young, rebuilding Sharks team? As always, thanks for reading!

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/d...s-new-jersey-devils-defeat-minnesota-wild-4-1

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Game Preview #8: New Jersey Devils vs. San Jose Sharks

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (6-1-0) vs. San Jose Sharks (1-4-2)

The Time: 7:00pm ET

The Broadcast: MSGSN, Devils Hockey Radio

Last Devils Game​

On Wednesday, the Devils played the second half of a back-to-back against the Minnesota Wild at The Rock. Arseny Gritsyuk scored his first career goal, Nico Daws made his season debut, and New Jersey pushed their winning streak to six with a 4-1 victory.

Last Sharks Game​

San Jose visited Madison Square Garden last night to battle the Rangers. In an absolute barnburner, Macklin Celebrini scored a hat trick and produced five total points as the Sharks defeated the Rangers in overtime, 6-5. It was the Sharks’ first win of their season.

Bratt’s Point Streak​

Everything is coming up Devils lately, so I feel as though this has flown under the radar. I have to raise my hand on this as well, as I haven’t mentioned it until now either, but I can no longer ignore the great Jesper Bratt. Through New Jersey’s first seven games, Bratt has registered a point in every single one of them. He’s been a model of consistency for New Jersey over the past few seasons, and he continues to be one early on in 2025-26.

In case you’re wondering, the Devils record for point streak to start a season is 11…in 2022-23…by Jesper Bratt.

Can Bratt catch his own record? We have four games to go until he gets there. In the meantime, Bratt is up to 11 points (four goals, seven assists) through seven games. He is on pace for about 129 points. As much as I love Bratt, I seriously doubt he will reach that lofty number. But for now, Bratt has been as important as anybody in carrying the offense through New Jersey’s winning streak.

Glass’ Status​

Cody Glass did not play in Wednesday’s game. According to head coach Sheldon Keefe in his postgame presser, Glass suffered an upper-body injury in Tuesday’s game in Toronto, and while he grinded through it to finish that contest, he couldn’t go on Wednesday. New Jersey did not practice yesterday, nor did Keefe address the media, so we didn’t get any indication on Glass’ status for tonight.

I hope it was just a matter of being cautious during the second half of a back-to-back. It’s not like Glass has been amazing to start the season, but he’s been good, and has certainly done his part in shutting down depth competition on a nightly basis. If Glass can’t play this evening, expect Dawson Mercer to once again center the third line. Mercer did very well as the 3C against Minnesota, finishing with two assists while centering Paul Cotter and Connor Brown. Even if Mercer can hold down the third line in Glass’ absence, I would still love to see Glass return sooner rather than later.

Hischier’s Case For The Selke (Or Hart)​

On Monday, I took a look at the line of Nico Hischier, Timo Meier, and Dawson Mercer and their deployment and results against elite competition. It was a fun exercise to do, and maybe I’ll keep track of this through the season as a little pet project. With the Florida Panthers’ Aleksander Barkov out for the season, the race for the Selke Trophy is wide open, and Hischier has emerged as an early favorite to claim the award in Barkov’s absence. If Hischier and his line continue to get fed brutal competition on a nightly basis, and more importantly, if they continue to win those brutal matchups, Hischier should be in great shape to win the Selke. There won’t be many in the national media pounding the table for Hischier and the Devils, so we might have to start pushing the Hischier agenda here!

Anyway, since I wrote that piece on Monday, New Jersey has played two more games. On Tuesday in Toronto, Hischier drew the dreaded Auston Matthews assignment. Matthews centered the Maple Leafs’ top line of Matthew Knies and Max Domi, and the numbers, quite frankly, are silly. At 5-on-5, Meier-Hischier-Mercer played 10:16 together. They won the shot attempts battle 10-4, and the Expected Goals battle by posting a ludicrous 94.74% xGF%. Hischier played 6:31 against Matthews specifically, and in that time, Hischier’s xGF% was 95.00%. In fact, Hischier posted an xGF% of at least 88% against Matthews, Knies, Domi, John Tavares, and William Nylander. That is a mind-bending level of domination against some of the toughest deployment a player can be saddled with.

Wednesday, on the other hand, did not go as well. Back home against Kirill Kaprizov (and Matt Boldy and Joel Eriksson Ek), the Hischier line (this time with Gritsyuk in for Mercer) posted an xGF% of 28.49% in 11:34 of 5-on-5 ice time. In 10:18 against Kaprizov specifically, Hischier did a little better, registering an xGF% of 40.33%. So this was certainly a loss for Hischier and pals. Perhaps playing against a rested Wild team while skating in the second half of a back-to-back in which you had to travel between games played a part. Either way, Hischier has had one amazing game and one bad game so far this week.

Expect Hischier and his line to get hard-matched against the Sharks’ wunderkind Macklin Celebrini tonight. That should be a fun matchup.

Celebrini And The Young Guns​

When discussing the San Jose Sharks, the conversation must begin with Macklin Celebrini. The first overall pick in last year’s draft had an incredibly promising rookie season in 2024-25, and while his team has disappointed so far this year, he has not. Celebrini entered last night’s Sharks game with six points…he exited with 11 points. A hat trick and two assists is superstar stuff, and while Celebrini might not be a superstar yet, he’s getting there.

Then again, the raw point total is masking some pretty hideous underlying numbers. According to Natural Stat Trick, at 5-on-5, Celebrini is rocking an xGF% just over 34%. The rest of his big advanced stats are in the same range. Yes, it’s very early, and yes, the team around him is terrible, but those are still jaw-droppingly bad numbers. Still, he’s outscoring his opponents at 5-on-5, and sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good. I have no doubt the process numbers will come for Celebrini.

He’s not the only young stud the Devils have to worry about though. His primary running mate, Will Smith, also had a big night at MSG on Thursday. He scored two goals (including the OT winner), added two assists, and is now up to eight points in seven games on the young season. William Eklund recorded three assists last night and enters with five points in seven games. Michael Misa, the second overall pick in this summer’s draft, made the club and has two assists in four games. Sam Dickinson didn’t play last night, but he’s looked great himself, because while he doesn’t have a point through five games, his underlying metrics are actually really good (an xGF% just above 55% will certainly play).

San Jose has a ton of talent. They’re young and raw, and they’re all learning how to win in this league together, so while they are a little less than the sum of their parts right now, it won’t be long before the Sharks are a capital “P” Problem for the rest of the league.

It’s A Trap!​

Not only is this the second half of a back-to-back for the Sharks, but their game last night went to overtime. It was an emotional game too, as they picked up their first win of the season after going winless in their first six contests. Meanwhile the Devils have the rest advantage, are riding a six-game winning streak, and now play a bad team after beating up on some of the better teams in the league. They also have a big home-and-home with another elite team, the Colorado Avalanche, coming up right after this game against the Sharks.

In other words, this is the Trappiest Trap Game that has ever Trapped.

New Jersey somehow lost both games against San Jose last season. They got absolutely goalie’d by old pal Mackenzie Blackwood at The Rock, then they failed to show up in a close loss in San Jose later in the season. I sure hope the Devils get themselves ready to play tonight. They cannot afford to treat this like a pushover game. If they do, San Jose will beat them. Plain and simple.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about this being a classic trap game, but at the same time, I’ve reached the point where I trust this team to show up. I hope they prove me right.

Potential Lineup​

You can find how the Sharks lined up last night here. Expect much the same this evening.

Your Take​

What do you make of tonight’s game? Do you trust the Devils not to fall for the trap game? Are you excited to watch Macklin Celebrini play? Who else of the Sharks’ young guns interests you? As always, thanks for reading!

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/d...review-8-new-jersey-devils-vs-san-jose-sharks

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Frisky Sharks Visit The Rock For Some Friday Night Hockey

They can’t all be hanging in The Louvre. Sometimes you have to find a way to to grind them out and the Devils did just that, taking down the Sharks 3-1 tonight on the strength of 2 PP goals from Dougie and a heavy dose of shot suppression.

The word this season has been maturity, and if you haven’t read Jared’s excellent piece on it, well you should. The general narrative coming from the locker room was “respect the opponent” which was exactly what the Rangers players said they didn’t do last night. That’s a shame, anyone know what happened?

1st: Did They Respect Their Opponent?​

Well, not at first. It seems that mantra didn’t really hit home as the Devils start flat, lacked crispness and compete. The early tone was set as Nico took an early penalty on a failed clear by getting his stick tied up in Skinner’s legs. The sloppiness led to a broken zone entry and the Sharks ended the Devils impressive PK kill streak at 21 – a bad bounce made its way to Eklund who beat Allen low blocker. 1-0 them with 17:35 left in the period.

Still not entirely awake, we continued to struggle with crispness, repeatedly got tied up getting through the neutral zone – the only real 5 on 5 opportunity was from Cotter who made a nice power move to the paint where he was robbed by a nice pad save by Askarov.

The Devils started to tilt the ice mid-period, highlighted by a hook by Gaudette on yet another nice power move by Cotter through the slot. Largely sloppy, the power play contained one grade A chance for Nico who was robbed by a sprawling blocker save by Askarov. While they were unsuccessful with the man advantage, they did start stringing together some decent connected shifts, but the last 10 were largely uneventful and frankly pretty sloppy with a “get to the room” feel.

2nd: There’s The Team We All Know​

Well, good thing they did get to the room because the second was a much better, more thorough period and as has been the case, the Devils got to their game quickly. Starting on the power play certainly helps, and we cashed in care of Douglas Entertainment Hamilton who crept in from the point and sniped one past a sprawling Askarov after a scramble in front.

View Link

Shortly after a sloppy breakdown led to a partial breakaway for Skinner, the Sharks got a rebound to bounce in and it appeared to be 2-0. But wait! Sheldon and the gang called a challenge for offsides – these tend to never be wrong and sure enough the goal was called back. In a bit of confusion, Nemec was called for a penalty on the play as he took down Skinner during the play. It seems the suits at the league thought about his exact scenario and rule 37.2 of the goal review procedures states:

“If One or more penalties (minor or major) are assessed between the time of the ‘off-side’ play and the video review that disallows the apparent goal, the offending team(s) (and responsible players(s)) will still be required to serve the penalt(ies) identified and assessed, and the time the penalt(ies) will be recorded as the time as which the play should have been stopped for the ‘off-side’ infraction.

If you aren’t in a reading mood (odd place to be if you aren’t) basically Nemec had to serve the penalty, so we dodged a bullet, but caught some shrapnel. After yet another excellent kill, Mercer drew a hook on Skinner with a nice wily veteran move, trapping his stick and not really giving Skinner a choice but to hook him. Off to the power play we go! After some outstanding puck movement and chance after chance, Jack danced around the back of the net, and found Dougie once again creeping into the slot where he blew one through Askarov.

View Link

At 12:34 Iorio flipped a puck over the glass putting the boys back on the power play once again, and shortly after at 13:30 Desharnais decided to try kidney surgery on Noesen which sent us to a 5 on 3. After a relentless shooting gallery where nothing fell (but generated almost 2 full expected goals) the Sharks were back to evens. It did seem like the boys were feeding Dougie for the hatty on this one. This powerplay put the Devils on the front foot and for the first time all night they strung together consecutive strong shifts with significant O-Zone pressure. Between the power plays and Ozone time we were able to hold the Sharks to zero shots in the 2nd. I’m not a coach, but that seems like a good strategy.

Stop Playing With Your Food!​

Off to the 3rd with what felt like both precarious lead, but also somewhat safe. That make sense? No? Anyway, We were holding up well with a 2-1 lead, but with their talent that could’ve broken at any moment with the smallest of mistakes. More penalties didn’t help as Brown got a little too high on Wennberg’ stick and caught his hands at 1:35 of the 3rd. Once again the PK stood up and killed this one off with relative ease but 6 minutes later, we would find ourselves short AGAIN after Timo tried to remove Liljegren’s clavicle at 7:41. This time we got some puck luck for yet ANOTHER successful kill, the highlight being Jake the snake’s point blank mask save. I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that might have been a good break for us.

After being set free, Timo was a menace and had several great close chances, bullying his way to shots. He also decided to pigeon toss 6’7” Desharnais in front of Askarov – I’m assuming they were exchanging ideas about Halloween decorations and disagreed. Mad Timo is fun, he is an animal when he wants to be. The crowd seemed to enjoy it as well breaking out into a “Timo!” *clap* *clap* “Timo!” chant. Love it, nice work everyone.

The rest of the 3rd was relatively uneventful except for one minor booboo (see above about giving these guys an inch) and Jake bailed the boys out again with a great glove save on a short ice breakaway. The sexiest red head in all the land added the dagger, and we are done and dusted, 3-1. 7 in a row. Wagon season is here kiddos, next stop is a major home and away test against the Avs Sunday and Tuesday – a bit of an odd schedule quirk.

Some additional scattered thoughts​

Luke had a hilarious spaz for some reason – I assuming because he missed some chances. It gave off youngest sibling vibes. Otherwise he has been OUTSTANDING this season. His play at the offensive blue line has been exceptional, his decisions in all three zones have been sound, and he has added a physical element to his recoveries where he legit just tosses guys away.

Speaking of evolving games, Dougie is like a whole new guy. He’s using his size, has been laying some booming hits, is playing sound defense and is in a regular rotation on the PK where he has been stellar. And some of you wanted to sell him for a bag of pucks. Pepperidge Farm remembers.

Nemec had a second consecutive strong all around game after some rough moments in Toronto. More of this please Simon, he still is showing flashes of strong 2 way play, mixed with some brain farts. Reminds of someone-who-I-shall-not-name.

Dillon has also been outstanding as well so far this season – his new bionic neck seems to be working out.

Might as well mention Siegs and Pesce too – what absolute warriors. They would jump in front of a ‘75 Buick Wagon if it was on close to being on goal.

Well, now I’m going to write a longer blog about the D group so far. Look what you made me do.

We continue to get solid, if not spectacular goaltending from Jake and Daws with Marky out. Love it. I’ll go ahead and say it, I feel more comfortable with Allen in goal than Markstrom right now.

Not a lot to hate here friends, even when it’s not great, we still found a way. What did you make of tonight?

LGD

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/d...s-visit-the-rock-for-some-friday-night-hockey

 

[New Jersey Devils]

2025-26 Gamethread #8: New Jersey Devils vs. San Jose Sharks

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (6-1-0) versus the San Jose Sharks (1-4-2).

The Time: 7:00 PM ET

The Broadcast: TV — MSGSN, Radio — Devils Hockey Network

The Game Preview: Jackson wrote 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...thread-8-new-jersey-devils-vs-san-jose-sharks

 

[New Jersey Devils]

2025-26 Gamethread #9: New Jersey Devils vs. Colorado Avalanche

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (7-1-0) vs. the Colorado Avalanche (5-1-3). Avs blog: Mile High Hockey

The Time: 1:00 PM EST

The Broadcast: TV — MSGSN; Radio — Devils Hockey Network

The Song of the Day: The Devils have a history of their own in Colorado, formerly being known as the Rockies. While this is but a distant memory to the league, the Devils as we know them today owe at least something to their past in Denver. Thus, the song of the day for this afternoon is Rocky Mountain High by John Denver.

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...ead-9-new-jersey-devils-vs-colorado-avalanche

 

[New Jersey Devils]

New Jersey Devils Survive Avalanche With Jack Hughes Overtime Winner, Securing 4-3 Victory

First Period​

The New Jersey Devils got off to a strong start against the Colorado Avalanche, who were on the second half of a back-to-back. After the first five minutes, both teams started to sit back from each other, trying to see who would make a mistake first. It was almost the Devils when Jonas Siegenthaler had to go to his knees to sweep the puck away from the front of the net, as he almost turned it over but iced it instead. Later, Connor Brown perfectly threaded a two-on-one pass to Paul Cotter, who was denied at the doorstep by rookie goaltender Trent Miner. Jake Allen later answered with a big glove save of his own on Nathan MacKinnon after the referees missed a Martin Necas high stick on Brett Pesce.

The Devils made the Avalanche pay for the missed penalty. Arseny Gritsyuk made a great play on the wall to seal Lehkonen out of the play on the zone entry, and Timo Meier made some slick moves to the puck, backhanding the puck behind him back to Gritsyuk for a go-ahead goal! The Devils took a 1-0 lead less than 10 minutes into the game.

The period would not even reach the halfway point before Jack Hughes made it a 2-0 game on his signature seven-hole shot! He beat Trent Miner under the glove arm.

After the second goal, Gritsyuk put another tough shot on Miner as Lehkonen tried to ride him into the boards. Timo Meier got the puck back for the Devils and was high sticked by Josh Manson, and Gritsyuk threw a hard hit from behind at Manson, just light enough to avoid a boarding penalty. Later, the Avalanche would pull back to within one goal when Jake Allen failed to freeze a puck off a far shot from Devon Toews, and Valeri Nichushkin took advantage of the rebounding puck to whip the puck at the twine. Still 2-1, Devils, with a bit over seven minutes left in the period.

With Brett Pesce missing time late in the period, a shot bounced off Nathan MacKinnon and then off of Martin Necas at the post, leaving the puck in the crease for MacKinnon to bury. The Avalanche had tied the game with under three minutes to play.

Second Period​

Brett Pesce did not return for the beginning of the second period. Simon Nemec turned a puck over right to Jack Drury in the defensive zone, but Luke Hughes saved the day with a strip. Still, the Devils could not clear the zone, and Jake Allen had to make a big glove save on Drury later in the shift. The Devils were clearly getting frustrated, and Brenden Dillon rocked Sam Malinski in the neutral zone, leading to a center-ice meet-up with play blown dead.

Luke Hughes made a huge mistake trying to skate the puck out of the defensive zone, leading to an extended offensive zone shift for the Avalanche after Gabriel Landeskog stripped him of the puck. Dawson Mercer and others ended up staying on the ice for over two minutes, but Allen made a big save on Landeskog before the Devils survived the quick cycle of the Avalanche with the puck eventually deflecting out of play.

The Devils caught a break when Brock Nelson tripped up Arseny Gritsyuk from behind. With the officials missing about three Avalanche penalties in the first period, that was one that was impossible to miss. The Devils tookt he puck from their own end after losing the faceoff draw, and they lost the puck again behind the Colorado net after retaking the zone. Of course, the officials would finally catch their first high stick of the game with Timo Meier going to the box before the first minute of the power play expired, as Meier’s stick was tied up high and Makar skated into his stick.

The Avalanche had about a minute of power play time with the period approaching its halfway point. The Avalanche did not get a shot on their chance, though MacKinnon had a hard shot deflect wide of goal. As the game crossed halfway, the Devils started settling back down, and they finally got another break.

Check that — Connor Brown caught a breakaway off an outstanding feed from Simon Nemec, and he is a fast man. Not only is Connor Brown fast, he is hot, and he beat Trent Miner over the glove to take a 3-2 lead with his fifth goal of the season! The Avalanche fought back immediately afterwards, and Jake Allen was almost taken out after Dillon deflected a two-on-one pass into the air. Allen went to glove it but was skated directly into, and the officials let play go on. In a hectic sequence, the puck was kept out.

Sheldon Keefe was then barking at the officials for a Martin Necas embellishment special, with Luke Hughes sending him to the ice as they pursued a puck in the corner, leading to an “interference” call. Jake Allen stood his ground on this full penalty kill as the Devils got more clears out of the zone, and the Devils kept their lead into and through the final four minutes of the period.

Third Period​

The Devils continued to play better to begin the third period, but the Avalanche still controlled most of the offensive zone ice time in the first five minutes. Colorado was certainly hunting for deflections from distance, but most of their shots were missing the net. The Devils then had a few minutes where they tried to create on offense, but the Avalanche gave them very little room to work with. Still, the Devils pulled to even on the shot count by the final 10 minutes of the game, as Jack Hughes snuck a shot through traffic and almost got his own rebound, banking it off the side of the net.

In the following minutes, the Avalanche got back to the game they were playing in the second period. Thanks to Brenden Dillon, who sticked down a centering feed from the wall with the Devils under pressure, the Devils kept their lead into the final seven minutes. But one more breakdown killed the Devils, as Siegenthaler did not block a similar lane from Ross Colton to Brock Nelson. Nelson tied the game with six minutes to play as Siegenthaler was caught reaching. The Avalanche continued to pressure until the final buzzer, but the game went to overtime.

Overtime​

Sheldon Keefe turned to Hischier, Meier, and Luke Hughes to start overtime. Hischier won the draw, and the Devils controlled possession through the first change. Hamilton took a shot on a two-on-one rather than making the pass, but the official let play continue despite Miner’s glove save. The Avalanche took possession, and Bratt stopped Nathan MacKinnon with a clean strip. Jack Hughes took the puck to the net, shimmying and shaking into a backhand that went wide of goal.

The Avalanche had a chance to turn up the ice, but Simon Nemec disrupted the play on the wall. He got the puck back and snapped a quick pass back to Hughes, who ripped a shot off of Miner’s shoulder and in! The Devils won the game in overtime!

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

Down Pesce​

You might think that the New Jersey Devils were lucky to win this game. It is definitely true that, on the majority of nights, the Colorado Avalanche would have won this game. But do we really need to break out a “deserve to win-o-meter”?

In total, the Devils had 44.19 percent of the expected goals today (including 48.1% of all even strength expected goals), and they got screwed out of 6-8 minutes of power play time, only playing 0:58 with the man advantage to 2:58 for the Avalanche. At least two of those penalty minutes should have come from the brutal high stick of Brett Pesce by Martin Necas, who embellished his way to one power play and tried to make another call by himself in overtime. So, forgive me if I feel this loss is a bit karmic for the Colorado Avalanche.

Brett Pesce is “not great” says HC Sheldon Keefe.

He will not travel with #NJDevils on this upcoming four-game road trip.

— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) October 26, 2025

To be fair to Necas, though, there was one other possible play that could have injured Pesce. But looking at the replay, I don’t think it was. With 5:21 left in the first period, Pesce blocked a shot that seemed to strike somewhere between his upper left thigh and a spot that no hockey player wants to block a shot with. But Pesce just made one grab at the area and looked no worse for wear, skating wise, staying on the ice through the full shift into the offensive zone before changing off for Nemec. His grimacing after the missed high stick? Much more noticeable. Pesce actually went to both knees after that high stick. This is the blocked shot, by comparison:

I don’t know. Does that look like an “upper-body injury”? I guess we will find out the truth, eventually.

Still, the Devils had to play this game largely without their best defensive right-handed defenseman. And Sheldon Keefe made a big mistake by responding to this injury by shifting the primary pairs to Siegenthaler-Hamilton and Hughes-Nemec with Dillon floating shifts during the second period. During that period, the Devils dropped from a 50.00 to a 37.5 CF% at five-on-five, outshot nine to three in total during the second. By comparison, Hughes and Nemec played approximately zero seconds together in the third period, and the Devils outshot the Avalanche nine to five in that frame.

Credit to Keefe for seeing a problem and making an adjustment. Yes, some may say Nemec was at fault for that game-tying goal, but I think Siegenthaler got played a little too hard and gave up his netfront position. Brenden Dillon played the best defensive game of anyone by not getting baited into leaving that netfront. Dillon shut down the Nelson-Nichushkin line, which pretty much destroyed every pairing that didn’t include Dillon. Nelson had an 10.59 xGF% and a goal against when facing Dillon compared to a 91.64 xGF% and a goal for when Dillon was not on the ice.

The Grits and Brown Element​

While many Devils fans complained that Tom Fitzgerald did not do enough about the bottom six during the offseason, I was optimistic that Connor Brown’s speed might be a big help to making the Devils harder to play against. But I was just hoping that he might get back to being a 40-50 point player, now two full seasons removed from his ACL tear recovery. But man, Connor Brown fits perfectly with the New Jersey Devils. He is one of the fastest skaters on a team that features some pretty good skaters, and he already has more goals this season than the number he hit in his first post-injury season. In fact, this is the fastest Brown, a two-time 20-goal scorer, has ever hit five goals in his career.

Arseny Gritsyuk also took massive heat off of Timo Meier and Nico Hischier. The Avalanche had a plan to smother Hischier, who had zero shots on goal on just one attempt for the Devils. Timo Meier had six shot attempts, but only one hit the net. That left a lot of ice for Arseny Gritsyuk, who had a game-leading 10 shot attempts and also game-leading 5 shots on goal. He also tied Brenden Dillon for a team-leading three hits thrown, including a rough hit on Josh Manson in response to Manson going at Meier.

You can be disappointed with Hischier’s game today, but this is why Gritsyuk can perform on that line. Teams can try to smother Hischier and Meier, but Gritsyuk is very talented, very fast, and has a quick release into a hard shot. With Mercer down to the third line due to Cody Glass’s injury, Gritsyuk preserves the speed and scoring potential of the top six while Brown continues to turn back the clock on the third line. It seems like these two make the Devils substantially different from last year’s team, who would not have had the depth to hang with Colorado in a game like this.

Jack and Nemo​

As you might have heard, this was Simon Nemec’s first three-point game in his NHL career (all being primary assists), as he now has seven points in nine games played. Playing just over 15 minutes a night, Nemec has not disappointed with an offensive impact in his minutes. Could he simplify his game in the defensive zone a bit, staying more in position and not chasing so much? Absolutely. But I would be much more concerned if he got off to a start like last season, when he had four points in 27 games. Without him, the Devils would not have won today. You have to score to win.

As for Jack Hughes, what is there to say? He now has eight goals and 12 points through nine games with his third multi-goal game of the season, as Brent Burns and Josh Manson had no answer for him. He even won the majority of his draws in the dot this afternoon. As long as he keeps up this sort of scoring, the Devils are going to be a very, very tough team to beat, as he reminds everyone that his 2022-23 performance was just a glimpse of his capability.

Your Thoughts​

What did you think of today’s game? Did you watch it? What did you think about Pesce’s ordeal? What about Jack’s game-winner? Did you think they would keep the winning streak going? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and thanks for reading.

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/d...k-hughes-overtime-winner-securing-4-3-victory

 

[New Jersey Devils]

It’s Time For Jonas Siegenthaler To Step Up

The New Jersey Devils have suffered a pretty rough stretch of injuries to begin the 2025-26 season. It started on opening night, with Evgenii Dadonov fracturing his hand in Carolina. From there, we’ve seen Jacob Markstrom, Zack MacEwen, and Cody Glass go down with significant injuries of their own. And none of this counts Johnny Kovacevic (still out) and Stefan Noesen (since returned) who were injured to begin the campaign. A year after suffering some really bad injury luck, there has been no regression to the mean in that department.

And now, the Devils have suffered their most significant injury yet.

Brett Pesce took a high stick from Martin “Compulsive Diver” Necas in the first period of Sunday’s win over the Colorado Avalanche. He also took a shot to what appeared to be his hand from Brent Burns later in the opening frame. It’s unclear which of these plays injured Pesce, but either way, he missed the final 40 minutes of regulation and overtime, and it was revealed after the game that he suffered an “upper-body” injury and will not travel with the Devils on their upcoming four-game road trip.

This really hurts, as Pesce has arguably been the Devils’ best defenseman to begin the campaign. Through eight games (though really seven-and-one-third) he has collected three points (all assists), and all of his underlying numbers look incredible. According to Natural Stat Trick, at 5-on-5, Pesce has been one of the most effective players on the team:

Corsi For%: 55.56 (third-best on the team)

Shots For%: 58.68 (first)

Scoring Chances For%: 58.06 (first)

High Danger Corsi For%: 55.93 (fifth)

Expected Goals For%: 53.31 (third)

If Natural Stat Trick isn’t your cup of tea, Hockey Stat Cards has Pesce tabbed as the sixth-most valuable Devil overall, the most valuable defenseman, and the skater with by FAR the highest defensive rating on the club. Simply put, Pesce is dominating, and has been perhaps the biggest reason why New Jersey is currently on an eight-game winning streak. At this point we’re not sure how long he’ll be out. We do know that Seamus Casey will be Pesce’s replacement on the roster, and while I have high hopes for him, there is almost no shot he can replace the value Pesce was bringing through the early part of the schedule. So if Pesce will be out for a bit, and Casey can’t fill the void, how can New Jersey cover Pesce’s absence until he returns?

That’s where Jonas Siegenthaler comes in.

Siegenthaler’s Under The Radar Struggles​

Perhaps this is just a perception issue on my part, but I do feel as though not enough Devils fans are acknowledging the fact that Siegenthaler does not look like himself early on. I do understand that it’s hard to be negative when the team is currently riding an eight-game heater and has the most points AND the highest points percentage in the NHL. Still, I’m starting to get a little concerned with Siegenthaler’s game. Per Natural Stat Trick, Siegenthaler has been getting absolutely run over night in and night out at 5-on-5:

CF%: 48.63 (13th on the Devils)

SF%: 50.00 (16th)

SCF%: 41.54 (15th)

HDCF%: 40.35 (16th)

xGF%: 39.41 (16th)

At Hockey Stat Cards, Siegenthaler is already deep underwater with a -1.5 Net Rating. That is the worst mark on the team among defensemen, and ahead of only the usual fourth line of Luke Glendening, Brian Halonen, and Paul Cotter overall.

Perhaps more alarmingly, Siegenthaler’s defensive game has really slipped.

We all know Siegenthaler has never brought much offense to the table (his one point in nine games played this year being more proof of that). So he has had to rely on his defensive chops to supply value, and in years past he has brought tons and tons of defensive value to the table. After a down 2023-24, Siegenthaler teamed with Johnny Kovacevic to form one of the best shutdown pairs in the NHL. Siegenthaler was one of the very best defensive defensemen in the league according to numerous analytics models, which was even more impressive considering Siegenthaler was tasked with shutting down opponents’ top lines every night. If there was one thing New Jersey could rely on last year, it was Siegenthaler stopping opposing teams in their tracks.

Which makes his defensive numbers this season so disappointing and concerning. I already gave you his overall 5-on-5 numbers from Natural Stat Trick, but if we look at defense-specific metrics, the results become even more dire:

Corsi Against per 60: 61.11 (13th on the team)

Shots Against per 60: 22.82 (seventh)

Scoring Chances Against per 60: 30.96 (14th)

High Danger Corsi Against per 60: 13.85 (15th)

Expected Goals Against per 60: 3.35 (18th)

These are out of 18 skaters by the way (I filtered out players with fewer than 50 minutes played, so no Dadonov, MacEwen, or Noesen). So that means his xGA/60 ranking of 18th puts him dead last on the team. When your shutdown ace is the worst you have at preventing expected goals, you have a serious problem.

Hockey Stat Cards is a little more complimentary to Siegenthaler, but not by much. That model has his defensive rating at +0.1, just narrowly in the black. But that’s still ahead of only Simon Nemec and tied with Brenden Dillon for the second-worst mark in that category on the team among defensemen. Still, even though the raw value is positive, that modest +0.1 valuation only puts him in the 43rd percentile among defensemen league-wide. Not at all where you want a player like Siegenthaler to be.

Perhaps these numbers don’t jive with your eye test, but I will tell you that they do jive with mine. I feel as though Siegenthaler has been really fighting it early on this season. His puck-handling has never been amazing, but I’ve seen him fumble pucks and whiff on clearing attempts more often than usual through nine games. He isn’t as quick or decisive as he usually is, and he isn’t as imposing physically. I will say that I have noticed Siegenthaler making great defensive plays on occasion, such as perfectly-timed slides to break up passes or excellent shot blocks to save dangerous attempts at the net. That being said, if he is constantly putting himself in a position to have to make great defensive plays just to keep himself afloat, that might be indicative of a larger issue.

Siegenthaler’s slump hasn’t really been all that much of a problem thus far considering New Jersey is 8-1-0. But now that Pesce is on the shelf for a while, the Devils could really use a return to form from Siegenthaler. And if he can’t step up, New Jersey might see it’s sparkling record fall back to the pack in a hurry. Something needs to be done.

Potential Solutions​

Ok, so if we’ve established that Siegenthaler is really fighting it through the team’s first nine games, and he needs to get back on track if Pesce is going to miss some time, what exactly can be done to help both Siegenthaler and the team overcome Pesce’s injury? There are a few things the team could try:

More Offensive Zone Starts: Here’s one that’s simple. According to Hockey Reference, Siegenthaler has an offensive zone start percentage in the high-30’s, and a defensive zone start percentage in the low-60’s. This is roughly in line with his usage last season. The difference is, last season he could handle that tough deployment, while this season he can’t. In 2022-23 and 2023-24 he was closer to 45-55 offensive to defensive zone start ratio. I would suggest dialing back Siegenthaler’s usage to be closer to that range until he can figure things out.

Pair Him With Simon Nemec: I admit, this has the potential to backfire greatly. Nemec has been a bit of a rollercoaster early on, with plenty of good moments and plenty of really bad moments. He is coming off perhaps his best game of the season though, as he posted the first three-point game of his career in the Devils’ overtime win over the Avalanche on Sunday. So maybe his game and his confidence are rising. There’s also the fact that Nemec and Siegenthaler worked great together in the playoffs last year. It was limited action to be sure, but in 18:22 minutes together at 5-on-5, that duo posted a dominant 87.18 xGF%. That’s not easy to do against a tough Carolina team. Perhaps head coach Sheldon Keefe can see if lightning will strike twice.

Less Time Against Elite Competition: Take a look through Siegenthaler’s most common opponents every night, and you’ll see that the best players are usually near the top of the list. Draisaitl, MacKinnon, Matthews, Kaprizov, Kucherov…the list goes on. Much like the Hischier line, Siegenthaler is getting a lot of matchup minutes. He has yet to prove that he can be as effective in this role as he was a season ago. So I would suggest easing off the brutal assignments for a bit. Give him some more shifts against some second and third lines and fewer against first lines.

Final Thoughts And Your Take​

You will notice that none of those suggested solutions involve Siegenthaler actually stepping directly in for Pesce. In fact, I’ve sort of taken the opposite approach: instead of asking Siegenthaler to take on even tougher assignments in Pesce’s absence, I want to shelter Siegenthaler a little more for the time being. This is obviously not the ideal thing to do, and to be honest I highly doubt Keefe will actually do this. But I think it might help the Devils in the long run to give Siegenthaler a little breather to see if he can get back to top form. Especially considering that on this upcoming road trip, after the Colorado game, there isn’t a particularly imposing team in California to worry about. Yes we just saw the Devils squeak out a win over the Sharks, but that’s still a bad team. The Ducks are improved this season but still lackluster, and the Kings have taken a big step back. If there was ever a stretch to risk sheltering Siegenthaler and seeing if your other defenseman can cover for him while Pesce is out, it is that one.

Or hey, maybe Siegenthaler can just get back to dominating defensively like we know he can. I’m not quite sure what is up with Siegenthaler this season, whether he’s fighting through some injury we don’t know about or if he’s just coming out of the gate slowly. Either way, I don’t think his talent just magically disappeared. I just hope he finds himself again sooner rather than later. If Pesce is going to be out a while, the Devils will really need Siegenthaler to get back to being Siegenthaler.

What do you make of Siegenthaler’s early season struggles? Do you even agree that he’s struggling, or does your eye test tell you differently? Do you agree with any of the suggested solutions, or is there something else you might want the Devils to try? Thanks for reading!

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/d...09/its-time-for-jonas-siegenthaler-to-step-up

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Devils in the Details – 10/27/25: Called Game Edition

Here are your links for today:

Devils Links​

Jack called game! No. 86 scored in overtime to secure a 4-3 win over the Avalanche on Sunday as the Devils stretched their win streak to eight games. [Devils NHL]

Dougie Hamilton scored a pair of power play goals as the Devils took a 3-1 win over the Sharks on Friday. [Devils NHL]

Well, it had been a little bit since the Devils had an injury:

Brett Pesce is “not great” says HC Sheldon Keefe.

He will not travel with #NJDevils on this upcoming four-game road trip.

— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) October 26, 2025

#NEWS: We have recalled D Seamus Casey from Utica (AHL). pic.twitter.com/umhNYKfKJg

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) October 26, 2025

On Jack Hughes and reading: “The lifestyle of an NHLer allows Hughes more time than the average person to read, as he takes the opportunity to pull out his book when the team is on the bus or the plane. For Hughes, reading is one way he can get away from the game. ‘You turn your brain off and you are thinking about other things,’ he explained. ‘It is nice not to be on your phone or watch TV. It is nice to sit and chill.’” [The Hockey News]

This is pretty slick:

Jack Hughes rocking an unreleased white graphic pair of @BauerHockey skates

(via @NHL) pic.twitter.com/d1NfKAKLGO

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) October 24, 2025

Hockey Links​

Patrik Laine will miss some significant time:

Patrik Laine can't catch a break. He had a procedure done yesterday. Believe he will be out 2-3 months. Habs will announce shortly.

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) October 25, 2025

Where would we be without power rankings? A look around the league: [ESPN] [The Athletic ($)]

“If one Stanley Cup victory lap doesn’t do the trick, might as well take another. The Florida Panthers’ second straight championship was enough, at least, to push them to the top of The Athletic’s NHL front-office rankings, as voted on by many of the league’s top decision-makers.” [The Athletic ($)]

Capitals assistant coach Mitch Love:

Sources say #NHL has suspended #allcaps assistant coach Mitch Love for the entirety of 2025-26 season following an investigation into alleged domestic abuse.

The victim reported allegations directly to #NHL and teams Love interviewed with over summer for head coach vacancies.

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) October 26, 2025

Mitch Love has been relieved of his duties as an assistant coach, effective immediately. This decision follows the findings of an NHL-led investigation into past allegations. The organization is committed to maintaining the highest standards of conduct and accountability.

— Capitals PR (@CapitalsPR) October 26, 2025

In a statement provided to the Washington Post, Mitch Love says that he denies the allegations that led to his firing by the Capitals and the NHL suspending him for the 2025-26 season.
Full statement below: pic.twitter.com/fG4PKPfFCg

— Bailey Johnson (@BaileyAJohnson_) October 26, 2025

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

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/d...s-in-the-details-10-27-25-called-game-edition

 

[New Jersey Devils]

New Jersey Devils Prospect Update: Comets Drop Two More as Seamus Casey Returns

The Comets hoped Seamus Casey could spark their lackluster offense, but despite an assist in his first game back, it wasn’t enough to secure a win.

Comets Crash Again​

Another weekend, another pair of losses for the struggling Comets. Utica was shutout 3-0 by Syracuse Friday night. Goaltender Jacob Malek played his best game of the season stopping 31 of 33, but alas, he couldn’t score, as well. Malek was back in net on Saturday as the Comets fell to the Laval Rockets 4-2. Seamus Casey returned earning an assist on Mike Hardman’s goal at 18:46 in the third to make the score seem closer than it was. Going forward, the Comets will have to make do without Casey again, at least for a little while as the defender has been recalled to the Devils after an injury to Brett Pesce.

It’s been a pattern of unanswered goals for the Comets, who have now been outscored 21-10 on the season making them the worst team in the AHL in terms of goal differential. On paper, with the lineup they have, the Comets should be potting far more goals per game. Instead, Utica is tied with the Texas Stars for the league basement at ten goals in six games.

Sad.

Around the Pool:​

• Goaltender Trenten Bennett leads the OHL with a .929 SV% amongst goalies with 5 or more games. Bennett also made the OHL highlight reel for goaltenders this week.

We're always thankful for the goaltenders providing the highlights! pic.twitter.com/AFTgAdbqmN

— Ontario Hockey League (@OHLHockey) October 14, 2025

• Goaltender Mikhail Yegorov responded after a rough start, even earning praise from Coach Jay Pandolfo.

Jay Pandolfo on Mikhail Yegorov, who saved 24 of 25 on Saturday after conceding six on Friday:

"That's what I've seen from him in the past. When he doesn't have his best outing, he responds. He'll tell you he wasn't at his best last night, and tonight, he was."

— Boston Hockey Blog (@BOShockeyblog) October 25, 2025

• Center Gustav Hillstrom is back with his U20 team after a brief stint with Brynas IF in the SHL. The move is a positive one for Hillstrom’s development, who wasn’t getting much ice time with the big club and has been thriving in the U20 Nationell with 16 points in 9 games, tying him for 10th in the league in points as of Sunday despite missing a quarter of the team’s games due to the brief promotion.

• Lastly, winger Cole Brown is showing his last season in juniors was no fluke and has been on fire to start his collegiate career with six points in six games.

Thursday: First collegiate goal (and point)
Friday: Three point night

Cole Brown had quite the home debut this week! #GoIrish pic.twitter.com/hitQyxWOo4

— Notre Dame Hockey (@NDHockey) October 18, 2025

Your Take​

What do you think? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/p...-comets-drop-two-more-as-seamus-casey-returns

 

[New Jersey Devils]

The Timing with the Jacob Markstrom Extension Talks Makes No Sense

A few months ago, I asked the question whether or not the Devils should consider extending Jacob Markstrom.

I weighed the pros and cons of it, and while I can appreciate the Devils wanting continuity and the stability that comes with a reliable veteran netminder in place, the conclusion I came to at the time essentially boiled down to “what’s the rush?” I would say most of you reading this who commented on that article agreed with me that there’s little point of doing this now before the 2025-26 season plays out. Let’s at least see how things progress before going down this road.

At the end of the day, we are talking about a 35-year old goaltender who has already missed a chunk of time with an injury this season. Even with another expected jump in the salary cap ceiling coming in 2026-27 and beyond, the Devils don’t have endless cap dollars available. They need to be careful where they invest their resources moving forward, particularly with an important position like goaltender. If you get it wrong, you risk a situation like what Seattle has dealt with with Phillip Grubauer where you’re stuck with the player because the contract is immovable. For a Devils team that is hoping to put the final pieces of a championship roster around the core they’ve assembled in these next few seasons, it’s something that they simply can not have.

For whatever reason though, it doesn’t appear that Tom Fitzgerald has gotten the memo, as both he and Markstrom’s camp appear to have mutual interest in a new contract.

Consider this quote from Fitzgerald in a recent interview with The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun.

“His agent (Pat Morris) and I have been talking for a long time,” Fitzgerald said, emphasizing the “long.” “It’s just exchanging health opinions on where older goalies are at. But we love Jacob Markstrom. We love his family. We want to continue this relationship moving forward. So I’ll have another talk with his agent this week. Again, when you start these negotiations, you’ve got term, you’ve got money, you’ve got commitment involved and it’s just, ‘OK, let’s try to find some common ground on what makes sense for him and what makes sense for us.’”

Given Fitzgerald’s history with trying to solve the goaltending position in New Jersey, I can at least understand wanting to be protective of what you have. There’s something to be said about having a known commodity in hand while being fearful of the unknown.

Nobody can say that Fitzgerald hadn’t tried to address the goaltending for years. He certainly did try. It’s not his fault that Corey Crawford never played a game here. Or that Jonathan Bernier lasted ten games before suffering a career-ending injury. Or that Mackenzie Blackwood was oft-injured, inconsistent, and downright unplayable at times. Or that Vitek Vanecek was also inconsistent to the point of being unplayable. Poor goaltending, among other things, destroyed any chance the Devils had of competing for a playoff spot in two of Fitzgerald’s first four seasons on the job before he swung the deals to bring both Markstrom and Jake Allen to New Jersey.

I can understand not entirely trusting what you have internally with Nico Daws where you’re skeptical whether or not he can hold up as part of an NHL committee in net, although it should be mentioned that Daws has posted a .945 save percentage over seven NHL appearances over the last two seasons. Daws is playing in front of the same forwards, same blueline, and same Sheldon Keefe system as Markstrom. Yes, it’s a small sample size, but it’s still a sample size nonetheless and it’s what we have to go on. Daws is also going to turn 25 years old later this season, so if Daws isn’t ready for the NHL now, is he ever going to be?

I can also understand taking a look at the list of upcoming free agent goaltenders and not being all that enamored with the options that may or may not even make it to July 1. Sergei Bobrovsky, Frederik Andersen, and Cam Talbot are older than Markstrom, and the rest of this list is littered with career backups and/or below average starting goaltenders.

After watching his first few starts this season though, and watching Colorado beat him 8 times for goals (and more if we count how many times the Avalanche hit the post), am I being a prisoner of the moment for at least thinking the following?

What if Jacob Markstrom isn’t that good anymore?

His numbers from last season look ok on the surface, as he posted a .900 save percentage and 4 shutouts. He also had stretches last season where he was excellent and that shouldn’t be dismissed. But on the other hand, he ranked 22nd (out of 30 qualifiers) in goals saved above expected among all goaltenders who appeared in at least 41 games last season.

His numbers this season? There’s no sugarcoating it. They’ve been awful.

He had an .845 save percentage and 3.89 GAA, as well as -1.7 goals saved above expected BEFORE Colorado put eight past him. Needless to say, all of those stats are worse now.

I don’t think its asking too much to want to see the 35-year old goaltender play well before he signs a contract extension that might hurt the team more than it helps in the long-term.

Now, in fairness to Markstrom, the Devils did him zero favors last night with their abhorrent defensive coverage. The Devils gave up far too many odd man rushes. They took too many penalties and put a Colorado power play that should be lethal in a position to repeatedly beat him. They made far too many mistakes in front of him and the result was a deserved 8-4 loss to snap their eight-game winning streak. Yes, its Colorado, and Colorado is an elite team, but the Devils played poorly enough where any NHL team could’ve beaten them on that given night.

The problem is that Markstrom did himself no favors either, starting with his delay of game penalty in the first minute of the game. That penalty and subsequent goal against, followed by another goal minutes later set the tone for the game, he just couldn’t come up with saves when he needed to, and things just snowballed from there.

I expect that Markstrom will have better days when its all said and done. He’s a rhythm goaltender who needs to see shots to get into a groove. He’s a veteran who has had rough patches before and should know how to navigate them. He’s also faced tough competition in his starts between Carolina, Tampa Bay, and now Colorado. All on the road. There should be easier matchups ahead, and I expect Markstrom to put things together and go on a run at some point.

But this is also a reminder of why the talks about extending Markstrom now are ridiculous and why the Devils would be foolish to do so.

I don’t think Markstrom is washed up, but I also can’t sit here and say with certainty that he isn’t. It’s possible that he has an injury-riddled season where he struggles to get into a groove and posts pedestrian numbers. I hope that isn’t the case, but he’s 35 and this is what we have seen from him so far. I can’t rule it out.

If that does happen, do you want to be on the hook for Jacob Markstrom approaching his 40s? On a deal with some term and money that I would deem “significant enough”? I don’t, and I don’t care how creative Fitzgerald might get with said deal. Loaded up with bonuses? Stretch the term out into perpetuity to lower the AAV? It’s still a problem. You can’t hide a healthy, bad goaltender like you can hide a 14th forward.

I don’t think I want any part of that. And I certainly don’t want a part of that on October 29th with 72 games to go. Neither should Fitzgerald. This is an important decision he’s going to have to make at some point, and its one that should be made with as much information as possible instead of haphazardly trying to force it through like Congress might do with an unpopular bill.

Again, what’s the rush?

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/d...acob-markstrom-extension-talks-makes-no-sense

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Game Preview #11: New Jersey Devils @ San Jose Sharks

If it feels like the Devils just played the Sharks a few days ago…well, that’s because they did. | Photo by Rich Graessle/NHL via Getty Images

• The Matchup: New Jersey Devils @ San Jose Sharks
• The Time: 10:00pm EST
• The Broadcast: MSGSN, Devils Hockey Radio

Last Devils Game​

Late Tuesday night (or early, depending on your location) the Devils lost by a score of 8-4 in Colorado. No, your eyes did not deceive you. Yes, the Devils let up as many goals against as games they had previously won in a row during their now over, 8 game win streak.

I have mixed feelings about this game. On one hand, let’s face it. The Devils were never finishing the season with a record of 81-1. The win streak was ending at some point. The best teams lose games. The best teams face adversity over a full 82 game season. One loss is not that big of a deal. All of these things are true.

At the same time, it’s also true that Markstrom, in his limited time this season, has been absolutely dreadful. Not ok. Not average. Dreadful. On one hand, there’s a lot of season left. On the other hand, the Devils can’t afford to throw away games if Markstrom continues to struggle this much.

How bad are we talking about? Through 4 games he currently has a 5.13 GAA and a .830 SV %. Again, that’s a small sample size, but those are horrible, horrible numbers. He has not finished any game so far with a GAA under 3 or a SV% above .900. Maybe he will figure it out and the team needs to play better in front of him too.

However, taking his poor play and his self inflicted wounds (his 2nd delay of game penalty in 4 games), and adding it all up, equals a player that needs to get it together soon. There is time, yes. But the man has not played 1 solid period of hockey this season yet, and not only is it becoming a cause for serious concern, but he seems to be playing worse rather than improving. He is a liability at the moment and that needs to be addressed, one way or the other.

Last Sharks Game​

The Sharks also lost on Tuesday night, by a score of 4-3, at home against Los Angeles. Their game tonight against the Devils is the 2nd in a 4 game home stand for them. The San Jose Sharks have some young talent, to be sure. However, they are simply not that good of a team, yet. Of course, this is the NHL and yes, any team can beat any team on any night and all that cliche, etc. stuff. However, with the loss on Tuesday, the Sharks sit at 2-6-2, with both of their wins coming in OT. They will win some more games this season, and they (like any team) should not be taken lightly. But there is long way to go before this team turns into a consistent winner.

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

As of this writing, the Devils did not appear to have practice yesterday. As a result, I am not sure which goalie will be starting tonight. The argument could be made that since Markstrom played on Tuesday that Allen will start tonight. The argument could also be made that since the Devils had a day of rest between games that Markstrom could play again tonight. I would expect an announcement at some point today, regarding the starting goalie for tonight’s game.

The fact that Brett Pesce is out and will miss significant time is “old news” at this point. He joins the list of injuries along with Cody Glass, Evgenii Dadonov, Johnathan Kovacevic, MacEwen, etc. I would assume Seamus Casey stays in the lineup for Pesce, but considering Halonen came out of the lineup for Lammikko, who knows. As with every other NHL team dealing with injuries, the Devils will need to find a way to continue on, with or without Pesce (and everyone else currently out of the lineup).

Grimace’s Prediction and 2025-2026 Record Tracker​

Fear not my friends, Grimace is back with a brand new invention another prediction for tonight. He feels bad that he was wrong with his last prediction, so he wants to make it up to the Devils Nation. Grimace believes the Devils will defeat the Sharks tonight. He asked me to tell all of you that his prediction is assuming Allen starts tonight. He feels the Devils can win even if Markstrom plays, but, if Markstrom plays and they lose, he wants an asterisk next to the loss.

Grimace’s 2025-2026 Season Prediction record currently stands at 5-1-0.

Your Take​

I want the Devils to win every game. I think I speak for everyone on here when I say that. I’m also realistic and know that the Devils, like any team, are going to lose a decent amount of games this season. I’m ok with that. If the team plays well and loses, so be it. What I never like to see and what I don’t want to see tonight, is a team that loses from self inflicted wounds. They let up 6 more goals after the first 2 against Colorado, but make no mistake, the early PP goal against and the horrible 2nd goal against, dug a hole and set the tone early. Win or lose, just don’t beat yourself tonight Devils. Feel free to leave your thoughts and comments below and thanks for reading!

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/d...-preview-11-new-jersey-devils-san-jose-sharks

 

[New Jersey Devils]

2025-26 Gamethread #11: New Jersey Devils at San Jose Sharks

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (8-2-0) at the San Jose Sharks (2-6-2). Sharks blog: Fear the Fin.

The Time: 10:00 PM ET (7:00 PM PT)

The Broadcast: TV — MSGSN, NBC Sports California, Radio — Devils Hockey Network, Sharks Audio Network

The Game Preview: Matt wrote the preview this morning.

The Songs of the Day: Maybe I’m just in a classic mood, but the first song of the day for today is Going to California by Led Zeppelin, keeping the traveling theme from last game. Let’s come back with three wins, please.

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...hread-11-new-jersey-devils-at-san-jose-sharks

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Devils in the Details – 10/31/25: You Get What You Deserve Edition

Here are your links for today:

Devils Links​

The Devils responded to Tuesday’s rough outing against the Avalanche by coming back with another brutal start. Ultimately it was too much to overcome, as the Devils dropped a 5-2 game to the Sharks. [Devils NHL]

Sheldon Keefe:

#NJDevils HC Keefe with some strong words:

“That was not it. That’s not the way you can work, compete, & the urgency you need to have defensively. You cannot win in the National Hockey League with that as the baseline. That’s unacceptable & once again you get what you deserve.”

— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) October 31, 2025

Marty talks here:

Luke Hughes will be one of four players featured in this series:

The @NHL has launched a new series, “NHL Hockey Academy presented by BODYARMOR Sports Drink,” featuring players demonstrating their hockey skills and drills on the League’s YouTube channel.

Details: https://t.co/1LscXzeXV6 pic.twitter.com/4ERnzmSjVw

— NHL Public Relations (@NHLPR) October 30, 2025

“Losing Brett Pesce to injury certainly doesn’t help the New Jersey Devils, but Seamus Casey has an opportunity to fill the void.” [Devils on the Rush ($)]

“After last season’s disastrous performance from the young former second-overall pick, the obvious bounce-back is quite the story for New Jersey in the early stages of the 2025-26 season. His underlying metrics don’t necessarily match up to the production that he has put up, but Nemec looks far-improved from the player he was last season.” [Devils’ Advocates]

Hockey Links​

Martin Necas gets an eight-year deal:

BREAKING: Martin Necas has signed an 8-year deal, $11.5M AAV.

A full NMC for the first 7 years, $60M in signing bonuses. pic.twitter.com/Fag5QclgEF

— DNVR Avalanche (@DNVR_Avalanche) October 30, 2025

What did we learn about this season in the month of October? [The Athletic ($)]

A look ahead at ten storylines to follow in the coming weeks and months as we zero in on the Olympics in Milano Cortina: [NHL.com]

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

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/d...ils-10-31-25-you-get-what-you-deserve-edition

 

[New Jersey Devils]

New Jersey Devils Sign Jacob Markstrom to 2-Year, $12 Million Extension

Happy Halloween.

The New Jersey Devils recently announced that they have signed goaltender Jacob Markstrom to a two-year deal worth $6 million per year, beginning in the 2026-27 season.

Enjoying a Swede treat on this fine Halloween evening.

: https://t.co/xTCdOqlkYC pic.twitter.com/VzCYuwHabi

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

Going by the full press release, Markstrom’s contract does not currently appear to include any trade protection, though his page on PuckPedia currently notes that the “contract breakdown will be updated.” So far this season, Markstrom is 2-2-0 with a 5.13 goals against average and an .830 save percentage, winning one game in relief for Jake Allen while not yet turning in a good start of his own. In 53 games and 52 starts as a Devil (that relief win was actually his first relief appearance with the team), Markstrom is 28-18-6 with an .895 save percentage and 2.67 goals against average, earning four shutouts in this time. In the playoffs, Markstrom had a .911 save percentage and a 2.78 goals against average.

If you are a Devils fan who was put off by Markstrom’s start to the season, you might not be thrilled about the news. It was only on Wednesday morning that Jared asked, “Are we asking too much to see Markstrom play well before the Devils make a potential major mistake signing him?”

That said, this deal is not that much of a commitment, especially when you think about the (ridiculous, I thought) rumors that Markstrom was looking for a five-year deal worth $5 million per season. At his age, I did not really believe he would ask for that kind of deal, and the coverage here would be much more negative towards Fitzgerald if that was the deal signed. But at two years and no raise (albeit without Calgary retaining a chunk of the deal), Jacob Markstrom is not going to hold the team back by any stretch of the imagination. He has been a pretty good goaltender, for the most part.

Hopefully, Markstrom will bounce back with a win tomorrow night in Los Angeles. The Devils are working through several injuries in their lineup in addition to getting him back up to speed following his lower-body injury. The Devils are also not going to look like they did the last two games forever. After an eight-game winning streak and an injury to Brett Pesce, some defensive regression was…expected. They will have to get through it, and Markstrom is going to have to make some saves and show everyone why he got these two extra years.

Combined, Markstrom and Allen will carry a cap hit of $7.8 million over the 2026-27 and 2027-28 seasons. I do not think they will get through this season or the next two without help from the Devils’ younger goalies, though, so we will see how that shakes out. Markstrom, of course, has not played fewer than 48 games since the 2020-21 season, averaging over 52 starts per season since becoming Vancouver’s starter in the 2018-19 season. With the Devils, Markstrom now hopes to get to 300 career wins with his eyes set on a Stanley Cup run. Hopefully he can take a page out of Bob’s book and get two despite his age.

Your Thoughts​

I want to keep this one brief so people can react, so what are your thoughts on the Markstrom deal? Were you expecting this to happen so quickly? What are your thoughts on the term and compensation? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and thanks for reading.

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/d...acob-markstrom-to-2-year-12-million-extension