RSS Devils Team Notes

[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

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Game Preview #12: New Jersey Devils @ Los Angeles Kings

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (8-3-0) vs. Los Angeles Kings (5-3-4)

The Time: 9:00pm ET

The Broadcast: MSGSN, Devils Hockey Radio

Last Devils Game​

New Jersey began the California portion of their road trip on Thursday in San Jose. A goal against in the first minute of the game, plus two more in the opening frame sunk the Devils in a terrible 5-2 loss. Dawson Mercer registered two power play goals for all the offense on the Devils’ side.

Last Kings Game​

Los Angeles was also in action on Thursday, falling in a shootout to the Red Wings, 4-3. The Kings were down 3-1 entering the final three minutes of regulation, but two goals in 40 seconds late in the third helped them secure a loser point to salvage something from their Thursday evening.

Friday Night News Dump: Markstrom Extended​

The Devils made a pretty significant announcement last night. If you missed it, I don’t blame you. The team announced it on a Friday night, which just so happened to be Halloween, which also just so happened to come during Game 6 of the World Series. But in the middle of all of that, New Jersey announced that they have signed Jacob Markstrom to a contract extension: 2 years, $6m AAV:

Enjoying a Swede treat on this fine Halloween evening.

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

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

This doesn’t really impact tonight’s game, but it’s such a significant development that we need to address it here. The timing isn’t the best as far as optics go. Markstrom is coming off one of his worst games as a Devil, and he’s struggled through substandard play and injuries early this season. Still, Markstrom showed in stretches last season (including the playoffs) that he can still be a high-end goalie in this league.

For me personally, I really like the two-year term, but the $6m AAV is a little rich for my blood. I guess I have to keep telling myself that in a rising cap environment, $6m AAV is the new $4m AAV, or something like that.

In any case, congrats to Markstrom. Here’s to hoping he can give New Jersey a few more good seasons to come.

Injuries Taking Their Toll​

The Devils have been ravaged by injuries since before the season even began. Johnny Kovacevic and Stefan Noesen began the year on the shelf, and they were quickly joined by Evgenii Dadonov, Zack MacEwen, Cody Glass, and most recently, Brett Pesce. It’s that last one that seems to be hitting the Devils the hardest. In the two games that Pesce has missed, New Jersey has given up eight(!) and five goals. Completely unacceptable defensive efforts, even if a large portion of the blame belongs to the goaltenders.

Pesce is expected to be out at least a month, so he’s not walking through that door to help the Devils defense anytime soon. It’s on the players still in the lineup to figure things out and stop bleeding chances and goals. It’s only two games, but it would behoove New Jersey to nip this in the bud starting tonight.

And now, we may have to add another injury to the list:

Connor Brown is questionable for Saturday at the moment.

Needed the day off today, says #NJDevils HC Keefe. And they’ll see tomorrow how he feels.

Keefe says not to read too much into today’s lines as Brown’s availability tomorrow will dictate what the makeup looks like.

— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) October 31, 2025

Brown has been quite the offseason pickup for New Jersey. He won’t continue to shoot the lights out, but he’s a solid player with speed, skill, grit, and veteran leadership. Even if he isn’t a top of the lineup player, he will be missed if he can’t go tonight. Let’s hope whatever is ailing him heals soon.

In his absence, head coach Sheldon Keefe made some big changes to his lineup in practice yesterday:

Changes indeed for #NJDevils — though we will have to see how things might change again with Brown not on the ice today.

Each forward line has been tweaked.

And if today is any indication, it looks like Cholowski will draw in with Nemec while Casey will be an extra tomorrow. https://t.co/UR5toSEjM7 pic.twitter.com/3slJGtbCLu

— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) October 31, 2025

I hesitate to put too much stock into this because Stein reported that Keefe said not to read too much into this. The lineup was the way it was apparently to accommodate Brown’s absence. If he’s in tonight, I expect the lineup to remain roughly the same. If he’s not, then perhaps we see something similar to this.

There’s also Dennis Cholowski seemingly being set to make his season debut tonight. He’s a very limited player but after the last two nights, it’s not like the defense begs to be kept together. We’ll see what Cholowski can bring this evening.

Some Big Guns Have Been Quiet​

I mentioned this briefly in the game recap of the San Jose game on Thursday, but I would really like to see Nico Hischier and Timo Meier get back in the goal column. Both players have gone seven games without scoring a goal, and while they contribute in many, many other ways, scoring goals would be a nice way to contribute some more. Hischier only has two goals on the season, and Meier only has three. I get that a lot of their energy is taken up every night by stopping the other team’s best players, but they were fed brutal minutes last year and still produced. In fact, Hischier registered a career-high in goals with 35, and while much of that was on the power play, the overall point remains that even with tough assignments, they are more than capable of finding the back of the net.

The good news is that Hischier is due. He is only shooting at 8.0% thus far, well below his career mark of 13.2%. Meier on the other hand is actually at 10.7%, which is basically at his career mark of 10.9%. So it doesn’t appear that he’s getting victimized by bad shooting luck. Which is a little concerning, but if there’s one thing we know about Meier, it’s that he is capable of scoring goals in bunches. Once he sees that next one go in, don’t be surprised to see him follow it up with a stretch of seven goals in five games or something like that.

Jack Hughes has carried the offense lately, and Jesper Bratt and Dawson Mercer have produced as well. But New Jersey needs their other big guns to start scoring goals again too. I have confidence in them, Hischier and Meier won’t be held down for long. But it would be nice if they can stop being held down tonight.

Is Luke Ready For Primetime?​

We’ve talked about Brett Pesce already, but now let’s talk about his defense partner, Luke Hughes. When I say primetime, I’m referring to being a true number one defenseman based on both traditional and advanced stats. It’s worth asking if he’s ready considering just how much the Devils now have invested in the young man. Again, all the small sample size caveats apply, but since Pesce went down, to me it’s been a mixed bag as far as what I’ve seen out of Hughes without his primary partner.

In the game on Tuesday in Colorado, Hughes actually didn’t look too bad based on the numbers at Natural Stat Trick. In that game, at 5-on-5 Hughes posted an Expected Goals For% of 54.30. The Devils also outscored Colorado 4-1 when Hughes was on the ice. Hughes was paired with Dougie Hamilton that night, and in 13:22 together at 5-on-5, Hughes’ xGF% was 68.77, and he was in the black in goals for, Corsi, Scoring Chances, and High Danger Corsi. In Thursday’s game, however, Hughes was paired with Seamus Casey, and boy did it not go well. Hughes posted a 5-on-5 xGF% of 14.31, which is shockingly bad. In 17:20 with Casey specifically, he put up a 19.72 xGF%. The Hughes-Casey pairing did not work in any way, and I would strongly suggest that Keefe not go with that pairing again.

The numbers at Hockey Stat Cards seem to back this data up. In the Colorado game, Hughes posted a Game Score of 3.18, second on the team behind only his partner, Hamilton. For those not familiar with Hockey Stat Cards’ Game Score model, 3.18 is a fantastic number. Meanwhile in the San Jose game, Hughes’ Game Score was -0.89, a really bad result.

So for Hughes, it’s been one great game and one bad game since Pesce went down. I will say, just based on my own personal eye test, I feel as though his numbers in the Colorado game are a little generous. Not to the point where I think he had a secretly bad game, but I do think it’s hard for me to point to Hughes and say he was truly dominant in that contest. Then again, he did get matched up against Colorado’s super-elite top line of Nathan MacKinnon, Martin “The Diver” Necas, and Artturi Lehkonen, along with a steady dose of the all-world Cale Makar-Devon Toews pairing. So maybe I’m being too harsh on Hughes given he posted really good numbers against arguably the toughest matchup in the league.

And even if we go by traditional stats, Hughes has zero goals and six assists through 11 games. His shots will start beating goaltenders again, but that’s still only slightly more than half a point per game production. Which is pretty much exactly what he’s produced in his first two seasons (47 points in 2023-24, 44 points last year). That’s not bad obviously, but that’s far from top of the league stuff. The only way you can get away with that level of production and still be considered a number one defenseman is if you’re also an elite shutdown guy. Think Jaccob Slavin or Gustav Forsling. Luke certainly isn’t on their level in that regard. Then again, if Hughes actually starts getting regular playing time on the top power play unit soon, instead of splitting time with Hamilton, he could see his production skyrocket.

So what does all this mean? Well in my eyes, it means that Hughes is not quite ready to be considered a true number one defenseman yet. He has all the tools, and he shows that elite production and ice-tilting ability in spurts, but not at a consistent level. He doesn’t appear to be able to carry his own pairing yet, though perhaps it’s unfair to expect him to carry a player as raw as Casey. Then again, it’s not like the Hughes-Casey pairing was going up against MacKinnon or McDavid, they were playing a woeful Sharks team. I really don’t think it would’ve been too much to ask for Hughes to have a good game against a team that bad regardless of who his partner is.

I want to make it clear, I am absolutely not giving up on Hughes. I still have confidence that he will be a star defenseman in this league very soon. But the numbers seem to indicate that he has thus far only been able to achieve star-level play when paired with another really good defenseman. For Hughes to be considered a true number one, he needs to thrive under tougher conditions.

Heavy Is The Head That Wears The Crown​

The Los Angeles Kings have been a very good team for half a decade now. They’ve made the playoffs every year since 2021-22, finishing with 99 points twice, 104 points once, and 105 points last season. They’ve built their team through terrific team defense, finishing second league-wide in goals allowed last season, third in 2023-24, 16th in 2022-23, and 9th in 2021-22. Even in their “down” year in 2022-23 they were still average.

The biggest problem for Los Angeles since they’ve become a perennial playoff team can be summed up in two words: Edmonton Oilers.

Over the past four seasons, the Kings have been eliminated by the Oilers in the first round every single year. Other fans have plenty of complaints about the current playoff format, but Kings fans probably have the biggest complaints of all. They just can’t seem to solve their Edmonton problem.

That problem cost general manager Rob Blake his job this past spring. In his place came longtime NHL executive Ken Holland. He went to work reshaping the team, which basically boiled down to the highly questioned signings of defensemen Cody Ceci (4-year, $4.5m AAV) and old pal Brian Dumoulin (3-year, $4m AAV). These two have effectively replaced (or at least that was the idea) shutdown ace Vladislav Gavrikov, who signed with the New York Rangers in free agency.

Aside from Ceci and Dumoulin, the rest of the team remains largely the same. They still haven’t solved their Oilers problem, but as we’ve discussed, this has still been one of the stronger teams in the league for years now. They hope this is the year they can finally get over the hump.

Abdicating The Throne​

With apologies to Cyrus The Great, Anze Kopitar has been the King of Kings for a long, long time in Los Angeles. But the future hall of famer’s reign is coming to an end, as he announced before the season that 2025-26 would be his last. Obviously Kopitar has slowed down in recent years (he only has five assists and zero goals in eight games this season for example), but he’s still been an effective player and invaluable leader for the Kings.

The heir apparent to Kopitar’s throne is Quinton Byfield. The second overall pick in 2020 has developed into a pretty darn good player over the past couple seasons. Over the past two years, he posted 43 goals and 109 points over 161 total games. Certainly not elite production, but respectable for a player his age. But that’s not what makes Byfield so dangerous.

Byfield is one of those players who just controls the run of play very well. A look through his Natural Stat Trick numbers show a player whose big 5-on-5 stats (Expected Goals For%, High Danger Corsi For%, Scoring Chances For%, Corsi For%) have all been in the mid-to-high-50’s since 2022-23. That’s excellent work for a player as young as Byfield. Meanwhile, a look at Byfield’s Hockey Stat Cards numbers have him above average in defensive impact, borderline elite in offensive impact, and borderline elite in overall impact. As far as traditional stats go, he’s got those 109 points over the past two seasons, and this year he’s leveled up a bit in terms of point production, registering 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in 12 games, an 82-game pace of roughly 68 points.

Byfield is probably the most important Kings player of the next five to ten seasons. He’s a star in the making, and while he might not be a true star yet, he’s a dangerous player that the Devils should devote a sizeable amount of their gameplan to.

Keeping Kempe Contained​

Apart from Byfield, Adrian Kempe is the other big Kings forward to keep an eye on. Through 12 games, Kempe leads the team in points with 15, and is tied for the team lead in goals with five. Kempe has been a point machine for Los Angeles over the past few seasons, registering a career-high 41 goals in 2022-23 (67 total points that year), 75 points in 2023-24, and 73 points last season. He’s over a point per game pace in the early going, so he’ll need plenty of defensive attention as well.

Projected Lineup​

Here’s how the Kings lined up in their last game:

Tonight's projected @LAKings lines from DTLA. Forward Trevor Moore will miss tonight's game due to personal reasons:
: @FanDuelSN_West
: ESPN LA App, LA Kings App, @TuLigaRadio pic.twitter.com/37kIDxwj9u

— LA Kings PR (@LAKingsPR) October 31, 2025

I’m not sure if Trevor Moore will return to the lineup (he missed last game due to personal reasons). If he does, expect this lineup with Moore drawing back in for Jacob Moverare.

Your Take​

What do you make of tonight’s game? Are you confident the defense will right itself, or will they struggle to keep the puck out of their own net again? Who on the Devils are looking for to step up? Who on the Kings are you most intrigued by? As always, thanks for reading!

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/d...review-12-new-jersey-devils-los-angeles-kings

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Game Preview #13: New Jersey Devils at Anaheim Ducks

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (9-3-0) at the Anaheim Ducks (6-3-1)

The Time: 8:00 PM ET (5:00 PM local)

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

Better Effort​

The New Jersey Devils had most breaks go their way last night against the Los Angeles Kings. Jacob Markstrom was excellent, keeping the Kings to one goal as the Devils took the 4-1 win. The Kings doubled their shots at 44 to 22, forcing Markstrom to earn that victory. Do the Devils want to play the same game tonight with Anaheim? I would not think so. The one thing that I do not think was really their fault that did not go their way last night was the penalties. The officials overlooked a couple obvious too many men situations for Los Angeles, contributing to some extended defensive shifts for the Devils, while New Jersey was called for four total penalties during the game. To date, the Devils are tied for the second-least power play opportunities in the league, tied with Pittsburgh at 31 and ahead of just the Columbus Blue Jackets with 26. They have had to kill 43 penalties, though, and the league average for both at the moment is 39. I am not going to be nice to referees and pretend this disparity reflects the reality of infractions on the ice.

But the Devils have to deal with it, or maybe they just don’t embellish enough to get calls in today’s NHL. Some better possession numbers might help them draw calls, too, but the lack of calls coming their way are also hurting their chances to gain and sustain possession. The Ducks are a rather average group on special teams, as they have eight goals on 40 power play opportunities and seven goals against in 33 penalty killing situations. They have scored two shorthanded goals and have allowed none. The Devils, of course, lead the league with four shorthanded goals, which brings their penalty killing differential to just -2 (tied with the Jets for best in the league) on 43 penalties. Their power play percentage is also tied with the Penguins for second in the league behind the Oilers.

The Ducks​

The Anaheim Ducks have gotten very lucky at even strength this season. Per Natural Stat Trick, they have good possession numbers at a 50.60 CF%, but they are a bit worse at getting their shots on goal, with a 230-246 shot disparity through 10 games. They have only been able to outshoot teams because of their penalty differential. Still, they are also performing well above their expected goal differential at even strength of 21.76-27.13 (44.51 xGF%), with a real differential of 22-23 at five-on-five. So far, they are also 4-2-0 against Eastern Conference teams, escaping with these wins despite a 36.25 xGF% at five-on-five and a 40.42 xGF% in all situations.

The big task for today is shutting down their top lines. Cutter Gauthier (six goals, 10 points), Mason McTavish (eight points), and Bennett Sennecke (five points) have tallied the most (89:37) minutes together, rolling with a 59.90 CF% and 4-2 goal differential. However, Leo Carlsson (five goals, 15 points) and Troy Terry (five goals, 13 points) lead their team in point production, and I expect them to be on a line with Chris Kreider. That line has only broken even in goals at even strength, but they have dominated possession with a 61.02 CF% through 28:51 together. Kreider, who is returning from a bout of hand, foot, and mouth disease, is having an excellent start to his season alongside Jacob Trouba. Both have six points, though Kreider has only played six out of 10 games, as he has scored five goals already, compared to the 22 goals he had for the Rangers last season. Jacob Trouba, meanwhile, has already matched his Rangers production from last year in 14 fewer games while playing much better defense in bigger minutes. He might be getting a bit lucky with his on-ice goal differential of 11-4 with his 50.73 xGF%, but the Ducks play their best hockey with Trouba on the ice.

The Devils will likely only have to deal with one big-hitting former Metropolitan Division right-handed defenseman tonight, though. Radko Gudas, Captain of the Ducks and regular cause of Devils injuries on illegal hits, has missed three games with a lower-body injury. The coach of the Ducks said that Gudas should be out for about a week from yesterday, alongside Mikael Granlund (lower-body) and Ryan Strome (upper-body). Granlund has only missed two games so far, but he already had eight points in eight games. Meanwhile, Strome has yet to play a game this season. Those injuries should make it easier for the Devils to win their matchups in the bottom six tonight, as the Ducks are a bit of a two-line show.

Key to the Game​

Tonight is the night the Devils’ fourth line needs to get going. They are going against a rather poor fourth-line center in Jansen Harkins, who throws a lot of hits but had a 10.00 CF% and 3.19 xGF% in his season debut. He should be on a line with Frank Vatrano, who is having a rotten start to the season with one point and a 28.88 xGF%. Meanwhile, the third line should not be outmatched by the Ryan Poehling-led group. The Devils are well-used to Poehling’s mediocrity, and he is on a line with an increasingly washed up Alex Killorn and a more promising young Nikita Nesterenko, who has four points in eight games. Still, Poehling’s third lines have not fared very well in terms of possession or expected goals, and running a guy like Arseny Gritsyuk loose against a poor bottom six should mean opportunities for the Devils to score. While the lines were pretty fluid last night (I saw a lot of mixtures down the stretch), I think the Devils should go with a look like this:

Noesen-Hughes-Bratt
Meier-Hischier-Brown (if available)
Cotter-Mercer-Gritsyuk
Palat-Glendening-Halonen

Unfortunately, neither of the Palat-Hischier-Gritsyuk or Meier-Hischier-Mercer lines really created any offense last night, so I think more tinkering is needed there. With Juho Lammikko not playing much towards the end of the game, I do not think he should be centering the third line again tonight. With Brian Halonen earning his way to stay in the lineup with his goal, it would be nice to see him get a game with more of an offensive focus on his line. Palat, who finds himself suddenly without a home on Jack’s line (especially with Noesen looking consistently in the right spots there last night), needs to reinvent himself and work some scoring chances in the bottom six: he should have opportunities if he plays there against Anaheim’s weak bottom six tonight.

If Brown misses a second straight game, I would just recommend sliding the right wings up a line and dressing Lammikko on the fourth. Lammikko has not shown enough (he had a 12.31 xGF% last night in 6:55 at five-on-five) to play on the third line, and he did not even win draws in the faceoff dot. In order to keep Hischier and Hughes fresh enough for the end of the game today, they will need Dawson Mercer to play center and turn in good shifts at even strength. Maybe if they need to shorten the bench in the third, Mercer can move back to wing, but they need his minutes at center right now.

The Devils will have Jake Allen (5-1-0, .906 SV%, 2.39 GAA) starting tonight, while the Ducks should have Lukas Dostal (4-3-1, .909 SV%, 2.74 GAA) in net. If Dostal gets a rare rest, Petr Mrazek (2-0-0, .831 SV%, 5.52 GAA) is Anaheim’s backup. Mrazek last played on October 23, while Dostal has played three in a row (October 25, 28, and 31). With the Ducks on a homestand, next playing Florida on Tuesday, I expect to see Dostal.

Your Thoughts​

What do you think of tonight’s game? Will the Devils make any changes to their forward lines? Will Cholowski play again tonight, or is tonight a good time to use Seamus Casey? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and thanks for reading.

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/d...preview-13-new-jersey-devils-at-anaheim-ducks

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Devils Faceplant Into 4-1 Loss to Ducks

First Period​

After the New Jersey Devils got off to a good start in the game, getting the first three shots on goal, Beckett Sennecke blew by Simon Nemec and Dennis Cholowski to beat Jake Allen high. The Anaheim Ducks took a 1-0 lead less than five minutes into the game on their first shot of the game. Neither of the Devils’ third pair looked very good on this goal against.

The Hischier line had the best response in the next few minutes for the Devils, with both Hischier and Arseny Gritsyuk having great chances to score. On Hischier’s chance, Gritsyuk retrieved the puck below the goal line and backhanded it back out to Hischier for a point-blank shot, but Lukas Dostal made the save. The Devils eventually had something go in their favor when Sennecke was called for holding Jack Hughes, sending the Devils to the power play just after the halfway mark of the first.

Dawson Mercer and Dougie Hamilton were on the first power play with Hischier, Hughes, and Bratt. Hischier lost the first draw and the Devils had to take it from their own end, but Troy Terry quickly got a breakaway after a bad entry by the Devils. Allen made two big stops here, and the Devils continued to have trouble gaining the offensive zone until Bratt was called for offsides at the end of the first minute. The second unit came out, and Luke Hughes started the breakout from their own end after another clear by Anaheim. A shot from Luke Hughes trickled through the crease but was just too far on the other end from Stefan Noesen and rolled wide of the net. At the end of the power play, Gritsyuk got a pass across to Timo Meier for a one-timer, but Dostal made a glove save.

The Ducks took a 2-0 lead when the Devils got hemmed in their own zone after a bad change. Dawson Mercer finally had a chance to clear the puck out, but he passed towards Hischier in the middle, turning it over. Frank Vatrano fired off a one-timer, and the Ducks took the two-goal lead. Right after play resumed, Luke Hughes was called for tripping in the neutral zone, giving the Ducks a chance to put the game away early.

The Devils sent out Glendening, Bratt, Siegenthaler, and Hamilton to start the penalty kill. The Devils got a chance to go the other way early on, but Glendening was unable to feather the pass through to Bratt on a two-on-two rush. Mercer and Hischier came on while Siegenthaler and Hamilton did not change. The Ducks set up low, but Siegenthaler blocked a pass to Kreider. The Ducks went back high until a pass went through Jackson LaCombe to give the Devils a break. Dillon and Nemec changed on with Hughes and Palat to finish the kill, and they did finish the job to keep the score as it was. Luke Hughes sent a blind pass from the corner to the front of the net after he got out of the box, but Jack Hughes was just too late to redirect it into the net.

Second Period​

The Devils were hoping for a better second period, but they quickly fell down 3-0 after Timo Meier failed to get the puck out of the defensive zone with a chance on his stick. He tried to push it out again at the blueline, but the Ducks worked it back down to the goal line. Cutter Gauthier just slid it low, and the puck went under Allen’s pad.

Mason McTavish was temporarily sent to the box four and a half minutes into the period when it looked like Timo Meier took a high stick, but it was called back when Brenden Dillon was discovered to have been the one who high sticked Meier. Thus the game stayed at five-on-five. The Devils looked like they had a great chance to end the shutout when Stefan Noesen found Jack Hughes in the middle of the ice on a three-on-two rush, but Jack did not seem to get a great shot off, and it was frozen by Dostal with just a little rebound off of Bratt’s skate that was quickly swallowed back up.

When Allen was tested, the Ducks had some incredible chances. Sennecke was denied on a one-timer in the slot, and Kreider had a big chance after a terrible defensive zone turnover by Simon Nemec. Allen came up big on both occasions, and the Devils stayed somewhat in the game at that point. They ran out of steam as the period went on though, drying up almost entirely as they just tried to survive the end of the period, taking the game towards its merciful end.

Third Period​

Down three goals, the Devils still got off to a slow start in the final frame. The third line got their first good chance of the period, as Arseny Gritsyuk split the defense in the neutral zone and went on a two-on-one with Juho Lammikko. Gritsyuk sent the puck across but Dostal stopped Lammikko’s one-timer. On the other end, Ross Johnston got himself a breakaway, and his backhand went off of Allen’s left pad and the post.

Nico Hischier took an elbow from behind into the boards five and a half minutes into the period from Jansen Harkins, and Dawson Mercer immediately jumped in for retribution. Only the retribution was called, and the Ducks went to the power play. The Ducks did not threaten much here until late in the power play, when Jake Allen made a point-blank save on a one-timer. The Devils got the puck up to Mercer out of the box, who slid a pass across to Jack Hughes to make it a 3-1 game with over 12 minutes to play!

The Devils played frantically over the next few minutes, but they had no luck on their chances. Then, they started getting stuck in the neutral and defensive zones again. They finally got back into the offensive zone with five and a half minutes to play, and Dostal froze a weak shot from the boards to give the Devils a stoppage and a faceoff. They did not make good use of it, though, as Chris Kreider got off to a breakaway that was stopped by Allen.

The Devils had the net empty for the last two and a half minutes. They had a perfect chance to score when Lukas Dostal misplayed the puck with Stefan Noesen blocking his attempt at the empty net, and the Devils were unable to score as Dostal scrambled around the crease. The Ducks took it the other way, and Chris Kreider scored the Ducks’ fourth goal of the game, sealing the 4-1 Ducks win.

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

Weak​

The Devils all shared in a common weakness today.

Jake Allen really needed to stop two of the three goals he gave up. The shot under the pad was a must-save, and he probably could have had the first shot by Sennecke, as well. This is not to say that Allen played a bad game on the whole (the Devils certainly did their part down the stretch to give him the appearance of good statistics on the night: it could have ended up a 6-1 or 7-1 game), but if he had some of his late-game saves in the first period, the Devils might not have given up halfway through the second period.

That visible decline in skating and connectivity halfway through the game was difficult to watch. Literally at the 30-minute mark, the Ducks started getting chance after chance, which continued until Dawson Mercer went after Jansen Harkins. Once Mercer came out of the box and set up the shutout-breaking goal for Jack Hughes, the Devils flipped a switch and suddenly started playing like it was the first period again. Then a bad decision by Jack Hughes in the defensive zone led to that momentum falling apart, and the Devils skated just like they did in that middle section of the game until they had the empty net.

By then, it is too late to pull a comeback together.

Thankfully, the Devils are no longer on the road after tonight. They have a three-game homestand starting on Thursday, giving them three days of rest, before they have a five-game Eastern Conference road trip. They won’t have to travel for a Western Conference game for a month and a half — their next such game is December 17 against Vegas.

Wasting Time: Cholowski-Nemec Must End​

A big step in the right direction, lineup-wise, would be fixing the third pairing. One of Dennis Cholowski and Simon Nemec might need to play, but not necessarily both of them. As a duo tonight, they had a 31.03 CF% and 16.40 xGF% and the goal against on Sennecke’s tally. They had a particularly bad effect on Jack Hughes’s line. When Jack Hughes played with Cholowski (8:03), the Devils were out-attempted 18 to six and outshot eight to three. So, Jack had a 12.44 xGF% with Cholowski on the ice compared to a 60.95 xGF% in the 12:31 he played without Cholowski.

Ethan Edwards is available. The Devils have Colton White. If they really need a left-handed defenseman to play with Nemec, it should not be Dennis Cholowski. It’s one thing to say that the Devils just need to kill some minutes with their third pairing. But when they are actively holding Jack Hughes back from creating offense (especially when already playing from behind), Sheldon Keefe needs to let Tom Fitzgerald that it’s time to go back to the drawing board. Brett Pesce will not be back for another three to five weeks.

Your Thoughts​

What did you think of tonight’s game? Did you think the Devils would look this poor? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and thanks for reading.

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/devils-game-recaps/62660/devils-faceplant-into-4-1-loss-to-ducks

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Enter The Dawg Pound: A Look At Dawson Mercer’s Start To The 2025-26 Season

Over the past two seasons, Dawson Mercer has not been able to reach the heights of his breakout 2022-23 campaign. That season, he posted 27 goals and 56 points, all while dominating the run of play on a line with Nico Hischier and Tomas Tatar for much of the season. It was an excellent sophomore campaign, and we all expected Mercer to continue improving in the years to come.

That, unfortunately, is not how it worked out. Mercer posted 33 points in 2023-24, and 36 points last season. He did score 20 and 19 goals in those years respectively, which is reasonable, but the fact that he could not even reach half a point per game was massively disappointing for a young player with so much potential. On top of that, his underlying numbers either stagnated or outright regressed. It wasn’t looking good for Mercer as far as developing into a true impact player.

But Mercer has indeed blossomed into an impact player to begin this season. He’s right around a point per game pace, which is a huge upswing in production. In fact, he’s second on the team in goals behind only Jack Hughes, which is a very pleasant surprise. He’s contributing on both special teams units, he’s helping shut down top competition, and he’s closing out games when the Devils are protecting a late lead. 2025-26 has been a very promising turnaround for Mercer.

So the next question is: How real is this? Is this early season success sustainable, or is this a flash in the pan? That’s what we’ll try to find out today. Let’s take a little deeper dive into Dawson Mercer’s season thus far. We will try and find out what seems real, what seems like a mirage, and what we can expect moving forward.

Note: All stats below are through November 2nd, meaning they do NOT include any stats from the Devils’ game late last night against the Anaheim Ducks.

Point Production​

This is the simplest part of Mercer’s game to analyze, so let’s start here.

Through the first four seasons of his career, Mercer averaged approximately 42 points per season. As mentioned above though, that number is carried a little bit by his 56-point 2022-23. Take that away, and it’s closer to the mid-30’s. Not nothing, but far from an impact player.

This season has been a complete turnaround. Mercer has eight goals and 13 points in 12 games. For Mercer to be averaging more than a point per game is pretty surprising considering his track record. What’s not a surprise is his goal to assist ratio. Over the last two seasons, Mercer finished with more goals than assists. Meanwhile he only collected two more assists than goals in 2022-23, and his rookie season saw him post 17 goals and 25 assists. That rookie year was his most “normal” looking season, and it still came reasonably close to being a 1:1 goal to assist ratio.

Mercer has always been much more of a scorer than a playmaker, so seeing him with eight goals and five assists should not be a surprise. No, the real surprise is just how much Mercer is lighting the lamp. Eight goals in 12 games is fantastic work. It’s hard to believe he keeps up a roughly 55-goal pace, but perhaps Mercer really has found another level.

The Funny Thing About His Goals​

So just taking a look at Mercer’s total goal number would lead you to believe he’s developed into a bonafide sniper. But here’s an interesting little quirk about Mercer’s eight goals so far:

Only one of them have come at 5-on-5.

That lone 5-on-5 tally came on October 28 at Colorado. Aside from that, Mercer has scored three power play goals, one traditional shorthanded goal, two traditional empty-net goals, and one shorthanded empty-net goal. Four of his five assists have come at 5-on-5 though, so at least he’s registering helpers at even strength.

They all count the same in the end, but I do think it would be nice if Mercer could start producing at 5-on-5 as well considering that is by far the most common game state in hockey. If he continues to be lethal on both special teams units, then 5-on-5 production doesn’t matter as much. But it’s hard to assume Mercer can sustain his level of production on special teams, especially on the penalty kill. He clearly has a nose for the net and a goal-scorer’s mentality. But thus far, that has not translated to 5-on-5 play.

The Elephant In The Room​

The other thing that clearly cannot be ignored about Dawson Mercer’s hot start is the fact that he is shooting at a remarkable 34.8% clip. That, quite simply, is unsustainable. Not even the greatest scorers in the game reach that level of shooting success. The highest shooting% Steven Stamkos has registered in a full season is 19.8%. For Alex Ovechkin, it’s 18.6%. For Auston Matthews, it’s 18.7%. Sam Reinhart posted a 24.5 shooting% in 2023-24, and that was looked at as fluky and unsustainable at the time. I think you get the picture: Mercer will absolutely not convert on just over one-third of his shots this season.

Through his first four seasons, Mercer has averaged a 14.1 shooting%, just in case you still had hopes that maybe I’m wrong and his newfound shooting prowess is sustainable. Mercer is shooting a tiny bit more this season, which is nice. He averaged 147.5 shots on goal through his first four seasons, and he has 23 shots in 12 contests this season, a pace of about 157 over a full campaign. Let’s say his shots on goal pace remains the same, but he converts at his career average from his first four seasons: 14.1%. That would mean that if Mercer plays a full 82-game slate again, over the last 70 games of his season, Mercer will score about 19 more goals. Add the eight tallies he’s already banked, and we’re looking at a roughly 27-goal season from Mercer, which would match his career high.

Obviously there’s a lot of speculation involved in those projections, but I don’t think any individual piece of speculation listed above is outlandish in any way. It’s fair to assume Mercer will come back down to earth, but also fair to expect him to still put up strong scoring numbers given what we’ve seen from him so far.

Under The Hood​

So that takes care of Mercer’s traditional counting stats. Now let’s take a look at his underlying metrics from a few different sources.

We’ll start with Natural Stat Trick, which might just be the more prominent public analytics model in North American hockey. Given how good Mercer has looked and how many points he’s collected over his first 12 games, you’d think his advanced numbers would look great. Unfortunately that is not actually the case (all numbers 5-on-5):

Corsi For%: 49.69%

Scoring Chances For%: 46.97%

High Danger Corsi For%: 50.00%

Expected Goals For%: 48.77%

His CF% and HDCF% are reasonable, but he’s not looking so hot in SCF% and xGF%. I will admit, this does not seem quite right to me. Based on the eye test, Mercer might not be absolutely dominating the run of play early this season, but I have felt as though New Jersey has been the better team when he’s on the ice. So to see him below breakeven in three categories and exactly breakeven in the last one doesn’t square.

Fortunately for both myself and anyone else who thinks Mercer is playing better than those numbers would indicate, other analytics models seem to agree. Over at Hockey Stat Cards, Mercer is currently tabbed at a +2.6 Overall Net Rating. For context, that is the single highest rating on the team, higher than even Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, and Jesper Bratt. Breaking it down further, Mercer currently has a +1.5 Offensive rating, which puts him in the 93rd percentile league-wide, a stellar distinction. He’s also killing it defensively too, as his +1.1 Defensive Rating places him in roughly the 88th percentile. His Overall Rating of +2.6 has him in the 96th percentile, showing that at least by the Game Score model, Mercer has been one of the absolute best players in the NHL through 12 games.

Meanwhile, a look at Moneypuck shows that Mercer has at the very least contributed to a terrific top line in New Jersey. In about 87 minutes at 5-on-5 together, Mercer’s line with Hischier and Meier have posted a 59.5 xGF%. Among lines with at least 80 minutes played together, that is the seventh-best xGF% in the league. Obviously Hischier and Meier do a lot of the heavy lifting on that line, but Mercer’s contributions cannot be discounted. He is a big part of why that line has thrived.

And while we’re talking about that trio, it is important to keep in mind the absolutely brutal competition they are fed on a nightly basis. Head coach Sheldon Keefe uses them as the matchup line on other teams’ top players every game, so the fact that the Meier-Hischier-Mercer line controls play AND puts up points is terrific. Going back to Hockey Stat Cards for a second, they also have a metric that measures the quality of competition a player faces. In Mercer’s case, his Offensive QoC and Defensive QoC are in the 94th and 93rd percentile respectively. We all knew Mercer and his line face really tough competition, but if you were wondering how tough his deployment is compared to everyone else in the league, there’s your answer: Mercer has tougher matchups than roughly 94% of the rest of the NHL.

Final Thoughts And Your Take​

So at the end of the day, what are we to make of Dawson Mercer’s hot start to the season? To me, there are a few takeaways.

Number one, I think we can expect his goal-scoring numbers to really slow down. His shooting% is way out of whack, and he’s been getting some good puck luck on special teams. He should start burying pucks at 5-on-5 soon, but he won’t stay on a 50-plus goal pace for long.

Number two, While Natural Stat Trick doesn’t seem overly impressed with Mercer’s game thus far, other analytics metrics do. I do believe in NST’s model, but they are not perfect, and I think in this case their numbers underrate Mercer’s performance through 12 contests. I take comfort in the fact that multiple other analytics models think Mercer is doing well so far.

Number three, aside from when Mercer moonlights as the third-line center as he’s done in a few games due to injuries, I expect him to continue to eat brutal minutes on Nico Hischier’s wing. That will harm his point production, but if he can help shut down elite competition, a handful fewer goals and assists is a price worth paying. Especially if he can still contribute reasonably well on special teams once his shooting% bender ends.

So while I do not expect Mercer to produce at a point per game pace this season, I expect him to post a respectable amount of points, probably his most since his banner 2022-23 campaign. And I also expect him to continue to drive play well in the face of difficult matchups, which is an immensely valuable thing to contribute.

What do you make of Dawson Mercer’s season thus far? Do you agree that his goal-scoring should slow down soon? Do you agree that even without point production, what he’s done against top competition makes him very valuable? Overall, what do you expect out of him the rest of the way? As always, thanks for reading!

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/d...at-dawson-mercers-start-to-the-2025-26-season

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Devils in the Details – 11/3/25: Calculated Risk Edition

Here are your links for today:

Devils Links​

The Devils rebounded from a pair of ugly losses with a solid 4-1 win over the Kings on Saturday. Jacob Markstrom made 43 saves (and tallied an assist!) in a bounce-back performance. [Devils NHL]

And then the Devils ended the weekend with a disappointing 4-1 loss to the Ducks on Sunday night. [Devils NHL]

Jacob Markstrom gets a two-year extension:

Enjoying a Swede treat on this fine Halloween evening.

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

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

“Jacob Markström has been up and down in his time as a New Jersey Devil, making his two-year extension a calculated risk.” [Devils on the Rush ($)]

A milestone for Luke Hughes:

Luke Hughes passes Brian Rafalski as the fastest defenseman in Devils history to reach 100 points pic.twitter.com/YIetBqefMk

— Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) November 2, 2025

“Jack Hughes is back from shoulder surgery, and he’s been excellent to start the season, ranking ninth in the NHL in offensive rating, according to colleague Dom Luszczyszyn’s model. ‘He’s playing like a top-five guy in the league right now,’ Scout 2 said. ‘He grabs the puck and people get out of their seats.’” [The Athletic ($)]

Hockey Links​

A scary moment on Saturday:

Chris Tanev is receiving medical attention on the ice after this play pic.twitter.com/nNiMM4BHzm

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) November 2, 2025

The Maple Leafs announced today that defenceman Chris Tanev was evaluated overnight in Philadelphia for precautionary purposes, has been discharged this morning, and will return home to Toronto.

— Leafs PR (@LeafsPR) November 2, 2025

Matthew Schaefer might be good:

Matthew Schaefer netted the tying goal in the @NYIslanders' late comeback win and became the youngest defenseman in NHL history with a multi-goal game, besting Bobby Orr.#NHLStats: https://t.co/lkAJkC9aA9 pic.twitter.com/gBAoRQN2LF

— NHL Public Relations (@NHLPR) November 3, 2025

“What’s one scary stat for each team? The Athletic posed that question this week to its NHL staff. Here’s what they said.” [The Athletic ($)]

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

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/d...n-the-details-11-3-25-calculated-risk-edition

 

[New Jersey Devils]

New Jersey Devils Prospect Update: Comets End Winless Streak at 7 Games

The Utica Comets finally won their first game of the season. Prospects Lenni Hameenaho and Shane LaChance remain pointless.

Comets Win​

It took until Game 8 of the AHL season, but the Utica Comets have finally won their first game with a 3-1 victory over the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins on Saturday night. This followed another shutout loss for the Comets on Friday night, this time 4-0 against Syracuse. Newly returned Nico Daws was in net for both games. Angus Crookshank, Mike Hardman, and Jonathan Gruden scored for the Comets. Rookies center Matyas Melovsky and defenseman Ethan Edwards picked up assists.

Noticeably absent from the scoresheet again was Shane LaChance despite playing on the top line with Ryan Schmelzer and the goal-scorer Angus Crookshank. Lenni Hameenaho, who has been suiting up on mostly the Comets third line, did not play in the victory. Both prospects shined in training camp and looked to be on the verge of making the Devils. It should not take long for them to get back on track.

Around the Pool:​

• He’s not scoring [1 assist in 23 games] or playing anywhere near the same minutes under his new head coach, but defenseman Anton Silayev is still doing this.

Anton Silayev.

Putting people in bodybags.
pic.twitter.com/byYYt1qqOV

— Devils Insiders (@DevilsInsiders) October 17, 2025

• Forward Cam Squires drives to the net for his first ECHL goal of the season.

Cam Squires cashed in on the powerplay for his first career ECHL goal as the Adirondack Thunder defeated the Trois-Rivières Lions 4-1.

With 2 points in 3 games, the Charlottetown, PEI product is expected to only get better as the season progresses.
pic.twitter.com/2F2uWzP5rM

— Maritime Hockey (@HockeyMaritime) October 26, 2025

• Devils 2nd round pick in 2025, Conrad Fondrk is off to a nice start for Boston University this season with 5 points in 8 games including this power play snipe.

MIH: Conrad Fondrk's power-play goal cuts the Maine lead to 6-4 after two periods of play.

Watch on ESPN+: https://t.co/NY6VCl83iN@hockey_east | @nesn | @espn#GoBU pic.twitter.com/iQhuD0BujN

— BU Game Day (@BUGameDay) November 2, 2025

• Lastly, goaltender Tyler Brennan is off to a fantastic start for Adirondack of the ECHL with a 2-1-1 record, 1.97 GAA and .910 SV%. A contract year, this may be the last chance for the 22-year-old goaltender to find his game if he wants to stay in the Devils system. Though the sample size is small, so far, he has done that at the ECHL level this year.

Your Take​

What do you think? Post your comments below.

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/u...t-update-comets-end-winless-streak-at-7-games

 

[New Jersey Devils]

2025-26 Gamethread #13: New Jersey Devils at Anaheim Ducks

The Matchup: The New Jersey Devils (9-3-0) vs. Anaheim Ducks (6-3-1)

The Time: 8:00pm ET (5:00 PM Local)

The Broadcast: MSGSN, Devils Hockey Network

The Game Preview: I wrote today’s preview.

The Song of the Day: We want the Devils to make it two in a row today, keeping the NHL teams of Orange County, California winless this weekend. Today’s song of the day is thus “Blackout” by Thrice.

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-13-new-jersey-devils-at-anaheim-ducks

 

[New Jersey Devils]

The Devils Need To Do a Better Job Of Starting Games On Time

The New Jersey Devils have lost four games this season out of the first thirteen they have played. Coincidentally, all four of those games have something in common.

What is that, you might ask?

The Devils tendency to give up the first goal within the first five minutes of the game.

It’s something that has already happened to this Devils team six times in thirteen contests in the first few weeks of the season, and that number jumps to seven if I expand that arbitrary “first five minutes” threshold to “first seven minutes” to include the goal John Tavares scored in the Toronto game that also put the Devils in a 1-0 hole. In almost half of the Devils games thus far in 2025-26, they’re immediately digging themselves a 1-0 hole that they now have to spend the remaining 55-ish or so minutes digging themselves out of.

It happened on Opening Night against a Carolina team that this Devils team still needs to show that they can beat in a best-of-seven playoff format.

It happened a couple times during the eight-game winning streak, but the Devils were able to overcome it in the Florida and San Jose games at Prudential Center.

It also happened three times on the now concluded California (plus Colorado) road trip. It happened in Colorado, San Jose, and Anaheim. The Devils lost all three games.

One can go back and look at the specifics of each game if they so choose to try to find a common thread. That common thread might be as simple as a defensive breakdown or an unlucky bounce or shoddy goaltending. I’m sure there’s a theme somewhere in there that connects all of them, but frankly, I don’t really care what it is. To me, its as simple as this.

These Devils haven’t shown yet that they can consistently start games on time.

I’m not even necessarily asking the Devils to score the first goal in the first few minutes. Of course, its nice when they actually do and they don’t have to chase the game the rest of the way as a result. But sometimes, its ok to battle to a 0-0 draw through the first 20 minutes.

What’s not ok is to allow William Eklund to score 2:25 into the game on home ice, and then a week later, he scores 42 seconds into the contest the next time you see him.

This isn’t a knock on Eklund, who is a very talented young player and might be finally putting it all together on a Sharks team that is better than their record would indicate. But the fact the same player is doing it to you twice in the span of a week before fans even have a chance to settle into their seats is a concern.

Sheldon Keefe alluded to injuries and fatigue catching up to the Devils when he spoke postgame after the loss to Anaheim, and there might be some truth to that. The Devils had played eight games in a span of thirteen days, with half of those coming on a long road trip. Brett Pesce and Cody Glass didn’t make the trip, and Connor Brown was banged up enough where he didn’t play in either of the games in Southern California. The Devils resiliency and depth have certainly been tested in the early portion of the season.

But citing injuries and the schedule as reasons is teetering closely to making excuses, and I don’t really have the time or patience for excuses. Especially when I ranted last year about how this team has consistently shown that they don’t manage or handle success all that well.

Every team is dealing with injuries. And while I’m not suggesting that the Devils don’t miss Pesce and Glass (and Evgenii Dadonov and Johnathan Kovacevic while we’re at it), the reality is that life goes on in the NHL. There are teams out there that have things far worse than the Devils right now. The Devils have been in far worse positions health-wise in the past than they are right now. Nobody is going to feel sympathetic that the Devils are missing players, and vice versa.

The schedule isn’t going to change barring an act of God. There will be those stretches where the Devils play three games in four nights, all in different cities. There will be instances where they’re tired, but you still have to grind through it. You still have to go out there and perform and do your job, and if you’re not ready from the opening faceoff, there’s too much talent across the league where even the worst teams are more than capable of making you pay for those mistakes.

It’s not that I doubt the Devils ability to come back if they do allow the first goal. The Devils have shown they can score goals in bunches, as they’re among the league leaders in goals per game. They’ve shown that their power play is still elite, as it currently sits 4th in the NHL (as of this writing). They lead the league in short-handed goals. They’re among the league leaders in empty-net goals, which is a testament to the fact that they have those leads where they’re in a position to make the other team pull their goaltender. And this is with a few notable guys on the roster who have yet to get going from a “finding the back of the net” perspective.

To me though, this comes back to the maturation of this group. And full disclaimer….get used to me bringing this up every week or every other week because it’s going to be a theme for me pertaining to this group this season. I’m going to hold this group to a certain standard, and it’s how I’m ultimately going to judge this team when its all said and done.

This road trip doesn’t, or at least it shouldn’t, give fuel to those people who are dying to say “see, this group is fraudulent and the same problems that have been there are still there”. But if the Devils want to be taken seriously as a contender, they do need to be consistently better than what they showed this past week. Part of that is being on top of your game and being ready to go from the drop of the puck to the final horn. If you get beat, you get beat. That’s going to happen. This is the hardest league in the world with the best players in the world, and the other team is trying to win the game. But you can’t beat yourselves consistently either, even if you have shown that you can bounce back, play well, get that equalizer, and then its off to the races.

The Devils aren’t necessarily putting hockey games out of reach by allowing an early goal as frequently as they have, but why make things harder for yourself than it needs to be? By bringing the right level of compete, urgency and energy earlier in these contests, and doing it consistently, they set themselves up better for success. That’s the next step that this group needs to take if they want to be considered one of the elite teams in the NHL.

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/d...-to-do-a-better-job-of-starting-games-on-time

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Devils in the Details – 11/5/25: Catalyst Edition

Here are your links for today:

Devils Links​

“Injuries always seem to be a storyline for the New Jersey Devils, and they’re testing the team’s depth early in 2025-26.” [Devils on the Rush ($)]

“What’s making Arseny Gritsyuk such a good fit with the Devils? His adaptability is a key factor, says Arthur Staple on the latest Devils Rink Report.” [New Jersey Hockey Now]

“Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt and Nico Hischier are an overpowering 1-2-3 punch up front, but the Devils didn’t have enough secondary scoring outside of that elite trio last year. New Jersey’s middle-six forwards are performing at a far higher level in 2025-26, with Gritsyuk emerging as a key catalyst.” [The Athletic ($)]

The Hockey PDOcast: “Dimitri Filipovic is joined by Bryce Salvador to deep dive the first 13 games the Devils have played. They discuss the highs of the 8-game winning streak followed by the lows of their recent 4-game road trip, the impact of the injuries they’ve sustained along the way, getting the most out of how much Jack Hughes is creating on the top line, Arseny Gritsyuk’s usage, Dawson Mercer’s bounceback season, and the teams that have been most impressive from ice level viewings so far this season.” [Sportsnet]

“Four days ago, the New Jersey Devils inked veteran netminder Jacob Markstrom to a two-year contract with an AAV of $6 million. It was previously reported that the two sides were looking to get a deal done months ago, with the goalie’s camp seeking a longer term than what was given. Now that it’s been a few days, I’ve settled into my thoughts on the matter.” [Devils’ Advocates]

Hockey Links​

This was a bizarre one: “The Nashville Predators disagreed that a ‘weird’ Minnesota Wild overtime goal scored with the net displaced on Tuesday night should have counted.” [ESPN]

Never seen an NHL overtime game end like this. Was the puck bound to go in??? Unfortunate turn of events for Nashville in this loss. pic.twitter.com/hwFPRj38wR

— Nick Kieser (@KieserNick) November 5, 2025

#HockeyOps explains video review of Marcus Johansson's goal at 3:38 of overtime in the @PredsNHL / @mnwild game.https://t.co/Px8KUC51KN

— NHL Public Relations (@NHLPR) November 5, 2025

Stars will get a Stadium Series game:

Get ready for a Texas Hockey turf takeover

The NHL Stadium Series is coming to AT&T Stadium in 2027! pic.twitter.com/5hRzBgt0Or

— Dallas Stars (@DallasStars) November 3, 2025

Some interesting nuggets about the Eastern Conference early on in the season: “Everyone is .500 or better – Yep, all 16 teams. A bunch of them have lost more than they’ve won, of course, but this is the NHL and that doesn’t have to matter. Not one team is below the mediocrity mark, compared to six teams in the West.” [The Athletic ($)]

You hate to see it: “J.T. Miller didn’t hold back following the New York Rangers’ 3-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes Tuesday night. Speaking with reporters after the game, Miller said the Rangers, who are now 6-6-2 through their first 14 games of the 2025-26 regular season, need to play better, and that it starts with him.” [Daily Faceoff]

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

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/d...evils-in-the-details-11-5-25-catalyst-edition

 

[New Jersey Devils]

Sheldon Keefe Hasn’t Been Afraid of Being Critical of the New Jersey Devils…And That’s Good

The New Jersey Devils West Coast road trip did not go the way anyone would have wanted it to. Despite a great win in LA this past Saturday, a 1-3-0 record isn’t good enough for a team looking to be a true contender. Not only did the team look poor in most of those defeats, but it also prevented them from increasing their point lead over the teams behind them in the standings. Instead of having a six to eight or so point lead on the teams trailing them, the Devils now find themselves with only four points separating them and the teams at the bottom of the division standings. Not only were fans rightfully calling them out, but so was Head Coach Sheldon Keefe.

A couple of different articles have come out during the team’s most recent streak of play featuring Keefe’s comments regarding the team’s efforts not being good enough. He’s mentioned lack or urgency, the effort not being good, and the outcome being what the team deserves, among other remarks made to the media. He even went so far as to say the team was playing, “a lot of really bad hockey” lately. After watching the games, I’m hard pressed to disagree with him as well.

Now maybe it seems strange to hear a coach calling out a team that is currently sitting high in the NHL standings. The Devils at time of writing are tied for third on overall points, and fifth on points percentage. Yet, I think it’s actually a good thing to hear Keefe being critical. While the focal points of his comments have leaned more towards the defense, he’s not singling anyone out, and seems to be holding the group accountable as a whole right now. Hopefully this is the wake up call they need and we don’t get to a point where individual names are needing to be dropped. An early wake-up call is better than a late one or one that never comes as well. If the Devils start to realize their faults now, and begin cleaning up those sooner rather than later, it should lead to fewer games with poor starts and zone collapses like we saw on the road trip.

While I’m okay with Keefe calling out the players, I do hope he’s holding his coaching staff (and himself) just as accountable. Coaching decisions, line combinations and player deployment also play roles in team performance; while a lot of the road trip issues came from poor on ice decisions, putting players in spots where they weren’t going to be effective didn’t help either. I know injuries are also affecting deployment right now (we miss you Brett Pesce, get well soon), but if Keefe is holding the available players accountable, he should also be holding himself and his staff accountable for their missteps.

Once again, I’m happy to see the team being looked at through a critical lens so early in the season. Not only does it show that the team is trying to improve, but I prefer the honesty over excuses. Saying we’re not good enough is better than “not our night” or “tough building” any day of the week. Sheldon Keefe is keeping his standards high for the team in alignment with expectations for this Devils squad. Now let’s just hope that the criticism propels the Devils past their current adversity to become a stronger, more consistent team.

What are your thoughts on Sheldon Keefe choosing to be critical now; are you happy that he did it early while the Devils are high in the standings, or would you rather he have waited? Do you think there should be more blame on players, or coaches, or should it be shared? Are you hopeful that the coaching staff recognizing the team’s deficiencies now will lead to them fixing the problems sooner? Leave any and all comments below and thanks as always for reading!

Source: https://www.allaboutthejersey.com/d...itical-of-the-new-jersey-devilsand-thats-good