Sometimes when a game isn’t going your way, you just need your gamebreakers to break a game. The best of the best are capable of this, they can completely change their squad’s fortunes with a single shift,
a single play, a single shot. Jack Hughes is one of these gamebreakers. Through 28 minutes of this afternoon’s battle between the New Jersey Devils and the Edmonton Oilers, the Devils just hadn’t been able to get anything going. They had isolated bursts of possession here and there, but for the most part the game was being controlled by the defending Western Conference champions. But then Jack Hughes broke the game, sparking a run that led to New Jersey securing a big 5-3 win over one of the best teams in the league.
This was one of those games where the Devils got stronger as time went on. The first period was pretty bad, as they got outshot 9-4 and posted a 5-on-5 Expected Goals For% just south of 30%. I would not say this was due to a lack of effort, I actually thought New Jersey had their legs today. I just thought their execution was way off early on. Every pass was either misfired or mishandled. Every read was just a shade off. Every shot attempt was flubbed. To my eyes, the Devils looked like a team that was battling themselves as much as the opposition. But again, I thought the effort was there, as evidenced by how well they defended Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and a high-flying Oilers attack. New Jersey might not have gotten anything going offensively in the opening frame, but they kept Edmonton off the board as well. That was a small win in and of itself.
But after the first intermission, the execution started to come. And it culminated in Hughes’ ice-breaker about eight minutes into the middle frame. Brett Pesce made a terrific play to catch an airborne puck in the neutral zone, get it down to his stick lightning fast, and slip a lead pass to Hughes right in stride. Hughes did the rest, knifing through three Oilers to get to the net before wiring a shot off the far post and in. And after weathering the storm, it was 1-0, Devils.
Later in the second, Jesper Bratt scored on a power play. The score came immediately following the faceoff, and it was a sweet play where Bratt completely fooled Edmonton goalie Calvin Pickard by faking to the forehand before pulling to the backhand and saucing an easy shot into a wide open net. Credit to Bratt for making it happen, but who had the primary assist on that goal? That would be Jack Hughes, who made a great pass through traffic to find an open Bratt in front of the net. Another superstar play.
Then late in the third, Hughes struck again. As the Oilers were trying to exit their zone, Bratt collected a turnover on the far wall and fed Hughes who was all alone behind the Edmonton defense. He skated in alone on Pickard, dangled him out of his pads, and tucked it home for his second of the day. That goal turned out to be the game-winner for New Jersey.
There are precious few players in the NHL that can flip a game on its head when everything is going against their team. The Devils are lucky to have one of those players on their side. Jack Hughes didn’t do it alone this afternoon, but he was by far the number one reason why New Jersey skated away with their fourth straight victory today.
Jack Hughes is a superstar.
The Game Stats: The NHL.com Game Summary | The NHL.com Event Summary | The NHL.com Play by Play Log | The NHL.com Shot Summary | The Natural Stat Trick Game Stats
The Game Highlights: Courtesy of NHL.com
The Supporting Cast
Referring to the rest of the standouts today as “the supporting cast” might seem a little insulting, but I promise I mean no disrespect. It’s just that when Jack Hughes shines as brightly as he does, he is of course going to get most of the attention.
But there were plenty of others who deserve their flowers as well. I mentioned Bratt a few times, but it bears repeating how good he was today. He had a goal and an assist, and just generally looked dangerous whenever the puck was on his stick.
Meanwhile, Connor Brown was playing against his former team this afternoon, and he made sure it was a memorable game. In the middle stages of the third period, with New Jersey clinging to a 2-1 lead, the Devils went to the penalty kill (more on that below). It was a huge moment in the game, and Brown stepped up in a major way. Luke Glendening fought hard to muscle a puck out of the zone, past Evan Bouchard, and right to Brown, who suddenly found himself on a breakaway with more than half the ice in front of him. He moved in on Pickard, went backhand-forehand, then whistled a shot over Pickard’s glove for a massive shorthanded goal, giving New Jersey some much-needed insurance. Needless to say, Brown was pumped up to score against his former employer.
The other goal scorer I haven’t mentioned yet is Dawson Mercer. He potted an empty-netter that made it 5-2 Devils, Mercer’s third goal of the season. Aside from the goal, Mercer also continued to look good overall. Lousy first period aside (which, again, afflicted the entire team), Mercer controlled play well, ending with a 5-on-5 xGF% just under 60%. It was a very strong game for the Dawg.
I also thought Pesce was excellent today. He had that terrific assist on the opening goal, and whenever he was on the ice, New Jersey usually had the puck on their sticks, finishing with an xGF% 72.16%.
And finally, I want to highlight Jake Allen. His final numbers might not look amazing, but I thought he played a very strong game. He stopped 27 of 30 shots for a nice and tidy .900 sv%. According to Natural Stat Trick, he basically broke even in Goals Saved Above Expected, allowing the three goals he allowed on 2.86 Expected Goals according to NST’s model. Really, the only reason his numbers look as mediocre as they did was because of old friend Curtis Lazar’s goal with literally less than three seconds on the clock. It was the garbage time goal of all garbage time goals, and while it counts, the game was already decided by then. While the game was still in the balance, Allen played quite well. That has to be encouraging to see as New Jersey continues to rely on him until Jacob Markstrom returns.
Penalty Kill Killing It
Even without Connor Brown’s shorthanded goal, the Devils penalty kill continues to be a huge source of strength for this team. New Jersey went a perfect 3-for-3 on the penalty kill this afternoon, and in fact outscored the Oilers 1-0 on those kills thanks to Brown’s marker. It is extremely hard to outscore a power play that features Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Evan Bouchard, yet somehow the Devils managed to do it.
Thanks to their 3-for-3 today, the Devils have now killed 16 straight penalties. They have already scored two shorthanded goals on the young season. I really wish New Jersey would stop taking so many penalties (Mercer took a high sticking penalty less than two minutes into the game, which might have contributed to New Jersey starting so slowly), but if they’re going to keep committing infractions, it’s nice to know the penalty killing unit is there to pick the team up.
Another Pelt On The Wall
I feel like I write about the line of Timo Meier, Nico Hischier, and Dawson Mercer every day. But they’ve been so impressive early on this season that I can’t help it, and today was no exception.
According to Natural Stat Trick, in 10:25 of 5-on-5 ice time together, the Hischier line posted a stellar xGF% of 62.99%. That is impressive enough, but remember, the Hischier line always gets the toughest matchup. And there is no tougher matchup than Connor McDavid.
Meier, Hischier, and Mercer got hard-matched against McDavid’s line with Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and a rotation of Andrew Mangiapane and David Tomasek. And just for good measure, the Hischier line was also force-fed Edmonton’s super-elite top pairing of Evan Bouchard and Mattias Ekholm. According to NST, Meier and Mercer finished with an xGF% north of 50% against every single one of those six players. Hischier finished in the black against five of the six, with the only exception being McDavid, who Hischier finished with an xGF% of 45.53% against.
I cannot stress enough how impressive this is. Keefe continues to treat Meier, Hischier, and Mercer as the Devils’ sacrificial lambs, throwing them at elite competition on a nightly basis. And time after time, that trio not only survives their matchups, they thrive. We are only five games into the season, and this line will certainly have their off nights. But for now, the unit of Meier, Hischier, and Mercer continues to erase elite competition every single game. What a massive advantage it is to have a line like this.
The Rotation Continues
Before the season, Keefe told us that his top power play unit will change on a game-by-game basis depending on the matchup. Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, and Jesper Bratt are the three constants on that first grouping, but Dougie Hamilton and Luke Hughes have taken turns quarterbacking, while Dawson Mercer and Timo Meier have rotated with each other as the fifth wheel.
Today, we saw Hamilton and Mercer back with PP1. The first opportunity they got was pretty darn ugly, but their second opportunity did yield a goal. They didn’t score on their third try, but it wasn’t a complete disaster like the first man advantage. Sometimes it can be hard to develop chemistry and get into a rhythm when you don’t have consistency, but I have to say, I do like this adaptability that the Devils are showing. The power play has not fully clicked yet, but they did score today, so perhaps the breakout is coming.
A Fun Little Nugget
The Devils just beat the two Stanley Cup finalists from the previous season over their last two games. According to the MSG broadcast, this was the first time the franchise has beaten the two Cup finalists from the previous season in consecutive games since the 1987-88 season when they defeated the Flyers and Oilers in back-to-back contests. That’s a nice little feather in this team’s cap.
Our Long National Nightmare Is Over
They finally did it. It took almost three full years, but those lunatics actually, finally did it.
The New Jersey Devils have a four-game winning streak.
The Devils have not had a winning streak of more than three games since January of 2023 when they rattled off a five-game heater. Since that time, they’ve had 13 three-game winning streaks (14 if you count their three straight wins in the first round of the playoffs in 2023). And every single time, the Devils have lost. 0-for-13 (or 14 if you include the postseason). An unbelievable streak of futility.
At long last, we can put this ignonimous stat to rest. The New Jersey Devils have finally won more than three games in a row. Take a breath Devils fans, our suffering is over.
Now let’s see if they can make it five in a row.
Next Time Out
The Devils are back in action Tuesday, when they travel north of the border to battle the Maple Leafs. Puck drop from Toronto is scheduled for 7:00pm.
Your Take
What did you make of today’s game? Who impressed you the most? How good does it feel to finally witness a four-game winning streak again? What changes do you expect for next game? As always, thanks for reading!
