The Matchup: New Jersey Devils (13-5-0) @ Winnipeg Jets (7-8-3)
The Time: 7:00pm ET
The Broadcast: MSGSN, Devils Hockey Radio Network
Last Devils Game
New Jersey finished off a back-to-back on Sunday, coasting to a frankly very easy 4-0 win against a hapless Toronto Maple Leafs team. Connor Hellebuyck pitched a 23-save shutout, while Timo Meier broke out with a pair of goals to lead the way to victory in a very quiet Scotiabank Arena.
Last Jets Game
Winnipeg was also in action on Sunday, as they hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning. Incredibly,
Mark Scheifele scored with 1.6 seconds left in the third period to break a 3-3 tie and lift the Jets to a 4-3 victory.
Where Do We Even Begin?
As soon as Connor Hellebuyck became a New Jersey Devil in late October, everyone scrambled to the schedule to see when the Devils visited Winnipeg. As it turned out, it wouldn’t be that far in the future, with today being the day of destiny. Prices for tonight’s contest went through the roof, anticipating Hellebuyck’s return to the team where he made his legend.
And then, on Sunday night, everything changed.
Immediately after the Devils completely embarrassed the Maple Leafs in their own library building, the New Jersey Devils made the following announcement on Twitter:
Needless to say, it was a shocking statement. Everyone in the hockey world thought it was a slam dunk that Hellebuyck would play tonight. Already this season, we’ve seen Brady Tkachuk and Quinn Hughes return to play the teams that drafted them for the first time. Those were entertaining storylines that fueled a lot of media and fan buzz for otherwise nondescript games. It was only logical that Hellebuyck would be next.
The reaction was swift and decisive. The vast majority of the blowback that I’ve seen has been staunchly anti-Devils. People calling Hellebuyck cowardly, soft, quitter, and so on. People calling the Devils the same. People speculating that Sunny Mehta was lying in his statement in order to protect Hellebuyck. There are vanishingly few voices actually defending the decision outside of the Garden State.
An Opinion
And guess what? I don’t care.
When I first saw the statement, I thought it was weak and weird and out of touch. The conspiracy theory I developed was that Hellebuyck was the one who refused to play, and Mehta was indeed lying in order to protect his guy. I didn’t think it was the probable reality, but I thought it was at least plausible.
After sleeping on it, it would still be nice to know whose ultimate decision it was, but now I really don’t care all that much. Trying to be as objective as possible, unless the rationale really was Mehta trying to protect Hellebuyck by absorbing all the negativity himself, the statement still feels a little cringey for my taste. And I do think from a PR standpoint, not playing Hellebuyck makes things a little harder as far as adding pressure goes.
But honestly, who cares about what the hockey media thinks? The hockey world (including the league itself) has loved picking on the New Jersey Devils for generations now. From Wayne Gretzky calling them a Mickey Mouse organization to everyone blaming them for ruining hockey during the Dead Puck era to the NHL nerfing Martin Brodeur with the trapezoid to persecuting the Devils for the Ilya Kovalchuk contract while letting every other team who pulled/pulls the same cap shenanigans off the hook. It’s a tale as old as time, everyone has a weird fascination with making fun of the Devils.
So am I surprised to see everyone piling on this week? Of course not. Especially not fans and media from big Canadian markets who live in their adorable little bubble where they believe what they think is what everyone thinks. Especially not legacy media figures who already held an unsettling grudge against Sunny Mehta coming out of the woodwork once again to wag their finger at Mehta and the Devils.
Honestly, the worst part of me wants to tell these people to cry more. After decades of disrespecting the Devils, I’d be lying if I said it hasn’t been at least a little fun watching all these people fill their diapers over this. From fans in other markets to stuffy legacy media to podcasters, watching them breathlessly tell us how awful this is for the game of hockey and how gutless Hellebuyck and the Devils are and how much their opinions are gospel that we all should care so deeply about has been amusing.
Here’s the one caveat to all this, though: I really do feel for the Winnipeg fans. If I was in their position, I would be upset over this too. They’ll get their chance to “welcome” Hellebuyck back to Winnipeg eventually, but it won’t be until around a year from now, maybe longer. The whole saga in Winnipeg was ugly, and while Hellebuyck is on my team now and I root for him and want him to succeed, I sympathize with Jets fans who hold a grudge. Not “I’ll send this guy and his family death threats” levels of grudge, of course. But the “normal” type of sports grudge? I get it.
But while I genuinely do feel for Jets fans who wanted catharsis tonight and won’t get it, the Devils have to take care of their own business. It is not the responsibility of Hellebuyck, Mehta, and the New Jersey Devils to give Jets fans the blood that they are so thirsty for. The Devils are not obligated in any way to trot Hellebuyck out there and subject him to all the vitriol. Granted I don’t think it would have been any worse than what Brady Tkachuk faced when he returned, but the level of vitriol is not the point. The point is that the Devils have to do what is best for the Devils.
And guess what? A Tuesday night game against a mediocre Winnipeg team is FAR less important than the upcoming home-and-home against the Washington Capitals. New Jersey is looking at an eight-point swing against, without question, their most direct competition in the Metropolitan Division this season. The Hurricanes are already gone, the Flyers are just about buried, the Penguins are teetering on the brink, and the Rangers, Islanders, and Blue Jackets all have a shot but will probably be lumped into the wrong side of the mushy middle together this season. The Capitals are the most direct threat to New Jersey’s standing in the Metro this season, so having Hellebuyck as fresh and ready as possible for both of these upcoming games is what’s best for business. Even some Winnipeg Jets fans acknowledge this!
The only counter to this is that Hellebuyck returning to Winnipeg is one of those moments in sports that are more important than the outcome of an individual game or three. Sort of like a baseball manager allowing a pitcher to start the ninth inning despite their pitch count climbing into the 120s, because he has a perfect game going. Sometimes, history is more important than doing what’s best in the short term for your team. But in my own personal opinion, a potential Hellebuyck return to Winnipeg does not rise to that level. I don’t think the Devils owe it to history to start him tonight. It’s not that important, life will go on.
At the end of the day, I still think Mehta and the Devils could have handled this better. And I think citing win probability in the statement just made it easier to laugh at Hellebuyck and his new team. But cringey optics aside, the Devils not starting Hellebuyck today is perfectly logical. I really do feel for Jets fans, but in this case, Mehta, Hellebuyck, and the Devils need to do what’s best for them. Not go out of their way to placate a hostile fanbase and satisfy pompous talking heads.
Besides, in today’s media environment, this news cycle will pass in a week tops and we’ll all move onto a new story. And the hockey world will go back to barely thinking about the Devils. That’s just the way it goes in today’s world, for better and for worse.
Meanwhile…
And once you get past all the Hellebuyck nonsense, you realize that there’s actually a game that still needs to be played.
As far as the rest of the Devils go, the team is absolutely rolling. After settling into a rocking chair and coasting their way to a 4-0 win over the Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Cemetery Arena, New Jersey has now won five in a row, nine of their last 10, and 11 of their last 13. Their advanced metrics continue to be stellar, and after once again struggling with their finishing, New Jersey is scoring goals in bunches. The Devils are currently seventh in the league with 3.61 Goals For per Game. They are also, coincidentally, seventh in the league in Goals Against per Game as well, at 2.83. Their overall goal differential of +15 is sixth in the NHL, and third in the Eastern Conference behind the Carolina Hurricanes and Boston Bruins.
In a nutshell, it’s good to be a Devils fan at the moment.
This run that they’re on is seriously starting to remind me of the 2022-23 season. That epic 13-game win streak early in that campaign kickstarted one of the best non-championship seasons in Devils history, and literally the best one by total regular season points. That team played with speed, skill, and decisiveness. These Devils play much the same. There is still a long way to go, but this Devils team feels different than the last few campaigns.
There are still some nits to pick though. Special teams currently stands out as the biggest one to me. New Jersey has been a tad better on the power play recently, but their 19.3% conversion rate is still only good for 24th in the league. More concerningly, their penalty kill is even worse. At 67.6%, the PK ranks 29th in the NHL, and worst in the entire Eastern Conference. The good news is that New Jersey actually rarely ever goes on the penalty kill, which is one way to work around the issue. In fact, the Devils have not have to kill a penalty in their last two contests. That won’t last though, so it’s crucial for the team to figure out their PK in a hurry.
Goaltending also stood out as an area of concern to me early on. But with the acquisition of Hellebuyck, that concern went away overnight.
Injuries are always a concern, but the Devils have been remarkably healthy to start the season. The recent exception is Anthony Mantha, who got slashed in the throat on Saturday and missed Sunday’s game because of it. In fact, he didn’t even make the trip to Canada, and head coach Sheldon Keefe said recently that Mantha will probably miss some time. Hopefully it won’t be much time, as he was really starting to heat up since moving to the third line. New Jersey went 11-7 in Toronto, but they did call up Riley Tufte yesterday, so perhaps they insert him into the lineup and go back to the traditional 12-6 lineup.
Whatever buttons the Devils have pressed since their 2-3-0 start, they’ve been the correct ones. In what will surely be an emotional game, even without Hellebuyck starting, the hope is that Jake Allen and the boys can keep the good times rolling and finish the three-game road trip strong.
Checking In With Some Old Friends
Remember, tonight wasn’t just a potential revenge game for Hellebuyck. In the other corner, New Jersey will see old pal Dawson Mercer tonight, and maybe Nico Daws if the Jets give him the start. It’s been weird seeing a Devils lineup without Mercer in it. Prior to the trade, that hadn’t been a thing since the 56-game 2021 Covid season. But Mercer was one of the prices to pay for Hellebuyck, so off he went.
In eight games in his new home, Mercer has a goal a three assists for four points in eight games. He’s gotten a significant minutes increase too, going from 15:06 in New Jersey to 16:07 in Winnipeg. And while we’re dealing with small sample sizes here, Mercer’s 5-on-5 metrics have been good as well:
As much as I was disappointed that Mercer was unable to develop beyond his promising 27-goal sophomore campaign in 2022-23, he was always a player that I liked. His calling card was obviously his incredible durability, and beyond that, I always felt he gave 110% every shift. Even if he couldn’t build on his early success, I appreciated him as a Devil, and I wish him well in every game he plays with the Jets (after tonight).
Elsewhere, Nico Daws has played two games for the Jets, though only one start. He is thus far 1-0-1 with a stellar .913 save percentage with Winnipeg. Again, it’s very early on, but there has been some success for Daws transitioning to a new club. He is also a player I grew to like as a Devil, and I wish him well with the Jets.
The Rest Of The Jets
It’s been a whirlwind season for Winnipeg so far. They experienced surprising early success, racing out to a 4-1-1 start. They followed that up with a crushing nine-game losing streak (0-7-2). But miraculously, they snapped that streak with their epic comeback against Montreal on November 3, and have now won three straight games. It’s obviously a very modest win streak, but it’s gotten the Jets to within spitting distance of NHL .500 at 7-8-3. If they beat the Devils tonight, it will be the first time since October 22 that Winnipeg has been at .500 or better.
As far as players to watch, it’s Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor. Because with Winnipeg, it’s always Mark Scheifele and Kyle Connor. Connor leads the club in goals (13) and points (19). Scheifele is right behind him with 18 points (four goals, 14 assists).
Cole Perfetti is adding some support with 14 points in 18 games, and Neil Pionk has surprised everybody with 12 points in 18 games. But make no mistake, this team runs through Scheifele and Connor. They need to be the top priorities in the gameplan tonight.
Meanwhile, top defenseman Josh Morrissey has not played since October 7. He’s been out of the lineup while he nurses an upper-body injury, although he returned to practice recently and appears close to getting back to game action. Whether that will be tonight is not known as of yet. If he can’t play, the Devils dodge a huge bullet. Morrissey might not be at the elite level with guys like Cale Makar and Quinn Hughes, but he’s still been a legit number one for a few years now. An excellent player like Morrissey being out of the lineup benefits New Jersey. But if he returns tonight, watch out for him.
Projected Lineup
Here’s how the Jets lined up in their most recent game:
With the aforementioned exception of a potential Morrissey return, expect much the same tonight.
Your Take
What do you make of tonight’s game? What are your thoughts on the whole Hellebuyck situation? Apart from the circus, what do you think of the game itself? Are you excited to see Mercer and maybe Daws again? As always, thanks for reading!
