New Jersey Devils: So Far, So Good
By Ken Jones
The New Jersey Devils faced a heck of a challenge the first ten games of the year. Good results for the Devils in the first six. A difficult weekend lies ahead.
Bravo to the New Jersey Devils for claiming more than a point per game thus far in 2016-17. So far, so good for the team, for trips to Florida and Boston and a tough opening night contest against the Ducks were clearly a significant challenge. Avoiding losing streaks and churning out points in the NHL is key, clubs must average more than a point per match to make the playoffs. There are no excuses and no moral victory columns in the NHL standings chart.
So, what are some of the keys to the Devils’ success thus far. Some are incredibly obvious, others far less so.
The Devils are getting key contributions from stars and role players alike.
First, The Incredibly Obvious: Taylor Hall and Cory Schneider. New Jersey’s two best players have massively exceeded anyone’s wildest expectations with 5 goals and a .936 save percentage. What more can be said?
Off The Mat: What a great start for the longest tenured Devil, Travis Zajac. One of the favorite whipping boys for fans over the past several years, the Winnipeg, Manitoba product has really stepped it up this year. He’s faster, more physical, harder on the forecheck, scoring a bit and still winning faceoffs. Very nice job by Travis to start the year
New Jersey Devils
Voilà! Yohann Auvitu didn’t arrive in New Jersey with any fanfare, but he’s certainly earned a trumpeter’s call this year. He’s a possession machine on the power play, has the good hockey instincts to know when to jump into plays in the offensive zone and make a positive play, and is solid on the back end. What a pleasant surprise. As ballyhooed as Steven Santini is, Auvitu’s fine play is forcing Santini to spend a lot more time on the New York State Thruway shuttling back and forth to Albany than I’m sure he cares to do. Steven’s time will surely come, but most likely at the expense of one of the other Devils’ defenders. Auvitu has been outstanding.
Fiddler On The Roof: Vern Fiddler is truly a tenacious presence on the ice. He wins battles along the boards, expends extra energy to waste some precious extra seconds here and there on the kill and has more skill than our fourth line centers of recent memory (many of whom we may see in this year’s AHL All Start Game). Specifically, he’s shown a sneaky-good shot and some nice passing vision. And, according to his teammates, he’s a great guy in the room too. Fine signing.
"With some of the league’s top stars visiting The Rock, the competition and level of hockey should be outstanding this weekend."
Intestinal Fortitude / Depending Home Ice: New Jersey gave up the first goal against the Wild and blew a third period lead against Arizona. Those are scenarios which often led to zero or one point games for the Devils the past few seasons. But the past two games were different. John Hynes kept them in the game and the players fight on until they get the timely goal they needed. This was great to see.
Next: The Devils' First Home Opener
It’s a big pre-Halloween weekend for the New Jersey Devils. The powerful Blackhawks and the juggernaut which is Tampa Bay come to town. To state the incredibly obvious once again, there is a ton of talent on both teams. And we’ll probably see the 2016-17 debut of Mr. Kinkaid in one game of the back-to-back matches. But given what we’ve seen from the Devils thus far, I think they’ll find a way to grind out a couple points against two of the NHL’s best squads.