New Jersey Devils: Nico Hischier Shows Skill In Win VS. Washington Capitals
By Nick Villano
The New Jersey Devils started the preseason with an impressive win against the Washington Capitals. The most impressive part of the game was a very nice goal by rookie Nico Hischier.
Hockey is back officially. The New Jersey Devils took the ice in front of actual fans at the Prudential Center Monday night, taking on the Washington Capitals in the first preseason game.
There was a lot of positives to talk about in the 4-1 win. Mirco Mueller showed his rocket of a shot to start the scoring for the Devils in the second period. Will Butcher showed he could be a good point player once he works out his mistakes. Marcus Johansson was a monster at zone entries. However, one play stood out to Devils fans more than anything.
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The one thing every Devils fan was waiting for was to see how Nico Hischier played in his first official NHL game of his career. Sure, it was the preseason and the Capitals didn’t play Nicklas Backstrom or Alexander Ovechkin, but the skill Hischier showed in his goal would have beaten anybody.
Hischier stole the puck from Kevin Elgestal, then split him and Lucas Johansen on the way to the net. He made a nifty move in front of goalie Vitek Vanecek before waiting to stick the puck in the net.
For one, the goal shows the patience from the 18-year-old forward. He could have been excited to get his best chance during his first game and throw the puck at the net once he got loose. He didn’t. Hischier let the goalie make the first move, and used that to his advantage. That was an NHL level deke that only a few players can make.
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Hischier did just about everything in just 13 minutes of playing time. He scored a goal, made a hit, blocked a shot and had two takeaways. He was very good at everything outside the faceoff circle, where he went 30 percent. Him and Johansson did not do well at faceoffs, but besides that it was all positive.
It was just the first game, but it’s hard not to come out confident as a Devils fan. The team started off pretty bad, despite being on the powerplay for seemingly the entire first period. After the first intermission, this game was all New Jersey.
Hischier already looks like he will easily make the team after his first preseason game. NHL’s Mike Morreale even talked about Nico fighting for the top-line center spot in his game recap. This already feels like a different Devils team, and we haven’t even seen the team’s best lineup.