New Jersey Devils Daily: Zajac’s Place In Lineup, Kariya Hit, More
By Nick Villano
On today’s New Jersey Devils Daily, Travis Zajac takes his place at the top of the lineup, a big bounce-back weekend and revisiting one of the most iconic hits in NHL playoff history.
Travis Zajac is back in the lineup way earlier than expected after an offseason pectoral injury. Chris Ryan with NJ.com looks at the newly reshuffled lines. Zajac was slotted immediately as the first line center for the New Jersey Devils. This moves everyone down, and gives the Devils a lot of depth throughout the lines. This puts the Devils leading goal scorer Brian Gibbons on the fourth line. Adam Henrique moves to third-line wing, and Nico Hischier pairs with Jesper Bratt and Drew Stafford on the second line. This is the best depth we’ve seen in a long time.
How will lines look when Travis Zajac rejoins Devils’ lineup?
Back-to-back wins put a four-game losing streak behind the Devils. John Schweibacher with CBS New York talks about what this means. What may be most interesting is rookie sensation Will Butcher is tied for fourth in power play assists and is one behind the leaders. This Devils team scored seven goals against Chicago for the first time since 1989.
Schwei’s Devils Notes: New Jersey Bounces Back In A Big Way
Looking ahead, Gibbons has been the biggest surprise on a team full of them. He leads the Devils in goals with eight, after scoring another one Sunday against the Blackhawks. Gibbons was a surprise even making the roster on opening night. Now, he’s a crucial part of the team’s offense an penalty kill. David Lebovitz with Pucks and Pitchforks looks at the likelihood he keeps this scoring up. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look great. However, we should ride the wave while it’s still going.
New Jersey Devils: Brian Gibbons is Riding Percentages
Brian Cooke writes his first article for Pucks and Pitchforks. He compares Jesper Bratt’s run in his rookie season to what we all expected from Jacob Josefson. Many of us hoped that Josefson would be the future of the Devils offense. That clearly didn’t work out. The difference between Josefson and Bratt is the confidence one has with his shot. Bratt has been everything we could have hoped for and more.
New Jersey Devils: Jesper Bratt Is What Jacob Josefson Should Have Been
Pucks and Pitchforks takes a look back 14 years ago to the most famous hit of a Hall of Fame career. With Paul Kariya getting enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame, we see his most famous moment playing the New Jersey Devils. It’s hard to watch now with everything we know about concussions, but it’s still something that’s looked upon daily. The hit on Kariya by Scott Stevens continues to live in infamy.