New Jersey Devils: Travis Zajac Could Be Key To Second Half
By Nick Villano
The New Jersey Devils spent most of the first half of the season winning, despite having a less than stellar Travis Zajac. If he can break out, then this team could be a contender.
The New Jersey Devils are currently sitting on a five-game losing streak. The team went into the bye week with a back-breaking loss to the New York Islanders. While there isn’t much positive to take from the shootout loss, one thing does stick out.
Travis Zajac played his best game of the season on Sunday. The former first-line center scored two goals, both when the Devils really needed to score. His first goal tied it at one after a goal was called off earlier in the game. That really turned the Devils mood around. The second came on the penalty kill. Zajac was able to get passed the defense, take a pass from Brian Gibbons, and make a great move to beat Jaroslav Halak.
This is a great sign for Zajac, who’s looked terrible all season long. It seems like he came back too early from his torn pectoral muscle he suffered in the offseason. He was supposed to return mid-December, but he ended up coming back November 16th.
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Playing before his injury fully healed likely cost the Devils the best of Zajac for more than a month. While fans expect a certain something from him, he wasn’t able to give the team even fourth-line numbers.
Zajac went scoreless in the first nine games of his season. He only scored five points in the first 22 games of the season. However, he’s coming off his first games with consecutive points.
When looking to what we can hope for from Zajac, just look at his teammate Brian Boyle. In his first ten games after coming back from his Chronic Myeloid Leukemia diagnosis, he only had two points. In the next 21 games, he has 15 points and 10 goals.
I can see Zajac going on a similar run. If the Devils are able to get a legit scoring line out of Marcus Johansson – Zajac – Kyle Palmieri, then this team can become the scoring machine they were earlier in the season. What’s really been missing is the threat from the middle six.
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If Zajac really is back to 100 percent, and able to keep up with the new-look Devils, then the Metropolitan Division should watch out. This gives the Devils one of the best forward lineups top to bottom in the division.