It’s been a tough year for Travis Zajac. But the Devils’ 4-3 win against the Flyers was a step in the right direction for him. It was a much better night for John Hynes in terms of usage as well.
We all know about Zajac’s struggles offensively this year. No production despite Top 6 minutes and a slot on the power play. Troubling, to say the least.
February 1st match-up against the Flyers, however, offered a glimmer of hope. Seeing John Hynes focus on skill on the power play in the practice leading up to the game was a good sign. It was a great decision to insert Miles Wood on one of the units. He has more speed and hand eye coordination around the net and is more of a threat to score than Zajac. Replacing Zajac in that role made all the sense in the world.
Zajac played a nice game against the Flyers.
John Hynes also paved the way for a better night for Travis by placing him on the third line. A checking role where he is not expected to contribute offensively is a role #19 is far better suited for. Zajac did pretty well there. Travis was moving well and competing for pucks.
Of course, the way Zajac stood up for Kyle Palmieri against Radko Gudas was priceless. You have to give Zajac all the credit in the world for doing that. Things like that make the room far tighter and can not be measured with statistics. That was an amazing job by Zajac, and the fact that he destroyed Gudas, one of the NHL’s dirtiest players, was just icing on the cake.
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If you want to see the fight, here is a link to it. It was great.
John Hynes choosing to drop Travis’ minutes was intelligent. Thirteen or so minutes is a much better target for Zajac. His production is below par, but he does provide a 200 foot game and many intangibles. I don’t have a problem with him being on the ice and am not a charter member of the “Cut Travis Zajac” brigade. But reducing his role clearly makes all the sense in the world. Last night, it allowed Pavel Zacha to roam free a bit more and, consequently, we saw a couple of truly visionary assists from the young Czech. That was partially made possible by the reduction in minutes to the Devils’ #19. Smart all around.
Finally, the better night was capped off by the Devils successfully defending in an empty net situation. Zajac was on the ice virtually all of that time, pressed the puck hard a few times and was positionally sound, keeping in shooting lanes and doing his job. This was another piece of fine work by the Devils’ center.
I’ve been tough on Travis this year, along with a lot of Devils’ fans. Which I don’t think is unfair. But I also think it would be unfair not to acknoledge his many contributions last night. It was a big win, Zajac was a strong contributor, and I give credit to John Hynes for finding roles for Travis which are best suited for him. Also, he kept Zajac out of roles, like the power play, which are not suited for him.
Next: Biggest Win Of The Season
Indeed, it was a much better night. A great two points for the Devils. Good to see them righting the ship a bit after a pretty tough January.