New Jersey Devils: Mirco Mueller Does Enough To Stay In Lineup
By Nick Villano
The New Jersey Devils took a huge two points against the Tampa Bay Lightning Saturday night. Mirco Mueller looked good in his return to the lineup.
The New Jersey Devils defense is the obvious red mark on an otherwise great season. Arguably, the two best players on the blue line weren’t even Devils in July.
Will Butcher has been more than anyone could have hoped for as a rookie. He signed as a college free agent, and ranks third on the team with 37 points. Sami Vatanen’s importance is obvious, as he’s been by far the best Devils defenseman since being traded from the Anaheim Ducks.
Outside of Butcher and Vatanen, the Devils defense has been inconsistent at best. One player who’s been increasingly hard to figure out is Ben Lovejoy.
Lovejoy is an advanced statistics darling that on paper looks like he should never leave the lineup. However, the eye test exists. He’s prone to mistakes at the worst possible time that somehow always end up in goals.
Take a look at his last game. On the Pittsburgh Penguins game-tying goal, it all started with a bonehead play by Lovejoy. The Devils had the puck in the offensive zone, with Lovejoy holding it at the blue line. He tried to do something with the puck, what is hard to explain. I think he was trying to flip it behind the net to Jesper Bratt, but didn’t get enough of it. It ended up looking like a pass to Connor Sheary. It started a breakout for the Pens, which ended with Phil Kessel’s 30th goal of the season.
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Likely because of that play, head coach John Hynes decided to sit Lovejoy against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Mirco Mueller was now up to make a difference for the Devils.
In his first game in over a month, he didn’t look too rusty. He even got a crucial assist on Nico Hischier’s goal in the first period. He seems to be able to control the puck in the offensive zone, despite only having three assists on the year.
At this point in the season, Hynes has to ride the hot hand. Whether that’s forwards or goalies. Keith Kinkaid will get a majority of the reps in net because he’s playing his best hockey right now. That could hold true with Mueller.
I’m not saying Mueller in a vacuum is a better option in the long run, but right now the team has to see if he gained some confidence. It could only last a week, but with Lovejoy so prone to mistakes it’s worth a shot.