12 Days Of New Jersey Devils Christmas

On the tenth day of Christmas the Devils gave to me… ten hugs for Boyle.

Brian Boyle scored four goals on Hockey Fights Cancer nights, and four goals in the other 22 games. If he can score another 10 goals throughout the season, that gives him 18 goals on the year. I think every Devils fan would sign up for 18 goals from the fourth liner every day of the week, and twice on Christmas.

Boyle shows no signs of stopping, and now that the cancer that dragged him down last season is completely out of his body, his ceiling is much higher. Beyond that, he’s also just playing really well for the most part.

Boyle is spending time on all units. This season, he’s using his big body as an extra for the penalty kill when John Hynes needs him. He is playing alongside Brett Seney, who’s doing well with the leadership that comes with Boyle. He’s getting to the hard areas, and he’s sticking himself in front of the net and putting in goals.

He’s tied with Taylor Hall for fourth on the team with those eight goals. I’d have to imagine Hall eventually flies past him, but 18 goals will be very important to this team. Who knows, if he does that he might be worth bringing back for another season. That’s a conversation for a different article.