Despite their loss to the Arizona Coyotes, at least the New Jersey Devils have two players to get excited for in Jack Hughes and Pavel Zacha.
Last night was very disappointing, but there were definitely bright spots, especially in the development of our 1st overall pick, Jack Hughes, and our 2015 6th overall pick, Pavel Zacha. The New Jersey Devils outshot the Arizona Coyotes 35-17 and played aggressive and determined. We showed heart and probably played our best game this season outside of a few mistakes which a well-coached Coyotes team took advantage of.
It would be easy to blame Mackenzie Blackwood, but after 6 days off and about with an illness earlier in the week, he came in cold and was put in a few bad spots by his defense corps. Enough about the team though; let’s get into two shining stars from last night’s game, Pavel Zacha and Jack Hughes.
The line of Pavel Zacha – Nico Hischier – Nikita Gusev played a strong game and made a lot of strong plays when it counted. I loved John Hyne’s decision to put these three together because of Nico’s and Pavel’s strong defensive play with Gusev’s lack of defensive awareness (although that was a little better last night). This has the makings of a perfect second line for years to come if the three of them can continue to develop together.
More from Pucks and Pitchforks
- Should New Jersey Devils Try Load Management With Vitek Vanecek?
- New Jersey Devils Will Prove That Last Year Wasn’t A Fluke
- New Jersey Devils: Luke Hughes’ Playmaking Will Outshine His Mistakes
- New Jersey Devils: Chase Stillman’s Performance Causes Concern
- Can Devils Fans Separate Zach Parise Heartbreak From Achievements?
These past few games, Pavel Zacha has looked strong, fast, and has played with a sense of desperation we have not seen from him over the past three years. In only 12:25 which included time on the PK, Zacha had a goal, 4 shots, and countless strong defensive plays in the neutral zone to thwart the Coyotes attack and turn it around for the Devils.
He was aggressive, forechecked hard and made sure to leave his mark on the game with throwing shots on net from all angles, challenging Antti Raanta, and putting one home from a great feed from the man featured in my next section, Jack Hughes.
The first multipoint game of many for our beacon of hope, Jack Hughes. Another powerplay goal, some incredible passes, and strong defensive play that I was absolutely not expecting at this point in his career.
My first article for Pucks and Pitchforks in May was an article about tempering expectations for Jack Hughes at the beginning of his career, but he is blossoming earlier than I expected. He even registered his third hit! Jack is known for his speed, finesse, and insane edges and that was all on full display Friday night.
Even more so, the passes… His passes were crisp, hard, and more often than not landed on the intended target’s tape. There were multiple passes across the slot on the powerplay made me literally exclaim “Wow!” He was absolutely electrifying, and he is one of the fiercest forecheckers we have due to his speed and quick-stick.
I did not expect him to develop this quickly, but we are witnessing the birth of a star in the red and black. Five points in his past three games is all the evidence we need. Jack Hughes is beginning to come into his own and show us and the NHL, he is and will continue to be a force to be reckoned with.