New Jersey Devils: Do They Need To Improve In Face-off Dots?

Travis Zajac - New Jersey Devils (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Travis Zajac - New Jersey Devils (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

The New Jersey Devils should probably work on their face-off game in order to take a step as an organization that is trying to win.

The New Jersey Devils are a young team that is looking to add more and take the next step in what has been a painful rebuild. The Devils have some young centermen that have a long way to go in their development and the faceoff game is a big part of it. They have to improve this area of this game in order for the Devils to advance their organization.

They have Travis Zajac, who is consistently one of the best in the National Hockey League. He led the Devils with a 52.84 face-off percentage. He is a veteran that the Devils can use in any zone when they need to win a big draw. Nico Hischier, remarkably, wasn’t far behind him at 51.73 percent. At 21-years-old, it is very good that he is already having seasons where he is over 50 percent. That shows that the more that he develops, he really might be able to become a league leader.

After those two, it really started to fall off. Both Joey Anderson and Michael McLeod were at an even 50 percent but the sample size was small. Jack Hughes, Pavel Zacha, and Kevin Rooney were the other players who had some consistent time at center and they were all below 50 percent. For a fourth-liner that gets a lot of (sometimes unnecessary) hate, Rooney being at 47 percent isn’t all that bad. Zacha was at 43 percent and Hughes had an abysmal 36 percent.

It is extremely important for Hughes to improve that number. As an 18-year-old rookie, it sort of makes sense that he was dominated in the face-off dot early on. He is a small player that isn’t nearly as strong as most players in the National Hockey League. As he hits the gym, grows more man muscle, and practices his craft, he will get better in that area of the game.

When you look around the league, you can see a correlation between face-offs and winning hockey games. Sean Couturier led the NHL with a whopping 59.62 percent. He also had teammate Claude Giroux in fourth place and the Philadelphia Flyers were a really good team this season. J.T. Miller, Jay Beagle, and Bo Horvat were three teammates in the top-seven in the league. As a result, Vancouver was a much-improved team this year.

Jonathan Toews and Patrice Bergeron remain in the top-eight as they have established themselves as the two most consistent elite face-off men in the world. Some people don’t take a lot of stock in this stat but they should. Winning a key face-off in a specific situation could lead to winning a hockey game or not. Hischier could become a Selke Trophy candidate one day if he keeps it up and Hughes just needs to improve his numbers as the years go on. Winning might start to follow as these guys grow this part of their game.