New Jersey Devils: A Perfect Preseason Outcome In Washington

The New Jersey Devils played the Washington Capitals in a preseason game on Wednesday night. It was great to see them back in action, although preseason, as they have been gone for so long now. After some big improvements over the offseason, it is exciting to think about the team going forward. We were able to see some of that on display in Washington.

The result of the game was a 5-4 victory for the Devils. Yes, it is nice to win. However, it is better to win because the right things are happening. Certainly, you don’t want to see the Devils giving up four very often. It is a very good Capitals team and it is also just an exhibition so there is plenty of time to clean it up.

What we do like to see is the way New Jersey competed offensively in this one. They received five goals from five different goal scorers in Yegor Sharangovich, Jack Hughes, Alexander Holtz, Dawson Mercer, and Nico Hischier. That is the perfect group of New Jersey Devils to score for a variety of reasons.

In the case of Sharaangovich, we want to see him pick up where he left off last season. He had a remarkable rookie year. He was given a chance with the NHL club in the first place because of the way he played overseas while the NHL was away for COVID-19 reasons. His shot is outstanding and he can score in many different ways. If he can keep it up, the Devils could see him leading them in goals en route to the playoffs.

Dawson Mercer and Alex Holtz were both drafted in the 2020 NHL Draft by the New Jersey Devils. They are seen as the top two prospects in the organization so there is obviously a lot of faith in these guys. Seeing each of them tuck one for a goal is really good to see. We just may see them in the NHL sometime soon.

The New Jersey Devils had a perfect result in Wednesday’s preseason game.

Finally, Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier are the two most important players in the organization. They are the team’s top two centers and big-time leaders both on and off the ice. Hischier is already the team captain and Hughes is still developing into a bigger leader.

Each of them needs to provide lots of offense if they want to win. They are both capable as former number-one overall picks. Seeing them both score in the preseason opener is a great sign. In Hischier’s case, the power-play goal with 1:12 remaining in the game was very impressive. As mentioned before, although there is a long way to go, this was a great start for the offense in the preseason.