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New Jersey Devils: 5 Things We’ve Learned In First Month Of Season

By Nick Villano

Dawson Mercer #18 of the New Jersey Devils celebrates his first NHL goal at 5:02 of the first period against the Seattle Kraken at the Prudential Center on October 19, 2021 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Dawson Mercer #18 of the New Jersey Devils celebrates his first NHL goal at 5:02 of the first period against the Seattle Kraken at the Prudential Center on October 19, 2021 in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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New Jersey Devils left wing Andreas Johnsson (11): (Ed Mulholland-USA TODAY Sports) /

2. Andreas Johnsson Might Be Bouncing Back

Andreas Johnsson was close to an afterthought coming into this season. He was a disaster last season. After the Devils traded Joey Anderson to get Johnsson, they thought he was a small move to go in the right direction. However, something was just off last season. Maybe it was learning a new system without a training camp, maybe it was the pandemic, or maybe it was trying to deal with all of the losing.

Johnsson has the second most chances at 5v5 and he has been on the ice for eight Devils goals, the most on the team. Johnsson is finally bringing the offensive numbers the Devils hoped to get from him in the first place. Sure, it’s a year late, but as they say, better late than never.

This needs to last for the season, but the Bratt-Mercer-Johnsson pairing has been the best the Devils have seen all season. When Yegor Sharangovich and Janne Kuokkanen were with Jack Hughes over the first two games, they were the best line. However, that was solely due to the jump of Hughes. Now, the Devils found a new “best line” while Hughes is on the sidelines. Most expected whichever Nico Hischier’s line was to be the best, but he hasn’t lived completely up to expectations. Now, it’s Johnsson who is providing the necessary offense.

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