The New Jersey Devils took a chance on Tuesday by putting Alex Holtz on the top line with Nico Hischier and Pavel Zacha. He hasn’t exactly lit the world on fire in his first two games with the team, but he joined the team in the middle of a California road trip, and he was trying to build chemistry with his teammates on the road. On top of that, he was playing little minutes on lines near the bottom of the roster. That’s not where he excels.
When the Devils sent Holtz down to Utica to start the season, one of the main reasons they did that was to give him a spot on a top six. They didn’t have plans to put him in the top six in New Jersey, so it was best for his development to go down and build some confidence in the minors. Boy, did he do that. He scored five goals in four games, and the Devils felt the need to call him back up to the big leagues.
Over the first two games, Holtz’s underlying numbers were bad. He was giving up a lot of chances, and his line wasn’t getting into the offensive zone. The power play was a mess, and he wasn’t able to do the one thing he was brought to the NHL to do.
Then, he was given the spot with Hischier and Zacha. It makes sense. The Devils are trying to fill spots in the top six thanks to slow starts by Yegor Sharangovich and Tomas Tatar on top of the Jack Hughes injury. They are willing to get creative, and Holtz showed in the past he was really good in that position.
On Tuesday night against the Panthers, it was clear this is the right position for him. Holtz was on the ice for four high-danger chances and only three against at even strength. He was able to get two individual high-danger chances himself at 5v5, and he even got one of his patented one-timer shots on the power play.
Holtz looked like he belonged in this game, and it makes sense to keep him with Hischier and Zacha until Jack Hughes comes back. Lindy Ruff has been trying to find the right mixture of lines, and this night seemed to be as close as he’s been all season. Keeping Jesper Bratt and Andreas Johnsson on a line with Dawson Mercer made a lot of sense. Putting Holtz and Zacha with Hischier has that line buzzing. This is what the Devils need to get through the Jack Hughes injury.