The headline might seem a little too simple, but this entire situation is pretty simple. Nico Hischier is having a good season when looking at the overall impact of his game on the New Jersey Devils. Since Jack Hughes went down with an injury, Hischier has been the center on the best line on almost every night. He’s fourth on the team in Corsi% and his line has been on the ice for the most high-danger chances at 5v5.
However, that’s only led to two goals over 15 games. He’s taken 31 shots over 15 games. Hischier needs to be taking more than two shots per game. His shooting percentage is sitting at around 6.5%. That’s terribly low.
The question is now, how do we get Nico Hischier going? He has to start scoring to keep the Devils afloat. He does have seven assists. That not bad, but the Devils would hope to have him get closer to the 50 mark by the end of the season. He’s currently on pace for 38.
Nico Hischier needs to start scoring for the New Jersey Devils, and soon.
Points and scoring in general can be fluky in hockey, but the Devils need Hischier to step up right now. After the team got beat down by the Florida Panthers, they need a re-evaluation. The team was dominant in the first period, but after the Panthers scored with seconds left before intermission, they all went into the tank. This would be okay if it was a one-time thing, but it’s happened before.
As the captain, it was time for Hischier to step and get his team back on the board. Instead, Hischier was on the ice for two goals against and zero goals for the team.
The Devils are going into a rough stretch. They play the Lightning on Saturday, and then their schedule next week has Minnesota and Nashville. Those are pretty important games as the Devils try to survive through the month of November.
The Devils need someone to step up. Dawson Mercer has been very good. Andreas Johnsson is surprising everyone. Pavel Zacha has been super clutch. Nico Hischier has to be on their level. Instead, he’s been one of the men in the pack.
Hischier has all the skills to make things work. He has four rush attempts and 14 individual high-danger chances. He has drawn four penalties, but the power play has been pretty terrible. That needs to be fixed, but that is much more than Hischier can do on his own.
The Devils have been really good at even strength, but the finishing hasn’t been there. Hischier is part of the problem, but he’s also the most likely solution. He just needs a few more goals on his resumé.