New Jersey Devils: Has Jesper Boqvist Finally Turned A Corner?

The New Jersey Devils are getting some good play from some players on the ice, but others haven’t lived up to the expectations. That’s one of the reasons why the Devils are at or near the basement of the Metropolitan Division depending on which day you look at the standings. They now have an eight-day break to think about what is going to happen next. They went into the break after blowing a 3-1 lead and losing to the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-1.

One of the positives of the Devils’ recent run of play is the performance by Jesper Boqvist. His year-long numbers still aren’t great. He has an under 49% CF percentage, meaning opponents are getting more offensive chances against him than his line is getting. He has as many high-danger chances on the ice as he is giving up. That sounds fine, but it’s actually good for the fifth worse on the Devils, and two of the players worse than him are Alexander Holtz and Tyce Thompson who have played very few games this season.

Boqvist hasn’t been what we thought he was going to be when he came over from Sweden. We thought the Devils got a steal in the 2nd round of the NHL Draft in 2017, but it was starting to look like a lost pick earlier in the season as other players start to pass him in terms of prospect rank.

However, something is different about Boqvist as of late. Most thought he was only going to be back in the lineup temporarily when he jumped in for Jack Hughes when he went out with COVID, but he made himself known on the ice every single shift. He was noticeable on the offense and defensive side of the puck. He was making offensive plays, and he was setting up chances.

Boqvist has the second-highest xGF% on the team in February, basically meaning he has the highest share of expected goals on the team. The only one higher than him is Marian Studenic, who only played two games this month. When it comes to high-danger chances, he’s been insane. At even strength, Boqvist has been on the ice for 18 high-danger chances, and the other team only has 6. The team is better every time Boqvist is on the ice.

Boqvist played most of his last game with Jimmy Vesey and Studenic. The line wasn’t great against the Lightning in terms of analytics. Lindy Ruff has had a hard time pairing Boqvist with the right linemates, and it seems that this Devils “third line” is treated like the fourth line despite Boqvist’s recent success.

The Devils need to help Boqvist grow for the rest of the season. In six games this month, Boqvist has two goals and an assist. On top of that, he has three takeaways to just one giveaway, he’s taken zero penalties but has drawn two, and he’s even thrown four hits. That is somehow seventh best on the team (thanks Natural Stat Trick for the stats).

Boqvist is playing well, and that’s good news for the Devils. He looked lost in the NHL earlier in the season, but something has clicked for him. Maybe it’s the teachings of Kevin Dineen sticking now that he’s in the NHL, or maybe it just took this long for him to get used to the North American ice sheet. Either way, this is good news for everyone.