The New Jersey Devils have a lot of excitement surrounding them right now. Of course, the news that they acquired Timo Meier from the San Jose Sharks took over for a bit there which is very exciting. He is a guy that is only 26 years old and sits with 31 goals.
He will be a big part of things going forward. He was dealing with somewhat of an upper-body injury coming into the trade but he is also trying to learn the systems that the Devils are running right now.
It may take some time for him to get used to it. As a result, he didn’t play on Wednesday. Once he gets in the lineup, this team will appear even more dangerous.
The show did have to go on without him on though even though he was in the building watching. On the road, the Devils had to visit the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche. They came in on a six-game winning streak and 7-1-1 in their last nine.
The New Jersey Devils took care of business against the Colorado Avalanche.
It is never easy to play against the Avalanche. This is one of the best teams in the Western Conference, although an injured bunch. New Jersey earned a 1-0 win over them early in the season, so this was a chance to sweep them.
Well, the Devils got out to a 5-1 lead and looked like they would cruise to victory. However, the Avalanche did what the Avalanche did and made it interesting. After starting the game on a 5-1 route, the score ended up being 5-4 and 6-5. Thankfully, the Devils never let the defending champs tie the game.
When it was 6-5, Nico Hischier hit an empty net goal to seal a very big win for the Devils. Vitek Vanecek had a rough game and was replaced by Akira Schmid in the third period. He didn’t give up a single goal.
There are some notable performances to note in this game. For one, Dougie Hamilton scored his 18th goal of the season. That ties the franchise record for goals by a defenseman in a single season. His next goal will break it, and you can bet it will come really soon with how he’s played.
Dawson Mercer also gets some love in this game. He had a four-point night, highlighted by his 20th goal of the season. The Devils joined the Buffalo Sabres as the only teams with five 20-goal scorers. Sure, Timo Meier scored his elsewhere, but who’s counting.
Mercer also made it seven straight games in which he has a goal, another Devils franchise record. That is absolutely unbelievable. He is now someone that the team can look at as a long-term piece after he survived the Meier trade saga.
If he scores in his eighth straight game on Friday night, he will set the high mark for the entire 2022-23 season for the league. It has been a good run. Sweeping the Colorado Avalanche is no joke. The Devils have every reason, especially once Meier breaks into the lineup, to believe they can do some damage this year.
Their next big game will come against someone that Meier has played a lot in the Vegas Golden Knights. We’ll see if that is the day he makes his Devils debut.