New Jersey Devils: Tomas Tatar Shouldn’t Get Left Behind
The New Jersey Devils are trying to find the right lines. Since Timo Meier joined the team, it seems the Devils and Lindy Ruff have continued to change the lines like they are in a blender. Most of the time, the lines don’t even last for a full game. That’s led to Tomas Tatar falling down to line three. It’s unfortunate because Tatar has been really good for most of the season.
Tatar took a maintenance day on Wednesday. That means we don’t know where he will fall in the lines, but we can imagine he will take the place of Nolan Foote. That would put him on line three with Erik Haula and Jesper Boqvist.
Haula and Tatar have been together before. They have north of 200 minutes together according to Natual Stat Trick. Despite controlling possession and offensive chance stats, their line has only scored seven goals together. It seems like something just isn’t clicking between Haula and Tatar.
This isn’t the only line that’s having issues. We’ve seen similar issues with Jesper Bratt and Jack Hughes. It’s two players who make sense on paper, but it’s not making sense in execution. However, there are a finite number of line combinations, and this is where they’ve fallen this week.
As we prepare for the playoffs, it seems like Tatar is going to be on the outside of the top six looking in. Ondrej Palat is getting a chance with Bratt and Hughes. With his playoff experience, the Devils will want him to get more ice time. The Devils will put him with a premium line, and it makes sense to have him with Jack Hughes.
Tatar had a bad experience the last time he was in the postseason. The Montreal Canadiens basically benched him for an entire postseason right before he became a free agent. They made an improbable run to the Stanley Cup Final, so it’s hard to blame the coaching staff at the time, but it’s hard to keep that talent in the owner’s box.
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This likely feels similar. Tatar was in the top six for most of the season. He earned it. Now, he’s likely going to be in the bottom six for the playoffs. At least he will get on the ice, but it won’t be the same.