Pucks and Pitchforks
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5 Reasons New Jersey Devils Can Win Stanley Cup

By Nick Villano

Jesper Bratt #63 of the New Jersey Devils celebrates his empty net goal against the New York Rangers in Game Seven of the First Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Prudential Center on May 01, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils defeated the Rangers 4-0 to win the series 4 games to 3. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Jesper Bratt #63 of the New Jersey Devils celebrates his empty net goal against the New York Rangers in Game Seven of the First Round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Prudential Center on May 01, 2023 in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils defeated the Rangers 4-0 to win the series 4 games to 3. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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New Jersey Devils right wing Timo Meier (96): Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports /

Reason #3: Health

The Devils are remarkably healthy. There is one injury on the roster, and that’s Jonathan Bernier. He missed the entire season with a hip injury, and it might actually be the end of his career. That’s okay, because the Devils have Akira Schmid, Vitek Vanecek, and even Mackenzie Blackwood at 100 percent.

The entire forward core is healthy at the perfect time. That gives Lindy Ruff his pick of the litter in terms of lines. He needed a change for Game 7, and he added Miles Wood and Yegor Sharangovich. Jesper Boqvist and Curtis Lazar will do the same later in the Canes series. The Devils are missing no stars. Jack Hughes is hitting at all cylinders. Nico Hischier is playing hard, tough minutes every night.

There was a chance the Devils almost lost one of its stars. Timo Meier took a borderline dirty hit from Jacob Trouba near the end of Game 7, where Trouba’s shoulder made direct contact with his head.

The good news is we saw Meier at the end of the game. He had to go through concussion protocol, and there will be further tests. However, for now, it seems like everyone is starting the Hurricanes series ready to go.

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