The New Jersey Devils finally got off the schneid, beating the Buffalo Sabres 7-2 on Saturday night. It ended a three-game losing streak where the Devils looked lost since the third period against the New York Rangers. An offensive explosion and a defensive domination has fans thinking this team might have what it takes to get out of its funk.
There’s one main reason why this is seen as hope and not just a drop in the bucket. Captain Nico Hischier returned to the lineup, allowing the Devils to have four full lines for the first time in weeks. With Hughes and Hischier back in the lineup, the Devils don’t need one line to dominate offensively, and it’s harder for the other team to play matchups.
A seven-goal performance will always cure what ails ya. What’s even more impressive is the Buffalo Sabres had just 11 shots on the night. They did score twice on Vitek Vanecek, which doesn’t equate to a great save percentage, but both goals came in garbage time and on the power play. There should be nothing but positives taken from this performance.
Buffalo is not a good team, and their preseason hype was apparently more unwarranted than the Devils. They’ve lost twice to the Devils already this season. Ironically, the Sabres and Wild, two of the other disappointing starts in the NHL, hold four of the Devils nine wins.
The defense showing they can hold a team to this few shots shows they can show up when necessary. Vanecek still needs to prove himself, but Akira Schmid has been playing better. If the Devils can take this lineup into the future, it will only mean good things.
On top of everything, the Devils were the more physical team. They laid out 34 hits. The Sabres had just nine. Brendan Smith looked amazing as the Devils fourth line left wing. That’s wild since he’s a defenseman. He also had a scuffle with Connor Clifton, who was the one who injured Hischier originally on an illegal hit. Smith was exactly what the Devils needed in that position, but more on that later.
Back to the captain, Hischier had himself a great night. He had a goal and an assist, laid two hits, and won 64% of his faceoffs. He didn’t look like a player coming off an injury at all. His presence in this lineup is enough to make opposing coaches second guess their decisions. It opened things up for Jack Hughes‘ line, even if it didn’t end up on the score sheet.
Another positive was how things went with Hughes on the ice. Despite only having one assist, Hughes was on the ice for four goals and zero goals against. The only other player on the ice for four goals was Tyler Toffoli, who scored two of them himself. The Devils found ways to use Hughes on the ice when the defense focused on him. He doesn’t need to be a part of the play to impact the play.
If the Devils can keep this up, then it’s clearly going to mean great things moving forward. For now, let’s enjoy the win. The Devils are just three points out of a playoff spot (barring what happens in the Islanders-Flyers game, which is still happening). The playoffs are within reach somehow.