New Jersey Devils: 3 Positives from Win Over Sabres to Build Upon

The New Jersey Devils have been in a tough skid, losing seven out of nine games prior to their matchup with the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night. Throughout November, the Devils have dropped lower and lower in the standings, eventually landing just above the bottom team in the Metropolitan Division, the Columbus Blue Jackets. A painful 2-1 loss to the Blue Jackets on Friday night felt like rock bottom.

Saturday was a whole different game, one the Devils can build off of. They turned on the firepower during their captain’s return to the lineup and steamrolled over the Sabres 7-2. The Devils held the Sabres to just 12 shots the entire night. The Sabres scored two goals, making Vitek Vanecek’s SV% for the night an .833. To be fair, both were power-play goals, but the win won’t do his SV% any favors.

This was the Devils’ most dominant victory of the season, one that the team and fans hope will right the ship and send them off on a tear. The Devils have an awful lot of ground to make up in the standings, but Saturday night’s win chipped away at the mountain. Here are three positives from the win over the Sabres that the Devils can build upon.

1. Nico Hischier brings balance to the lineup

Nico Hischier is the captain of the Devils for a reason. It was abundantly clear that his presence helped get his team back on track after a miserable stretch. He missed 11 games following an illegal check by Buffalo’s Connor Clifton that left Hischier with an upper-body injury. Ironically, it was Buffalo that New Jersey played again in Hischier’s return to play.

Hischier looked comfortable and locked in on both sides of the ice. He collected a goal and an assist in his first game back. Hischier won 64% of his faceoffs. He centered Ondrej Palat and Jesper Bratt, and their line produced six points collectively.

The Devils looked lost without Hischier and were a much stronger team with him back. Having Hischier center a line allowed not only his line but other lines to return to familiar pairings that worked. The team looked more energized, more aggressive, and more focused. “When we play four lines, bring the effort, that intensity, then we play Devils hockey,” Hischier said after the game. With Hischier back, the Devils can now focus on playing a more balanced game.

3. Brendan Smith earned respect with scuffle and winger role

Brendan Smith has taken a lot of heat this season for his hand in the Devils’ struggling defense. He’s seen a regular starting role on the blueline this season but has recently been moved to left wing. Switching positions is difficult, but Smith is handling it well. In his second consecutive game as a winger on Saturday night, Smith shined for more reasons than one.

First, he earned respect by dropping the gloves with Connor Clifton, the Sabres defenseman responsible for Nico Hischier missing 11 games. Smith took Clifton down to the ice with 1:30 remaining in the first period and the Devils up 4-0. Devils fans cheered for Smith’s defense of his captain. Message sent.

Smith has flipped the script in his role filling in as a forward. He earned his first assist of the season on a goal by Tyler Toffoli. He won puck battles and contributed to getting the puck to the offensive zone. Is he better as a forward than a defenseman? He shouldn’t necessarily stay at forward forever, but he should at the moment with Timo Meier, Curtis Lazar, and Tomas Nosek out. Erik Haula is also questionable after exiting the game with an injury. Right now, Smith is more valuable as a forward than a defenseman.

The Devils look to keep things rolling in a divisional matchup against the New York Islanders on Tuesday at The Rock.