The New Jersey Devils are on a 103-point pace in the NHL Standings after a mighty win against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night. Under new head coach Sheldon Keefe, the Devils have been as good as many expected them to be. They aren’t one of the best teams in the league, as the Hurricanes, Capitals, and Rangers have started on torrid paces in the Metropolitan Division, and the Winnipeg Jets are literally breaking records, but 103 points gets a hockey team in the playoffs 100 percent of the time.
It’s been a team effort to get here. Jack Hughes hasn’t been lighting the world on fire (although he has been a superstar recently). Nico Hischier is currently in a “slump” (at least, compared to his crazy start). Dougie Hamilton hasn’t exactly been a star, but the rest of the defense has been top-five in the league. The Devils third line has moved around because Paul Cotter and Stefan Noesen have been so effective that they need to move up in the lineup.
With so many contributors, there will be statistical anomalies. Let’s take a look at some of those players who are on crazy paces so far.
1. Nico Hischier
On pace for 43 goals
We’ll start with Nico Hischier, who earlier this season was the first Devils player ever to lead the league in goals at any point during the season (minimum five goals scored). That seems impossible. The Devils have had Patrik Elias, Brendan Shanahan, John MacLean, Ilya Kovalchuk, Zach Parise, and others over its history. None of them at any point in the season led the league in goals? Not even Brian Gionta during his 48-goal campaign?
Hischier remains the one and only, and he did for a few days as he was the first NHL player to score 10 goals this season. That puts him on pace to have his first 40-goal season of his career. His 82-game pace is 42 goals, to be exact.
However, there are some reasons to be skeptical. For one, we mentioned Hischier’s current slump. He hasn’t scored in six straight games. In that time, he’s been passed by for the league lead by Cole Caufield and seven other NHL players. Hischier is also shooting 19.2 percent this season. That’s way higher than his career average, which is under 13 percent. We could see Hischier shoot 15 percent on the season. If he continues to take 2.74 shots per game, that will put him at 34 goals, which will be enough for a Selke Trophy (yes, this is a requirement for a defensive award).