5 surprising New Jersey Devils statistical paces approaching NHL season's quarter mark

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).

3. Stefan Noesen
On pace for 60 points

The Devils surprised the world when they announced that Stefan Noesen was returning on a three-year deal this offseason. Noesen was a fringe NHLer when he was in New Jersey. Even when he left, he was still fighting for his life between the NHL and AHL. Then, he went to Carolina and became a major contributor. He found some kind of spark, and now the Devils are bearing the fruits of that labor.

Noesen has been the biggest surprise for the Devils this season, as he has been an offensive stimulant, and now he’s been moved up to play with Nico Hischier and Timo Meier. He’s also getting time on the first power-play unit. He’s contributed well there, already putting up four points with the man advantage including two goals. 

Noesen is on pace for 60 points this season. Not only is that a career high, it is almost double his previous career high. Even with the Hurricanes, where he did contribute offensively, Noesen’s previous career high was 38 points. By the end of the month, he could be halfway there. 

Will Noesen keep this torrid pace? He might. The way that Sheldon Keefe has been using suggests he will continue to get opportunities. He’s not delivering on an unsustainable pace. We don’t expect him to his 60 points this season, but 50 feels extremely attainable. 

4. Luke Hughes
On pace for 36 goals against (in 73 games)

Last season, Luke Hughes was on the ice for 55 goals against in 82 games. He was allowing 2.41 goals per 60 minutes of ice time. Despite being a finalist for the Calder Trophy, there were times when Luke Hughes very much looked like a rookie. He made mistakes on the ice that directly contributed to goals against. The Devils goaltenders couldn’t stop anything, either. It was a recipe for disaster.

This season, it’s completely different. Luke Hughes has, at times, looked like a dominant defensive force. He’s found ways to utilize his speed to enhance his defensive abilities. He’s been able to understand when to make a move or pinch in the offensive zone without leaving his teammates high and dry. 

While the upgrade in net with Jake Allen and Jacob Markstrom helps, Hughes deserves praise for upgrading his defensive game. He’s been able to drive play and cause turnovers in the defensive zone. He seems to know so much better what to do in his own end. 

Hughes has allowed 9.26 high-danger chances per 60 minutes according to Natural Stat Trick. Only Jonathan Kovacevic and Jonas Siegenthaler have done better. We expected a breakout from Hughes with his offense, but seeing how well he’s played defensively has been a pleasant surprise.

5. New Jersey Devils
On pace for 2,054 hits this season

We went through Hockey Reference stats for every year they kept hitting stats, which goes back to the 2007-08 season, and we’ve never seen a Devils team with more than 2,000 hits in a year. This year’s Devils team is on pace to be the first.

The Devils made a concerted effort to get tougher this offseason. They added Noesen, Paul Cotter, Brenden Dillon, and Jonathan Kovacevic. They’ve all added so much to change the narrative around this team. People don’t think this team is soft anymore. And if they treat them that way, Dillon is ready to drop the gloves at any moment (as is Kurtis MacDermid, who’s an everyday contributor due to injuries). 

Cotter leads the Devils in hits with 52. He’s on pace himself for more than 200 hits. Both Noesen and Dillon are at 48 hits. The Devils are doing this without Curtis Lazar, who was averaging three hits per game before he went down with a knee injury.

We’re not sure if Sheldon Keefe instilled a system to prioritize hitting, or if the talent has dictated this change in philosophy, but it’s clearly working. Keefe’s Maple Leafs teams actually did practice this, with last year’s team putting up 2,200+ hits. Teams don’t take liberties on the Devils stars. The team is able to make a team “pay” through a good, clean hit instead of starting a scrum after a play. With 25 hits per game, the Devils are sixth in the league in that stat. It’s such a huge difference from the previous teams that tried to use stick checks and skating talent to make plays happen.