5. Get Timo Meier on PP1
The Devils power play hasn’t collected since Christmas. The Devils have had 43 minutes of power play time in the past 12 games, and they have 50 shots. That’s actually really good. The Devils are getting the puck on the net on the power play. Yet, they have four goals. Only three teams have shot at a worse percentage on the PP since Christmas.
What was working (Hughes-Hischier-Bratt-Noesen-Hamilton) before isn’t working now. HItting on eight percent of shots and getting just four power-play goals since Christmas is a much easier fix than fixing the entire offensive structure and getting more out of the 5v5. Also, it could just come down to confidence, and scoring on the PP will help that.
And that’s where Timo Meier fits into this equation. Meier is the top guy on the second power-play unit, but he’s so much better than the rest of his squad. He’s with Dawson Mercer, Ondrej Palat, Paul Cotter, and Luke Hughes. Meier is the star there, but his time on PP2 is hurting his overall numbers (and the fanbase’s thoughts about his impact as a whole).
Put Meier on PP1 and send either Noesen down or go crazy and put a no-defense PP1 out there. Why not? Hughes and Hischier are both on the penalty kill, so they can play defense. Adding a shot like Timo Meier there would add a ton of skill but not lose too much on the shot power that Hamilton brings.