New Jersey Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald made it a point to bolster the defense this offseason. While many pointed out the issues the Devils had in net (which was a legitimate concern), the defense was not playing well. Replacing Damon Severson and Ryan Graves with young players proved to be a harder task than expected, especially with Lindy Ruff’s system in place. They also lost Dougie Hamilton before December, knocking out their top option on the blue line.
Fitzgerald went off last offseason, signing both Brett Pesce and Brenden Dillon, and trading for Johnny Kovacevic. It really worked to start the season. For the first three months, the defenders playing in Sheldon Keefe’s system were stifling opposing offenses, and they gained a reputation for bringing shots against to a minimum.
When the Devils were playing at their best, it was because the defense was keeping teams to under 20 shots per game. Brett Pesce was meshing well with future star Luke Hughes, Jonas Siegenthaler and Kovecevic were the best shutdown pair in the league, and Hamilton and Dillon were finding strengths in each other’s weaknesses.
Keefe had three defensive lines that could play every shift. That’s how it was meant to go.
Then, the injuries piled up. Of course, the Devils started the season without both Pesce and Hughes. When they returned, they had about two months of healthy play. Unfortunately, Dougie Hamilton had a scary injury that kept him out for most of the regular season. He surprisingly returned for the last game of the season, and the Devils are lucky he did.
The same goes for Jonas Siegenthaler. Everything was pointing to Siegenthaler missing at least the first round of the playoffs and possibly more, he actually got back into the lineup for Game 3. Sometimes, when there’s a will, there’s a way.
We have to expect Siegenthaler and Hamilton are playing injured, and now, the Devils are missing three other regulars. Luke Hughes missed Game 3 after hurting his shoulder in Game 2. Sheldon Keefe confirmed he will miss Game 4. The same goes for Brenden Dillon. We don’t know what his issue is, but he went down in Game 2 and never returned.
Neither Hughes nor Dillon has started skating yet, which means we’re far away from seeing them in game action. On top of that, Kovacevic was knocked out after the first period of Game 3, and we don’t know what ails him. He could miss Game 4 on Sunday, which would be another blow.
Can the New Jersey Devils survive injuries to Luke Hughes, Johnathan Kovacevic, and Brenden Dillon?
The Devils knew they needed as much to go right to beat the Hurricanes in a seven-game season. Heck, some think they are lucky they even won one game. They don’t have Jack Hughes. The team was really rough to watch down the stretch. Winning against good teams was not an easy task, and the Devils basically backpedalled into the playoffs.
Now, they are even more shorthanded despite getting Hamilton and Siegenthaler back into the lineup. If Kovacevic can’t go on Sunday, the Devils are likely going to play Dennis Cholowski. He was an AHL player for the New York Islanders before the Devils traded Adam Beckman for him.
Simon Nemec played hero on Friday, and he’s played incredibly well in the playoffs, but the Devils need more offense from the back end. Losing Hughes is such a blow to their defense that it’s hard to get back from. Can they do it? We’ve seen crazier upsets. The Devils must win Game 4, as the Hurricanes play much better at home.