The New Jersey Devils are trying to get more offense from their high-powered lineup. A few players have really been struggling lately. Think about the last two games. On Monday, the Devils lost in overtime against the New York Islanders after tying the game with less than five seconds left in regulation. The goal scorer there was defenseman Simon Nemec, his first of the year. Timo Meier scored on the power play at the beginning of the night.
On Saturday, the Devils scored just one goal in regulation and overtime against the Pittsburgh Penguins. That came from an Arseny Gritsyuk steal and snipe. It was an unassisted goal, so only one player even recorded a point in the shootout victory.
In five November games, nobody on the Devils has more than one 5v5 goal. You read that correctly. Nobody on the Devils has scored more than one goal in November. Now, as of this writing, it’s just five games, but that’s still telling for a team with Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Meier, and Jesper Bratt on the roster.
Brian Halonen, who isn’t even on the roster anymore, has more 5v5 goals this month than Dawson Mercer, Timo Meier, and Jesper Bratt.
Sheldon Keefe was going to do something, but what he did was very unexpected. He broke up the one pairing that felt like it was never breaking up.
Changes coming to the top two lines for #NJDevils today in Chicago.
— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) November 12, 2025
Gritsyuk is moving up to play with Jack, while Bratt and Mercer swap lines.
The third line was a trio that Keefe put together in the 3rd against NYI.
Markstrom is in the starter's net. pic.twitter.com/Mngowe7GhU
New Jersey Devils make lineup changes and separate Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt
The Devils broke up PB&J. Jesper Bratt and Jack Hughes will be playing on different lines on Wednesday night (presumably). And honestly? We think this might work.
Jack Hughes is the type of player who can make most lines work. He’s very Sidney Crosby-esque where he can find his version of Chris Kunitz and ride the lightning. Dawson Mercer feels like that type of player. Adding in Gritsyuk, who does not stop moving, will be a great group.
They really have everything they need here. Mercer is the net-front presence who can clean up one of Hughes’s 11 shots. Gritsyuk is a shoot first playmaker who provides a threat on Hughes’ line that didn’t exist with Bratt. The three of them together make sense for the greater good. While Bratt is better for Hughes individually, this line might make more sense.
Meanwhile, the Devils move Bratt to try and get Nico Hischier going. Hischier has one point at 5v5 this month. He hasn’t been able to put points on the board. He has been playing the best of the best on the other side, but that hasn’t stopped him from getting points of his own before. He’s in a little bit of an offensive slump.
Meier-Hischier-Bratt has also been a line before. They were dominant at times. Lindy Ruff would put this line together when he absolutely needed offense. Now, Keefe is doing the same thing.
This is a major change, but it’s also the middle of November. Keefe can very easily put everything back if it doesn’t work against Chicago. For now, it’s nice to see changes despite the wins. They need more offense, and this could be the move that leads to goals.