The New Jersey Devils lost their first game out of the 4 Nations Face-Off break 4-2 to the Dallas Stars. The Stars scored an empty-net goal with less than 10 seconds left to ice it, so it was basically a one-goal loss for New Jersey. However, nobody is feeling good coming out of this game. The offense is still a problem, and Jack Hughes is still trying to do it by himself.
Hughes scored two third-period goals to keep the Devils in the game. Both goals were stupendous shots on one-timers, one off a pass from Jesper Bratt and the other from Dougie Hamilton. Those three players were by far the best on the Devils on Saturday night, adding a few great saves by Jake Allen, as well.
This feels way too familiar. The Devils have had basically no offense outside of Hughes scoring goals for about two months now. Since January 9th, Hughes has 11 goals. Next on the Devils is Nico Hischier, who missed multiple games with an oblique injury. He has five goals in nine games.
No other player on the Devils has more than three goals during that 15-game stretch. Bratt did have 15 assists during that time, so at least he was playing a specific role, but the Devils needed goal-scorers in the worst way.
That’s why keeping Ondrej Palat on the top line with Hughes and Bratt is killing them right now. He cannot finish the puck despite getting many high-danger chances at even strength. Hughes and/or Bratt both find Palat in advantageous situations, but he doesn’t get the puck in the back of the net.
Palat has three goals since January 9th, but two have come on the power play, which isn’t relevant to his pairing with Hughes. He has one goal at 5v5. He had eight individual high-danger chances at that time, showing he was not delivering on the many chances he had been given. (Stats via Natual Stat Trick.)
Hughes just spent two weeks playing with Auston Matthews and Jake Guentzel. He saw finishing talent at the highest level, and he got used to playing with superstars up and down the lineup. Nobody expects the Devils to play like Team USA, but they must score somewhere else besides Hughes’ stick.
On Saturday night, the Devils eventually separated the two at the end of the game, with Hughes playing a majority of his time with Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt. Yes, it was to get the three best players on the ice together, but it was a clear shot at Palat that he isn't trusted in those most important moments. He didn't help himself when he had a chance to score and made a move that gave him no angle to shoot the puck on net.
There are a few options the Devils have to make this work. We’ve always advocated for Paul Cotter to play with Hughes. It’s not the most ideal scenario, but the Devils don’t have many better options. Cotter and Hughes have done incredible work together. They had 19 high-danger chances together with just eight against. Palat and Hughes together have 105 high-danger chances while allowing 101.
The New Jersey Devils have to separate Ondrej Palat from Jack Hughes to get their offense going.
All the advanced stats point to Cotter and Hughes having much better offensive chemistry than Hughes and Palat. They didn’t get the results, but they didn’t play long enough together for the results to formulate. We feel like they would if Sheldon Keefe tried this again.
Another option is Timo Meier. It might sound strange, but Meier has been the most unlucky player on the Devils this season, and it’s been even worse as of late. He has one goal since January 9th. That’s devastating to this team’s offense. Here’s the thing, getting Meier going might be more important than trading for someone. The Devils need him to score goals. He’s getting more chances than anyone outside of Hughes. Yet, he’s not scoring.
Get Meier with Hughes and the Devils will go on a scoring barrage with that line out there. It would take some maneuvering, but that’s fine.
The other option is making a trade. This is the one most people are clamoring for, and it makes sense. Taking Meier away from Hischier just leaves another hole in the lineup. However, if they finally make a move, this lineup will feel much more complete. Could they go after a white whale-type acquisition like Brock Boeser or Ryan O’Reilly?
Maybe, and that would solve the problem, but Tom Fitzgerald has to believe in this team. They have struggled, but the pieces are here, and they are losing on the margins. One finisher at the highest level fixes about 90 percent of this team’s problems.