There are a few players New Jersey Devils fans wouldn’t mind improving their respective games, but there are others who may have gotten off to better-than-advertised starts. One player jumps out, and they’ve seen more ice time lately thanks to their overall productivity.
But, over the past five games, Stefan Noesen has played 15:31 or longer four times, yet his productivity hasn’t been there like it was earlier this season. Yeah, I’ll give him credit; Noesen’s got 18 shots on goal in that frame, but has come up empty.
In one particular contest vs. the Seattle Kraken, his shots reached the net an eye-popping nine times, but they never found twine.
Hey, the effort is there, and Noesen’s play this season meant he deserved a few more minutes than what he’s been used to previously. When you look at his statistics, 13 goals and 22 points in 32 games, plus an 18.8 shooting percentage, means someone who averaged just 11:52 per game last season should be on the ice more.
Plus, if you factor in when Noesen started to see significantly more ice time, which began on November 7th, his numbers weren’t bad initially. In the 12 games preceding his current pointless streak, Noesen logged seven goals and nine points, so you can’t blame coach Sheldon Keefe for upping his minutes.
Stefan Noesen shouldn’t be a full-time top-six player for the New Jersey Devils
So, Noesen’s uptick in productivity this season, something that continued when he received more ice time, tells me he can handle playing 16-plus minutes per game. But, with his recent cold streak, Noesen may ultimately be that player who you sprinkle in for top-six minutes some of the time, but not full time.
Overall, it would be best to see the Devils keep Noesen’s ice time limited to something around 14-15 minutes per game, on average. Then, once he proves he can stay hot, give him another two or three minutes for a few contests before reverting him to lesser ice time.
This could play in both Noesen’s and the Devils favor, letting him increase his ice time in stints as opposed to something that’s on a rolling basis month to month. It may be counterintuitive to some, but Noesen looks like a player who will keep producing even if he’s averaging fewer than 15 minutes per game.
And, this strategy could keep opponents guessing. This would even go further should Noesen work well with multiple players across multiple lines.
Again, there was nothing wrong with giving him more ice time, and you can more than argue that he deserved it. But, with a team as good as the Devils, going five games without a point isn’t the best look, especially if he’s been, for the most part, averaging more ice time since November 7th.