New Jersey Devils power play could be special again this season

The New Jersey Devils had a big night on Tuesday night, putting out what could be their opening night lineup against the outmatched New York Islanders. At the second intermission, the Devils had 32 shots to the Islanders’ nine. It was a dominant performance, to say the least. 

While not much should be taken from an NHL roster dominating what is essentially an AHL roster with a few NHL throw ins, the Devils’ power play looked like it was in regular season form. On Tuesday, the Devils scored six goals, three of which were on the power play. They only had one power play where they didn’t score a goal, going 75% on the night.

This comes after two of the Devils’ three goals against the Rangers on Sunday were power-play goals. 

Last season, some might say the Devils got in trouble relying too much on the power play. Last season, the Devils scored 240 goals, tied with Utah for 20th in the league. Sixty-one of those goals were scored on the power play. Think about that for a second. The Devils scored 61 goals with the man advantage. Only three teams had more, and two of them (Ottawa Senators and Detroit Red Wings) had so many more opportunities. 

Of course, this ended up backfiring on the Devils in the playoffs. With a shorthanded roster, the Devils desperately needed to win the special teams battle against the Carolina Hurricanes. That couldn’t have gone worse. The Devils were the only team in the Stanley Cup Playoffs to score zero power-play goals. 

It’s not like they weren’t getting opportunities. The Devils spent close to 30 minutes on the power play in the five-game series. 

This season, tweaks to the team’s power play might make it even better, sustaining throughout the season and continuing in the playoffs. 

See, the Devils power play focused on opening windows in 2024-25. They had Dougie Hamilton and Jack Hughes trade passes until someone underneath opened up or Jack Hughes found a hole in the defense. This worked out really well at first, but it fell apart once the rest of the league got tape on the Devils’ power play. 

This season, the Devils are focused more on passing the puck to open the defense up. Take a look at Dougie Hamilton’s goal from Tuesday night:

Hamilton gets himself in position after a shot, and the Devils maintain possesion with a poke check after this. The passing never stops, and the Devils keep the Islanders moving. They aren’t waiting for the Islanders to make a mistake. They are creating those mistakes through puck movement. 

The Devils’ power play never forced opposing teams to react. This power play did just that. And now take a look at Nico Hischier’s power play goal. This is one that feels like it would never have happened last season. Hischier takes a shot from what looks like a bad angle, but because the Devils' constant passing and movement led the Islanders to the puck carrier, it opened up a passing lane AND a shooting lane.

If the Devils play the power play like this, and if they have the necessary cogs to make it work, then it could be a lethal unit. Right now, the power play looks like this:

While some are upset with TImo Meier playing on the second unit, Dawson Mercer actually plays the Stefan Noesen role incredibly well. He might have a real shot at 25-30 goals this season if Noesen is out longer than we know.

That second unit is much more dangerous than the second unit the Devils put out last season. While we don’t love that Ondrej Palat is still getting power play time, we’re not sure how this will all change once Luke Hughes re-signs. Will they go with two defensemen? Simon Nemec looked really good on the PP, and it would give the Devils two very distinct units that are different, meaning teams can’t play them the same way. 

The moral of the story is the Devils learned from the playoffs last season that their power-play style couldn’t sustain. They made the right changes, and it could lead to an even better power play in 2025-26.