The New Jersey Devils are 4-1 to start the season. They’ve looked really good against some quality teams, including a 5-3 victory against the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday night.
While the record is impressive on its own, it’s even more impressive when considering they don’t have nearly their optimal lineup since the start of the season. We knew that Johnny Kovacevic was going to miss some time after suffering a major injury in the playoffs last season. We were surprised to learn that Stefan Noesen aggravated a groin injury in the offseason, and he would miss training camp and the start of the season.
Then, we’ve seen in-game injuries to Seamus Casey, Evgenii Dadonov, Jacob Markstrom, Zack MacEwen, and Juho Lammikko. All those players were expected to either impact the team on a nightly basis or add useful depth at their positions.
Without those players, the Devils have needed Brian Halonen, Simon Nemec, Luke Glendening, and Arseny Gritsyuk to step up. The results have been mixed. Nemec is still making too many mistakes, and Gritsyuk hasn’t figured out the defense style of the NHL. Halonen hasn’t done nearly enough to guarantee his spot, and Glendening isn’t getting the most out of Paul Cotter.
The Devils might be getting reinforcements to solidify their lineup ahead of a tough schedule
Luckily for the Devils, those reinforcements are on their way. Noesen might play on Tuesday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He’s been close for a few days, and he almost pushed to play in Thursday’s home opener.
On Monday, we learned from NJ.com’s Ryan Novozinsky that Seamus Casey’s injury wasn’t considered serious, and he could be back healthy soon.
Does that change things for Nemec, who has had five games to prove himself? Nemec has shown confidence, but that's come with big chances against. Would the Devils even consider Casey as a replacement? If not, Casey will go to the Utica Comets, where they are desperate for help after a winless start.
The big decision comes when Dadonov returns to the lineup. That is where head coach Sheldon Keefe has his biggest decision of the season so far. Who comes out for Dadonov, barring they avoid future injuries?
The Devils have a few weeks until that decision comes. Paul Cotter seems to be the most likely person to come out as of this writing, but almost anyone in the bottom six not named Connor Brown could get held out.