The New Jersey Devils are going into the a very important stretch of the season. There are no must wins this early, and we can’t take too much from the way they are playing. Things can change on a dime, but we can’t ignore how well things are going for the Devils.
The Devils just won their fourth game in a row, and it’s not like these were powderpuff teams. The Devils beat the Avalanche, Ducks, Kings, and Stars. How they won on Tuesday night might be the most impressive.
In Connor Hellebuyck’s first outing with the Devils, they took on the Dallas Stars, one of the best teams in the Western Conference. The Devils dominated them on their home ice.
It was honestly one of the easiest nights of Connor Hellebuyck’s career, giving up just one goal on 18 shots against. It was the 12th game in a row where the Devils beat their opponents in shots, and this one came with great finishing. The Devils scored five goals, but it was the play of their captain that was most impressive.
Nico Hischier scored two goals on the night, including the first goal to give the Devils the lead. He was incredibly patient, allowing Timo Meier to get in position, and Casey DeSmith couldn’t get over as Hischier eventually had an open net. The Stars tried to challenge the goal, but the call on the ice stood.
Hischier then scored the second goal coming out of the first intermission. That gave the Devils the lead for good.
Nico Hischier bounced back from early scoring struggles
It was just a couple of weeks ago we were talking about how the big scorers weren’t scoring. Now, Hischier is growing a lead in the Devils scoring race. He has seven goals on the season after his two-goal performance.
Seven goals in 12 games means that Hischier is on a 49-goal pace. We don’t expect him to keep that torrid pace, but we do think a 40-goal pace is in the realm of possibility.
Hischier has been scoring goals in many ways. Most of his scoring is coming from a level of patience that we’re not used to with the Devils. He will wait for the right shot, and he can stick handle through traffic when he needs to. He’s been doing this as the main contributor on the power play. Four of his seven goals come with a man advantage.
And his 24% shooting percentage isn’t sustainable, but Hischier should easily keep his scoring up throughout the season. The Devils seem to finally have a great team on their hands. Hischier is going to lead that team to the next level.
Add us as a preferred source on Google