Twenty-eight games into the season, the Devils currently have the most points of any team in the Eastern Conference outside the Washington Capitals (who are tied with 36). That's a bit of a mirage, as they've played more games than any other team, and their points percentage is really the fourth-best in the conference. That stat is ultimately the most important, as it will determine whether they are playing for a Stanley Cup or golfing come mid-April.
But now that we are more than a quarter of the way through the season, let's take a look at one stat in which each Devils player excels compared to the rest of the NHL. This time, we'll be taking a look at the Devils defensemen. All stats referenced are courtesy of Natural Stat Trick or Hockey Reference's leaderboard. For this article, we set the floor at 10 games played this season, with apologies to Simon Nemec and Seamus Casey.
Dougie Hamilton - Takeaways/60 - (1.35)
Name pretty much any offensive stat, and Dougie Hamilton is likely in the top 5 this season. He leads all defensemen in shots on goal (90), On-Ice Expected Goals For/60 (5.35), and is third in rebounds created (behind Rasmus Dahlin and Cale Makar). But the question with Dougie has always been: Can he generate more on the offensive end than he gives away on the defensive end of the ice? Now, no one is going to accuse Hamilton of being a defensive stalwart (his xGA/60 of 2.86 is the 37th worst among defensemen), but there are signs that he is more committed to two-way play under Keefe. His 4.87 shots blocked/60 would be the highest by far of his career, and he is currently averaging the highest rate of takeaways of his career as well.