Brett Pesce - Shots Blocked/Game (2.2, Leads Team)
Pesce may be the single signing this offseason that has transformed the Devils' identity more than any of Tom Fitzgerald's other brilliant offseason moves. He is fully committed to defensive, winning hockey, as evidenced by his team-leading 2.2 blocked shots per game. This brand of hockey was on full display during the Devils' dominant win over the Rangers, where Pesce blocked the Rangers' shots repeatedly on the penalty kill.
All that has led to Pesce being 25th out of 223 qualifying defensemen league-wide in the stat and the Devils blocking more than 30% of shot attempts as a team. Speaking of blocked shots, Pesce is also showing a remarkable aptitude for getting unblocked shots on net, as he leads the team with only 18.7% of his unblocked shots missing the net.
Jonas Siegenthaler - Penalty Kill Scoring Chances For % (17.24%, 1st on Devils, 11th among NHL defensemen)
Jonas Siegenthaler has long been one of the Devils' most important defenders on the team's penalty kill. He's third on the team in PK ice time behind Jonathan Kovacevic and Brenden Dillon, just ahead of Brett Pesce. Siegenthaler has been excellent at suppressing chances for the opposing team and generating scoring chances the other way. He's been on the ice for the least high-danger chances against among the Devils PK defenders, and he has generated the most high-danger shorthanded scoring chances for (4) among Devils defensemen.
While the Devils are only killing penalties at the 13th best rate in the league (80.7%), that's mostly because the team is not getting timely saves, with their goalies putting up an .840 SV% on the PK that is 10th worst in the league.