Luke Hughes - Expected Goals % at even strength (60.46, Leads Team)
Jack Hughes may be the straw that stirs the drink for the Devils, leading the team's offensive in Scoring Chances for and Expected Goals, but it's actually his little brother who is tilting the ice the most in the Devils' favor this season. He hasn't scored yet himself, with zero goals on 78 shot attempts this season. But he's due for positive regression in that column, with the stats saying he should have 2 or 3 goals by now and the eye test telling the same story. His complete transformation in his defensive zone is even more shocking. And the key to that for Luke has been his exemplary skating.
Who are the fastest defencemen of 2024-25 so far?
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) December 2, 2024
Using the NHL's tracking data, here are the best top speeds and highest speed burst rates: pic.twitter.com/nlFTx3orAm
He has been using those top-of-the-scale skating strides to smother scoring chances before they start, and his body positioning has improved as well, which has resulted in the best expected goals against rate amongst Devils defensemen this season according to MoneyPuck.
Brenden Dillon - Hits/60 (9.18, 1st among Devils Defensemen)
Brenden Dillon isn't just laying down the lumber on opponents, with respect to a certain family of Costco-loving amateur wrestlers; he's actually the one bringing the boom. He has more than double the next highest Devils' defenseman's rate of Hits/60 (Siegenthaler, 4.5) and has the 10th highest rate leaguewide, behind other noted thumpers like Jeremy Lauzon and Radko Gudas. He has added a level of grit and toughness to the Devils backend that they were sorely lacking in recent seasons and is a big part of the team's overall shift towards a more physical style of play.
Jonathan Kovacevic - Defensive Zone Starts/60 (10.87, 1st on Team)
Kovacevic's defensive pairing has been asked to shoulder the greatest defensive responsibility on the team with Kovacevic (10.87) and Siegenthaler (10.62) ranking 14th and 19th in the league in terms of the amount of times their team asks them to start their shift in the defensive zone. Despite these tough matchups in situations that would be more likely to lead to a goal for their opponents, Siegenthaler and Kovacevic are crushing their minutes, with Kovacevic sporting an xGA rate that is 7th best in the league and an overall Expected Goal rate that is 27th best in the league amongst defensemen.