The New Jersey Devils had to know a slow start was in the cards. They are trying to build chemistry with a much-improved forward unit, but improvement brings change, and change brings lost momentum. The special teams have been bad, and the defense and goaltending combination is a real cause for concern, but the offense faltering is the biggest confidence suck for this fanbase.
And yet, it’s going to be the easiest to fix. What we’ve seen should breed confidence. Luke Evangelista already looks like he has a scoring touch, potting two goals against the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday and hitting another post. Luke Hughes has been an offensive engine, even if he could do a lot better with zone exits. The fourth line looked a lot better with Jesper Boqvist, and now Stefan Noesen is on waivers.
One player who has received a bit of early-season fervor is Anthony Mantha. One of the newly added Devils has zero points in three games this season despite playing on a line with Jesper Bratt and Jack Hughes.
Mantha has avoided the worst of the pain and misery because both Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt are also goalless in the first three games, but Mantha was brought in to score, and he hasn’t even been shooting the puck. For much of the past few years, Mantha has been one of the most efficient shooters in the National Hockey League.
Anthony Mantha deserves patience from New Jersey Devils fans... to a point
We wrote an article that is almost to the word similar back in September. And yet, here we are again, three games into the season, reminding the fanbase that we need to be patient with Mantha. He’s an awkward fit with Hughes and Bratt, but if it works, it will work about as well as any winger Hughes has ever had. He’s a net-front presence that can clean up the crease when Hughes shoots. He can get open in his “office” when Bratt is skating circles around the defense. He should just set himself up for big goals over and over.
There are two reasons why this hasn’t worked. For one, the Hughes line has struggled to get sustained zone time. That should change over time. The Devils have spent as much time as anyone in the neutral zone, showing they have just been volatile with the puck in the offensive zone.
Mantha has also been pretty invisible on the ice. His big body hasn’t been used in board battles or to play in space. He needs to play in space. He’s basically found a parking spot in front of the net. That doesn’t work with Bratt and Hughes. It’s essentially playing 5 on 4.
The Devils should not move Mantha off the Hughes line. There can be something special here, but they need to approach it differently.
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