The New Jersey Devils hit the ice on Sunday for practice. After a very convincing win against the Pittsburgh Penguins, Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe is trying to generate more offense from the third line, and it looks like he’s making a drastic change to the lineup.
As the #NJDevils look to spark some secondary scoring, HC Keefe shuffles the lines at practice today, spreading out his top offensive talent.
— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) December 22, 2024
Only line that remains the same from last night is the Hischier line.
Lazar skating as extra D. pic.twitter.com/R4kGSupr4w
Of course, this caused some consternation on social media. Jesper Bratt and Jack Hughes combined to be one of the best lines in hockey, no matter who the third on their line was. The two have been together for 409 minutes this season. They've only played 188 minutes away from each other, and some of that is just Jack Hughes playing extra shifts.
Separating Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt might not be a bad idea for the New Jersey Devils.
According to Natural Stat Trick, Hughes and Bratt have been on the ice for 21 goals for and 11 goals against at 5v5. They've combined for 93 high-danger chances, which translates to one high-danger chance for less than five minutes of ice time. They basically get one every four shifts.
Despite the clear chemistry between Bratt and Hughes, Coach Keefe decided it was time to separate the two. This was a move to get more offense out of other lines. Bratt has been in this position before. Under Lindy Ruff, he was often used with many different linemates to try to get them going. In 2022-23, Bratt was on the ice with five different line combinations for more than 100 minutes. He played with three different centers and four different wingers in those combinations.
Bratt has been considered the "fixer" for lines in the past. Even with Nico Hischier and Hughes playing center, Bratt still seems to be the driver of offense no matter which line he's on. While Hughes has the puck on his stick, Bratt is still making things happen.
This is a move that deserves a little time, if Keefe even goes through with it. It’s possible he wanted a different look in practice before going to his ole reliable lines for the Rangers game on Monday and beyond. However, we expect to see some separation for Bratt and Hughes in the near future.