The New Jersey Devils didn't have much to play for on Wednesday night when the Detroit Red Wings came to town. They were on the second half of a back-to-back after beating the Boston Bruins in overtime on Tuesday night. The Devils' spot in the postseason is locked up, and they broke the 90-point threshold with the Bruins' win.
Sheldon Keefe made it clear in the Bruins' postgame comments that he was going to sit a large portion of the team for Wednesday's game. Ondrej Palat suffered an injury after he blocked a shot, so he was obviously going to sit, but the Devils sat half the roster.
No Hischier, Bratt, Meier, Palat, or Noesen tonight up front for #NJDevils.
— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) April 16, 2025
On the backend, Luke, Pesce and Kovacevic also get the night off.
Despite the final score, the Devils did put up a fight on Wednesday. After going down 3-0, the Devils scored back-to-back goals in the third period to make it a game. Unfortunately, this was not Nico Daws' night, and he allowed the fourth goal, which basically put the game out of reach.
However, the final score doesn't matter. Only one thing matters from Wednesday night. It was the first time we've seen Dougie Hamilton since he suffered a lower-body injury in early March. At the time, Devils' GM Tom Fitzgerald said their $9 million defenseman would miss the rest of the regular season and possibly more, but that wasn't the case.
Dougie Hamilton returned to the New Jersey Devils lineup just in time for the Stanley Cup Playoffs
Not only did Hamilton return, but he was the best player on the ice. Hamilton looked like the old Hamilton, and his return to teaming with Brenden Dillon might have solved two issues. Dillon had been struggling when paired with Simon Nemec or Seamus Casey, but he feels right at home with Hamilton. They spent most of the Devils' best games together.
Hamilton was dominant on the ice. According to Natural Stat Trick, he watched as the Devils put forth 30 chances at 5v5 with his line on the ice with his opponents recording just 11 against him. When looking at high-danger chances, Hamilton swept the Red Wings 5-0. When Hamilton was playing, the Red Wings were on their heels.
This is exactly what the Devils needed to see coming out of this game. They could have lost 50-0, but as long as Dougie Hamilton looked healthy ahead of their series with the Hurricanes, his former team, that's all that matters.
Hamilton is an interesting X-factor in the Devils-Hurricanes series. If he can direct a great power play and make breakout passes that lead to offense and take point shots that can get tipped into the net, the Devils might just shock everyone and win this thing.