The New Jersey Devils are once again getting bodies back into the lineup after another week of devastating injuries. Jack Hughes, Zack MacEwen, and Cody Glass all suffered serious injuries in the aftermath of their win against the Chicago Blackhawks. The Devils are keeping this thing together with used Scotch tape and chewed up bubble gum.
The Devils are still winning games despite the injuries. They are first in the Eastern Conference with 27 points after a shootout win against the Washington Capitals on Saturday. They literally announced earlier that day that Hughes would be out for eight weeks. They didn’t care about the odds that were against them. They just went out and won the game.
Now, after fighting through that adversity, they are starting to get a few people back in the lineup.
On Monday, we learned that Dougie Hamilton, Connor Brown, and Evgenii Dadonov are joining the Devils for the rest of their road trip. The Devils head down to the Sunshine State on Tuesday for games against the Tampa Bay Lightning and the Florida Panthers.
We know where Hamilton and Brown would end up in the lineup. Brown jumped into the top six, playing next to Timo Meier and Dawson Mercer. This gives them an interesting second line that could score goals at a surprising rate. Hamilton was practicing alongside Dennis Cholowski, which is a strange pairing, to say the least.
We don’t know where Dadonov will play. Head coach Sheldon Keefe said it was a “pleasant surprise” that Dadonov was able to practice fully. He suffered a broken hand against the Carolina Hurricanes in the first game of the season, and he hasn’t been seen since.
Back then, he was playing on a line with Jesper Bratt and Jack Hughes. It was early, but we were starting to see chemistry with that line. Hughes hasn’t felt that good with a veteran since he was playing with Tyler Toffoli, at least, that’s how it appeared.
With Hughes on the shelf until January, the Devils need a new plan for Dadonov. He didn’t play with any line combinations on Monday, instead acting as the extra forward. However, if he is ready to go on Tuesday, we can’t see the Devils holding out of the line.
Finding a new line for Evgenii Dadonov is not easy
We see two distinct places for him. He can either play on the top line, pushing Jesper Bratt to the second line with Mercer and Meier, and pushing Brown to the bottom six, or he could play on that third line, pushing Stefan Noesen to the third line. The first line gives him a chance to play with dynamic playmaker Arseny Gristyuk, but the third line probably does a better job spreading the offensive wealth.
It’s a strange fit at the current moment, but that’s because we haven’t seen Dadonov playing alongside these names.
It’s more likely he will play against Florida, which will give him a chance to practice with his new line. Either way, it’s great to start to get a normal lineup, even if Hughes, Glass, MacEwen, and others are still weeks away.