The New Jersey Devils have had some of the worst injury luck this season. But things got sizably better on Tuesday night in Tampa Bay as Dougie Hamilton, Evgenii Dadonov, Connor Brown and their combined 28 games missed returned to the lineup. While the lineup strength improved, virtually everything on-ice took a step back as they fell 5-1 to the Lightning, a night they’ll want to quickly forget about.
Related: Guentzel Picks Up Hat Trick as Lightning Rout Devils
Jacob Markstrom Struggles
Between some poor luck, an injury, and less frequent starts, it’s been a rough go of things for goaltender Jacob Markstrom. While the Devils continued their faith in Markstrom with a two-year, $12 million contract extension, you’d have to believe that Markstrom — a true competitor — is immensely frustrated with his season thus far.
Tonight, he gave up five goals on 3.22 expected goals (minus-1.78 above expected, per MoneyPuck). His season save percentage is now down to .864% — a drop-off of .036% from last season.
It’s only nine games, so there’s plenty of time for him to change the narrative. He’s faced similarly tough stretches in his career and always bounced back eventually. And tonight specifically, his performance wouldn’t have changed the outcome of the game. But the Devils will hope that bounce-back comes sooner rather than later.
Nico Hischier Coming Out of Rough Stretch!?
Even on his worst nights, Nico Hischier does a lot of little things that help the Devils win. But some fans have speculated that after taking a maintenance day on Oct. 25, he hadn’t quite been the same.
The numbers backed that up: in the 10 games afterwards, the captain had just three points (1G, 2A). His overall point production dropped 73% in that stretch. After Andrei Vasilevskiy made a splendid glove save to rob him of a goal, the typically stoic Hischier showed a hint of frustration, appearing to mouth the word “unbelievable” while shaking his head.
But moments later, Hischier finally got on the board as he gloved a puck down, kicked it to his skate, and Lightning defender Janis Moser pushed the puck over the line. Thankfully, they don’t ask how they’re scored.
During the rough stretch, the frequency of his shot attempts dropped 26%, he generated 28% fewer scoring chances, and he drew 32% fewer penalties. (via Natural Stat Trick)
However, aside from his goal tonight, there is reason to believe he’ll bounce back sooner than later. From Oct. 30 to Nov. 8, he averaged just 0.6 shots on goal per game. In the three games since, he’s averaged 3.0 — a 400% increase. His four high danger chances tonight were more than anyone on the team had regular scoring chances (Arseny Gritsyuk, 3).
Luke Hughes Struggles on PP1
Tonight, the Devils’ man advantage went 0-for-4. Luke Hughes, the quarterback (QB) of PP1, had just one single shot attempt as the aggressive Lightning penalty kill seemed to be too much to handle.
This season, per 60 minutes, the Devils’ power play has generated 10.55 expected goals with Dougie Hamilton as the QB. With Hughes, that figure is 8.76 — a ~17% drop-off.
A large contributor to this has been Hughes’ struggle to get pucks through, a trait necessary for a successful power play QB. A whopping 48.1% of his shot attempts have been blocked — the worst mark in the NHL among defensemen with 50+ minutes.
There’s no denying that Hughes possesses the elite skills to be a great offensive defenseman, and even during the struggles with his shot, he still makes plays happen with his edgework and passing ability. But as Hughes adjusts to this challenge, the Devils would probably be better off making Hamilton the QB1, in turn, letting Hughes feast on the weaker matchups of the opposing second penalty kill units.
It’s also worth noting that Simon Nemec has looked confident and poised lately in limited power play time. The Devils experimented with having both he and Hamilton on the same unit, and while it wasn’t a ton of ice time, they had a few nice chances. It’ll be worth keeping an eye on how Nemec factors into this equation as well.
Moving Forward
The Devils — now 13-5-1 — will remain in Florida for the penultimate contest of their road trip as they face the Panthers on Thursday (7:00 PM EST).
