The New Jersey Devils opened their season at home last Thursday against Detroit, followed by games against Arizona and Florida. The results have been a mixed bag. The performances have left a lot to be desired. While there is no reason to push the panic button this early, this is certainly not the start they would’ve wanted. This first step in bouncing back is identifying the problems, and coming up with solutions.
Analyzing What’s Wrong with the New Jersey Devils
Slow Starts Have Been a Killer
What’s standing out the most over the first three games is the alarmingly slow starts they are getting off to. Against Detroit, they were outshot 14 to 6, and that’s not including two posts they hit. Against Arizona, they were outshot 14 to 8 and were down 1-0 after the period. Most concerning, after trying to make a better effort to start faster against Florida, they were outshot 11 to 8 and down 2-0.
Purely off the eye test, this team looks like they’re still in the preseason, which is ironic considering they went undefeated. Much of the forward core has been underwhelming at 5v5. The Devils sit near the bottom in some of the key advanced analytics. They have a -2.13 Goals For Above Expected, good for seventh from the bottom. In addition, they have an abysmal 4.76% Shooting Percentage, placing them sixth from the bottom. The startling part is that despite all of this, they’ve still managed to score three or more goals in every game. However, five of their 10 goals have been on the powerplay, and one was an empty netter. Safe to say the offence needs to step up.
The defence hasn’t done themselves any favours early on either. While this was to be expected given the departure of Damon Severson and Ryan Graves, it’s been the simple things that haven’t been done right. For starters, their overall effort has been subpar and is highlighted by how poor they’ve been on puck retrievals. The Devil’s offence relies heavily on the defence getting pucks up the ice quickly, but that isn’t happening. They’ve given up 10 goals across three games, despite getting quality goaltending. Given the new faces in the fold it takes time to build chemistry.
Offensive Firepower Shooting Blanks
The Devils flat-out need their star players to be star players. Everyone not named Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt needs to raise their game significantly and do it fast. Hughes and Bratt have been electric out on the ice together, and have been in on seven of their 10 goals. However, captain Nico Hischier, newly acquired Tyler Toffoli, Dawson Mercer, and especially Timo Meier have generated very little offence. Those four players have a combined two points, both of which are Toffoli assists. Hischier, Mercer and Meier also only have four shots on goal a piece. It’s gotten so bad in there game against the Florida Panthers, that Meier had one shift in the third period. He sat the rest of the game. The Devils are going to need a lot more from those players if they want to be successful this year.
How to Fix It
Luckily for the Devils, they are still 1-1-1 and have been in every game despite poor efforts. The solution to these problems is a simple one. Get the puck in deep and chase. Easier said than done, but they need to simplify their game right now so they can play their style of play later in the season. The Devils are a fast, finesse, east-to-west team that thrives off of the transition game. However, a temporary switch to going north-to-south and letting the game come to them would do wonders. It looks like everyone out there is trying to do a little too much, and it’s been to their detriment.
Despite their perception of being small, the Devils have big bodies that can play a forechecking game. We’ve seen it last year in the playoffs that they are at their best when they blend their speed with their heavy forechecking to put teams on their heels. Saying they need to play with playoff intensity in October may be an over-exaggeration, but they need to bring more juice over these next few games, and getting the puck up the ice and in deep should help them settle down and allow the game to come to them.
Main Photo: John Jones-USA TODAY Sports
