{"id":436046,"date":"2024-01-09T09:00:33","date_gmt":"2024-01-09T14:00:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/?p=436046"},"modified":"2024-01-08T21:09:38","modified_gmt":"2024-01-09T02:09:38","slug":"new-jersey-devils-stock-up-stock-down-battered-and-bruised-edition","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2024\/01\/09\/new-jersey-devils-stock-up-stock-down-battered-and-bruised-edition\/","title":{"rendered":"New Jersey Devils Stock Up\/Stock Down: Battered And Bruised Edition"},"content":{"rendered":"

The calendar has turned to 2024 since our last New Jersey Devils<\/a> stock up\/stock down, yet the team continues to bring a mixed bag of results. They ended the year with a back-to-back against the Ottawa Senators<\/a> and Boston Bruins<\/a>. To not much surprise, they took down Ottawa 6-2 before blowing a two-goal lead to Boston, losing 5-2.<\/p>\n

The Devils then rang in the New Year with a big 6-3 win over the Washington Capitals<\/a>. Moreover, their season trend on back-to-backs continued as they took care of business against the Chicago Blackhawks<\/a> 4-2, before falling to the Vancouver Canucks<\/a> the next night 6-4. Their rollercoaster of a season has continued in 2024, but a run-in with injuries may knock them off the tracks.<\/p>\n

New Jersey Devils Stock Up\/Stock Down<\/h2>\n

Stock Up<\/h3>\n

The Third Line<\/h4>\n

Lindy Ruff is no stranger to putting his lines in a blender. Since he joined the Devils it’s been a common occurrence of him mixing and matching to find what works. A good portion of the time it doesn’t and he reverts to the blender again, but sometimes he finds something that clicks. And it seems he found that magic when he decided to have Michael McLeod<\/a> centre\u00a0Alexander Holtz<\/a>\u00a0and Curtis Lazar<\/a>. It’s an odd trio, but it has been wildly effective since coming together against Washington. In the three games together, they’ve managed to account for four goals. Through 50 minutes of ice time together they have put up the eighth-highest Expected Goals Percentage<\/a> on the team at 56.6%. McLeod, who is having far and away the best season of his career, has greatly elevated the play of Holtz, who has a goal and three assists in the past three games. The likelihood of them staying together for long is slim, but in the meantime, the results have been favourable.<\/p>\n

\n

My goodness, Michael McLeod! \ud83e\udd2f<\/p>\n

\ud83d\udcfa: @NHL_On_TNT<\/a> & @SportsonMax<\/a> \u27a1\ufe0f https:\/\/t.co\/W9mpYG1lMO<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/QyVWTjWW1Z<\/a><\/p>\n

— NHL (@NHL) January 4, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n