Just when you thought we finally had something positive to say, the New Jersey Devils are hit with another key injury.
Luke Hughes is going to miss some time.
The initial diagnosis is a separated shoulder. Now, we wait to see how long he will be out. At the very least, he’ll miss the next three games of the Devils’ road trip.
But, hey! The Devils squeaked out a win tonight. Simon Nemec played the overtime hero yet again, scoring his third goal in the extra frame this season. The clutch gene certainly resides in Nemec, and Sheldon Keefe makes sure he’s out there when each team only has three skaters on the ice.
And thus, the Devils swipe the extra point off the table, defeating the Calgary Flames 2-1.
It’s their third win in the last four games for the Devils. Two of those four wins are against playoff-positioned teams. Their one loss is against another postseason-bound roster. Yet, their latest win is against another bottom dweller.
No one is making any bold claims that the Devils “are back” just yet. At least I hope not. But three wins in their last four games is encouraging, and is the kind of split the Devils need to maintain the rest of the way in order to make the postseason.
So, how’d they pull it off in Calgary?
Observations
Let’s start with Jack Hughes, who looked more like himself on Monday. Jack’s hand must be feeling better. He was utilizing the backhand a lot more often, which is his top hand while handling pucks. That’s significant because it withstands the most pressure. Evidently, the comfortability translated to his game. He looked to be skating with more confidence and handled the puck much better. He ended the night with an assist and seven shots on goal in just over 20 minutes of ice time. The comfortability with his hand seems to be returning.
Dougie Hamilton continues to prove night in and night out that perhaps the Devils should think twice before dealing him. Honestly, if the playoffs are really the goal, then exploring a move for Hamilton makes more sense in the summer than it does now. Hamilton has six assists in his last five games, four of which are or primary helpers. He even laid a big hit on Ryan Lomberg tonight, utilizing his 6-foot-6 frame. With the Luke injury, perhaps you reconsider and punt this trade down the line just five points of the playoffs.
The good news is that the Devils allowed just one goal. However, the play could have been avoided. At this point, the Devils’ offensive struggles have become so bad, they should be cheating for defense. On this play, Brenden Dillon pinched too high on Kevin Bahl, who passed the puck to Nazem Kadri and the Flames wound up having the numbers. Had Dillon played it safe, there’s a high probability he keeps the puck carrier in front of him with the potential of negating the scoring chance.
Jacob Markstrom wasn’t called on a ton, but when he was, he was strong. He made several flashy saves that were reminiscent of the Markstrom of old. After the nine-goal drubbing, the Devils have been a bit better in front of him. The Flames were contained to just 22 shots, and in his two previous wins, he only faced 17 and 23 shots, respectively. That’s about his sweet spot. The 4-1, 30-save win over the Utah Mammoth seems to be the outlier.
Okay, let’s talk about Lenni Hämeenaho, because that’s a heckuva NHL debut. The Devils rookie totaled 12:38 of time on ice and didn’t look a second improper. He skated alongside Arseny Gritsyuk and Cody Glass, all of whom accrued a collective 7-0 scoring chance differential. Individually, Hämeenaho totaled a 9-0 scoring chance differential. So, what does it all mean? Well, Hämeenaho wasn’t afraid to shoot, registering two shots on three high-danger scoring chances. He also created some offense for others, even springing Jack for a high-danger chance with a simple, effective leading pass. He’s not going to wow you with skill. However, his hockey IQ appears NHL-ready. His positional awareness was obvious, knowing where to be on the ice to both create offense and defend. He won his battles, collapsed on puck carriers for odd-man battles at the right times, defended well in the Devils and neutral zone, and quite literally gave the Flames no ice to work with. The Devils may have something in this kid.
And lastly, what else is there to say about Nemec? He has ice in his veins when play opens up. It was impressive to see how he read the game-winning goal. He saw Devin Cooley become aggressive as the seam pass from Jack made its way to him and chipped the puck by the Flames goaltender instead of jamming it in his pads or shooting it at his chest. I’d imagine with Luke going down with injury, we’ll see a lot more of Nemec on special teams.
James is the New Jersey Devils beat reporter for New Jersey Hockey Now on Sportsnaut and the PHWAs New … More about James Nichols