The Devils have won three in a row and are remaining in the thick of the playoff race as they look like a much stronger team than they did a week ago.
The Devils won their third game in a row last night when Jack Hughes assisted on Luke Hughes’ overtime game winner. There is never a bad time to win three games in a row, especially not in late November as you’re trying to remain within striking distance of a playoff spot. The Devils are starting games better and getting better results. The Devils blew out Buffalo for 60 minutes last Saturday and jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period last night against the Flyers in route to an overtime win. Playing with the lead is way more likely to lead to victories than playing from behind is and the Devils will hopefully keep playing with the lead in upcoming games.
One thing that has started to happen for the Devils recently is more depth scoring, led by Alexander Holtz. Holtz is now up to seven goals on the season, including three in the last four games. Holtz is now fourth on the Devils in goals scored. We are finally starting to see the potential he showed while playing in Europe and the AHL come out in the best league in the world. Holtz’s skating and hockey IQ both seem to have increased to the point where that lethal shot can be unleashed, leaving some of the best goalies on the planet helpless to stop it. If this continues and Holtz is able to put up 25 or more goals, the Devils will once against end the season with one of the NHL’s best offenses and one of the biggest threats for the cup.
We also need to talk about the captain, Nico Hischier. The Devils are 7-2-1 so far this year when he is in the lineup. Having him out for a few weeks early in the year absolutely contributed to the slow start the team has had and having Hischier back is without a doubt a huge reason for the recent winning steak. The Brig Switzerland native really is a Swiss army knife for the Devils. He is capable of playing a defensive role and shutting down other team’s top scorers. He is able to dangle through opposing defenders and score jaw dropping goals. Hischier is also able to play in front of the net and bang home rebounds while taking abuse from the defense. I recently argued on X that getting Nico back would help, but that alone would not make the Devils a playoff contender. Well, Nico has played in three games since then and the Devils have won all three so i just may be an idiot. If he is the difference between the Devils making and missing the playoffs, and he can stay healthy, then I’ll be a very happy idiot as I watch the Devils in the playoffs this spring.
Goaltending is still a concern for the Devils, but if Akira Scmid can consistently play like he did last night, it becomes much less of a concern. Schmid looked reminiscent of the playoffs last year when he was a big factor in turning around the Ranger series. Vitek Vanecek has not played like a starting goalie so if Schmid can consistently play like he did last night, the starting job will be his in a heart beat. I hope he takes the ball and runs with it and the Devil won’t need to try and trade for a goalie at the deadline.
The Devils play the Sharks later today so I fully expect the win streak to be at 4 games in just a few hours. The Devils will then play four games on the west coast before coming home to play the Bruins and see where this team stands against one of the best teams in the NHL.
The Morning Skate 