The Devils have won eight of their last ten games and look poised to regain a playoff spot any day now thanks in large part to the captain.
Just a few weeks ago, the Devils were floundering, falling below .500 and making a return to the playoffs look like a delusional dream. I argued with a fellow fan on twitter that the return of Nico Hischier from injury would not solve all the Devils problems. I argued that while Nico is an outstanding player and undoubtedly a big part of the Devils, he alone would not flip the fortunes of the team enough to get them back into playoff contention. Well, looks like i was wrong. Nico has been back for about three weeks now and the Devils have been great since his return.
Hischier has played in ten games since returning from injury on November 25th. In those ten games he has twelve points and more importantly, the team has eight wins. The stability that Hischier brings to the lineup cannot be understated. He is not just good in all three zones of the ice but he is absolutely incredible in all three zones of the ice. I may have been wrong when I said Nico couldn’t carry this team the playoffs because having him in the lineup every game again has made a world of difference. Not only does he put offensive numbers, but he is so good in his own end that he help to hide the serious issues the Devils have in goal.
Hischier hit 300 career points in last nights win and I still stand by the fact that Nico Hischier was the right pick with the first overall selection in 2017. Sure Elias Petterson has been great and put up more points, I know that Cale Makar is dominant from the blue line and won a cup on a stacked Colorado team. However, Nico’s 200 foot game as a center is invaluable and clearly his leadership cannot be understated since he earned the C on his chest at such a young age and the team has continually improved since then. The strength that Hischier provides at the center position is perfect for the Devils and I strongly believe that one day he will lead this franchise to their 4th Stanley Cup.
The whole world knows that Jack Hughes is awesome at hockey. He is one of the 10 best players on the planet right now. I still can’t believe how lucky I am that he plays for my team. In the last ten games, Jack has 15 points, including a hat trick in the Devils dominant 6-3 win over Columbus last night. Jack is on fire but that isn’t really anything new, he’s been torching the league since 2021. Hughes now has 37 points in just 23 games played this year. He has missed some time with an injury this season but it hasn’t slowed down his production one bit as he continues to prove he is one of the best players in the league right now. But of course, he does have some help to put up these draw dropping numbers…
Bratt almost gets lost in the shuffle when people are praising the Devils outstanding play of late. Obviously Nico and Jack are great, Simon Nemec has come up from Utica and fit right in perfectly, and Luke Hughes continues to live up to his family name. Meanwhile, Jesper Bratt has played in all 28 games for the Devils this year and has earned 36 points himself. He is one of the best wingers in the NHL thanks to his great skating, awesome hands, and other worldly vision on the ice. Bratt is always in the right position to make a play in the offensive zone and is a main reason why the Devils have one of the most dangerous offenses in the NHL.
The Devils will hopefully stay hot in the coming week as they have four games all at the Rock, starting tonight against the Ducks. Hopefully by this time next week the Devils will have officially reclaimed a playoff spot in the eastern conference and will only continue to go up from there.
The Morning Skate 