Devils Go Streaking
The Devils are riding a Three-Game winning streak heading into Boston to close out 2023
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In today’s edition, we feature articles about the 3M line driving success, confidence in the rookie defenseman, takeaways from the three-game winning streak, and much more; please share this free substack with your hockey fan friends and family so they can subscribe and enjoy all the latest.
Now on to the good stuff….
McLeod, Meier, & Mercer Driving Devils to Success
December 30, 2023 by Josh Reinitz
Devils head coach Lindy Ruff has become notorious for his line shuffling, often searching within games, shift to shift, for combinations that work. When he does find a combination that produces, he is willing to keep the group together for as long as it continues to prosper. Over the last week, Ruff has tinkered with Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier’s linemates, but he has left intact one line: Michael McLeod, Timo Meier, and Dawson Mercer. He described seeking chemistry through line construction, “It’s something that you hope you find with any team that you are with. You want lines to click, and you know that for good periods of time, a line will stay together.”
3 Takeaways From Devils’ Dominant 6-2 Win Over Senators
December 30, 2023, by Erica Rosenbaum
The New Jersey Devils and Ottawa Senators met for the first of three matchups between the teams. Both teams entered the game on a two-game winning streak. However, the Senators entered with only five wins in December. New Jersey’s December record showed immense improvement from their November record as the team is finally getting healthier.
Ottawa sits in eighth in the Atlantic Division and is without defenseman Thomas Chabot, and forwards Mathieu Joseph and Rourke Chartier. The Devils have been without Dougie Hamilton for a long time and Tomas Nosek is still on injured reserve as well. Curtis Lazar will miss his second straight game with a lower-body injury.
The goaltending matchup was Nico Daws versus Joonas Korpisalo. Daws made his season debut after undergoing off-season hip labrum surgery. The 23-year-old appeared in his 26th NHL game. Korpisalo made his 21st start of the season. He entered the game with a record of 7-11-0, a save percentage (SV%) of .894, and a goals-against average (GAA) of 3.53.
With the New Year around the corner, both teams were looking for important wins and the Devils dominated the majority of the game and earned the 6-2 win over Ottawa.
Devils’ Confidence in Rookies, Nemec, and Hughes Paying Off
December 28, 2023, by Josh Reinitz
Earlier in the summer, after the New Jersey Devils chose to allow Damon Severson and Ryan Graves to leave and take their more than 900 games of combined NHL play with them to the Columbus Blue Jackets and Pittsburgh Penguins, many speculated that the Devils would find a way to play two rookies among their back six – Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec. Reports from the NHL Awards and Draft were that head coach Lindy Ruff was not enamored with the idea of playing two rookies on defense to begin the season. The Devils signaled their reticence by acquiring Colin Miller to fill the slot vacated by Severson.
The team chose to begin the season with only Hughes on the NHL roster, and Nemec was ultimately sent down to the American Hockey League (AHL) despite excelling in the preseason. This was exacerbated by the team beginning the season with only six defensemen as Miller would head to injured reserve.
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