New Jersey Devils Stock Up/Stock Down: Tamed Cats Edition

When the New Jersey Devils fell to the San Jose Sharks last Sunday, they were staring down the barrel of a daunting road trip. A two-game set against the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers, followed by a rematch against the Tampa Bay Lightning, a team that put up a crooked 8-5 scoreline against the Devils a month ago.

Since our last Devils stock up/stock down, the Devils played as impressive a 120 minutes of hockey as possible to take down the Panthers 4-1 and 6-2. Unfortunately, they may have emptied the tanks against Florida because they followed those two wins with a 4-0 letdown against the Lighting. Nevertheless, the Devils sit at 12-7-2, good for 26 points, and get a four day break before taking on the Carolina Hurricanes.

Devils Stock Up/Stock Down

Stock Up

Jesper Bratt & Jack Hughes

Last week, Jack Hughes got all the praise, but this time around, it’s only right that his running mate Jesper Bratt gets some love. The two of them combined for four goals and five assists against the Panthers while primarily matched up against the Aleksander Barkov line. The two of them create magic together on the ice, highlighted by the top contender for “Assist of the Year” by Bratt.

Bratt and Hughes are first and second on the team in points with 24 and 22, and the two of them, along with linemate Ondrej Palat, lead the team in expected goals with 4.67. Most importantly, the two of them showed this week that when matched up against a multi-time Selke trophy winner in Barkov, they can heighten their game to a playoff-style and come out on top.

HOLY MOLY, WHAT A PASS 👀

The vision from Jesper Bratt on this pass to set up Jack Hughes is INSANE!

📺: @ESPNPlus ➡️ https://t.co/S5tPrXCygm pic.twitter.com/bpaWm4pfGq

— NHL (@NHL) November 13, 2024

Stock Down

Erik Haula

If there is anyone within the Devils top nine that needs to step their game up over the next few weeks, it’s Erik Haula. He has just nine points through 21 games and has gone pointless in five. His last goal came 10 games ago against the Anaheim Ducks, and his 0.6 expected goals is fourth-lowest amongst forwards, ahead of only Curtis Lazar, Kurtis MacDermid, and Justin Dowling.

Haula has watched as linemates Paul Cotter, Stefan Noesen, and Dawson Mercer show on the scoresheet, highlighting his scoring drought even further. Saturday against Tampa Bay may have been his rock bottom this season. He was a -3 and provided a screen on his own goalie that led to the Lightning’s first and eventual game-winning goal. Haula has seen dry spells during his Devils tenure before, and for the team’s sake, hopefully, he can bounce back against his former team on Thursday.

These two making things happen 👏 pic.twitter.com/D7JGZNEUbb

— Tampa Bay Lightning (@TBLightning) November 17, 2024

Stock Up

Special Teams

We’ve chronicled the highs and lows of the Devils special teams units over the early parts of the season, but they reached new heights during the two-game swing against the Panthers. The Devils power play currently sits at 28.6%, which is fifth best, while the penalty kill is 84.5%, seventh best in the NHL. However, before their game against Tampa Bay, the Devils had both the fourth-ranked PP and PK in the NHL.

In the first meeting against Florida, they held them to 1/3 on the PP, but it was the second meeting where the Devils special teams won them the game. In their 6-2 win last Thursday, the Devils went 3/5 on the PP, including goals within the last 10 seconds of both the first and second periods. However, most impressively, the Devils shut out the Panthers PP, going 5/5 on the PK and stifling any chance of life for the Panthers to come back in the game. They smothered the puck carriers, blocked shots, and got their sticks in passing lanes in what were textbook penalty kills.

Bratt beats the buzzer!#NJDevils | @Mikes_Amazing pic.twitter.com/sk5PBoXzMs

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) November 15, 2024

Stock Down

Fourth Line

Not to beat a dead horse, but the Devils fourth line continues to give them nothing. Since the injuries to Curtis Lazar and Nathan Bastian, they have just 1.29 expected goals for while having 2.21 expected goals against. Also, goalies have a 0.700 SV% while they are out on the ice. To sum it up, that’s not good.

We’ve chronicled how they could go the trade route, free agency route, or even calling someone up from the AHL, but as of right now, they’re keeping things status quo. It likely has to do with salary cap gymnastics that General Manager Tom Fitzgerald is doing in order to have extra money come the trade deadline, but the Devils top nine continues to looked gassed, and the fourth line playing just around eight minutes a night isn’t helping.

Justin Dowling played 7:07 last night.

Kurtis MacDermid played 4:28.

Before the #NJDevils top-9 is burnt out to compensate, something’s gotta change. https://t.co/Uqt9zqe21V

— James Nichols (@JamesNicholsNHL) November 17, 2024

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