New Jersey Devils Stock Up/Stock Down: Thanksgiving Edition

The red-hot New Jersey Devils entered the Thanksgiving week on a roll. Before their Thanksgiving Eve showdown with the St. Louis Blues, they were winners of three straight and five of their last sick.

Since our last stock up/stock down, they fell to the Blues 3-0 on home ice, exacted revenge against the Detroit Red Wings 5-4, and lost a barnburner to the Washington Capitals 6-5 before thoroughly handling the New York Rangers 5-1 at Madison Square Garden. The Devils comfortably sit in a playoff position with 36 points and a point percentage of 0.643%.

Devils Stock Up/Stock Down

Stock Up

Jack Hughes

Jack Hughes has appeared on our ‘stock up’ quite a bit already this season, and he continues to improve. Already up to 33 points in 28 games, Hughes has eight points in the last three games, including back-to-back three-point nights. His two goals against Igor Shesterkin brought his tally up to nine goals against the talented Russian goalie. When Jack is on the ice, good things tend to happen. He is far and away the team leader in on-ice goal percentage, Corsi and Fenwick percentage, and shots on goal. In addition, Hughes’s dominant campaign has him on pace for 97 points.

Jack Hughes doesn't shy away from the bright lights of Broadway. @NJDevils | #NJDevils pic.twitter.com/rYGidaPe59

— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) December 3, 2024

Stock Down

Dawson Mercer

Rangers goal aside, Dawson Mercer has been fighting it for long stretches this season. After signing a new contract in the offseason, Mercer has just 14 points this season, in addition to some not-so-great analytics. He has a sub-50% Corsi and Fenwick and is shooting a full goal under expected. On a micro level, he took a costly offensive zone high sticking penalty against Washington that cost them two goals, as well as losing his man on a late second period goal in the same game. If the Devils can get Ranger game Dawson Mercer consistently, it will make head coach Sheldon Keefe’s life much easier.

Let the Mercdawg eat. pic.twitter.com/z7FXu4sYx0

— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) December 3, 2024

Stock Up

Luke Hughes

It’s not for trying, but if Luke Hughes’s shots were finding the back of the net, he would be creeping into Norris trophy talk. Despite missing the first few weeks of the season, Luke Hughes has been a monster this season. His eight assists in 19 games are not indicative of the offense he contributes at both 5v5 and on the power play. However, it’s Luke’s defensive game that has wowed people. He uses his elite skating to cover so much of the ice and take away time and space from the opposition, as shown by his on-ice expected goals against per 60 and on-ice shot attempts per 60. If there was any concern about a sophomore slump, Luke has completely nixed them.

#NHL GameScore Impact Card for New Jersey Devils on 2024-11-29:#NJDevils pic.twitter.com/T1UXMlJmNv

— HockeyStatCards (@hockeystatcards) November 29, 2024

Stock Down

Slow Starts

A familiar foe has crept back into the Devils game this year, the dreaded ‘1-0 them’. Before the Ranger game, the Devils had given up the first goal in seven straight games. Luckily, this group was talented enough to fight back and won four out of the seven, but it was an issue nonetheless. Even against the Rangers, despite the early 2-0 lead, the Devils still found themselves getting outshot early and forced to defend. Keefe discussed after the game how he felt they defended too much without the puck for his liking, especially early. The Devils are too good of a team this year to fall back into bad habits from 2023-24.

RELATED: Markstrom, Devils PK Mask Issue vs. Rangers, Sheldon Keefe Says

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