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Devils Stock Up/Stock Down: Keefe’s Gift to the Blueline; Jack Hughes, Selke?

The New Jersey Devils head into the holiday break riding high and making history. Meanwhile, they could use more from some depth players.

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New Jersey Devils
New Jersey Devils center Jack Hughes (86) skates in on Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins (90) in the third period of an NHL hockey game Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024, in Columbus, Ohio. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

It was a mad dash to get to the holiday break for the New Jersey Devils, but it was a fruitful one, as they picked up six out of eight points.



Since our last stock up/stock down, the Devils got revenge over the St. Louis Blues, got goalie’d in a loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, and picked up two Metro division wins, including a 5-0 thumping of the New York Rangers.

The Devils will enjoy a three-day break for the holidays before returning to action for a home-and-home against the Carolina Hurricanes. In the meantime, they sit atop the Eastern Conference standings with 49 points and just two points off of the top spot in the NHL.

Devils Stock Up/Stock Down

Stock Up

Team Defense

We’re running it back from our last edition, but how could we not, considering the historic numbers the Devils have put up? They made NHL history against the Rangers Monday afternoon, becoming the first team to hold their opponents to under 20 shots for the seventh game in a row.

What the Devils have been able to do defensively has been remarkable, and an indictment of the positive impact head coach Sheldon Keefe has had on this group. Whether it be the defense digging their heels in at the blue line or the forward’s commitment to backchecking, the Devils haven’t given their opponents time and space to do much of anything.

Adding on to the impressive Expected Goals disparity from last week, the Devils out-chanced their last four opponents an impressive 19.16 – 9.57.

Stock Down

Erik Haula

We’ve touched on Erik Haula’s underperformance in the past, and it’s only a matter of time before it catches up with the team. For now, they’re surviving, but the underwhelming lack of production from the 3C position is a red flag. Haula has gone over a month since last recording a point, and his 48.9% on-ice goals percentage is one of the worst on the team.

It’s tough to pinpoint exactly what’s wrong with his game, and that mainly could be due to the third line as a whole not producing. At a glance, it could possibly be due to a lack of sustained offensive zone time coupled with not funneling pucks to the net. Whether it be with Cotter and Noesen or Cotter and Mercer, both lines in which Haula has centered are the only ones on the team with a sub-50% Corsi percentage.

Stock Up

Jack Hughes

There are many words to describe Jack Hughes, but there’s one that does it best: superstar. That’s what he is: a superstar. There are not many better in the NHL than Jack Hughes, and his most recent stretch of dominance shows it. His six points in the last four games are a modest number, but the 13 shots on goal he had against the Blue Jackets were not. He alone accounted for 1.83 expected goals against them, a comically high number for one game.

If that performance wasn’t enough, his two-goal night against the New York Rangers should capped off by an ear-to-ear smile on the jumbotron and post-game interview should be enough to show this kid has moxie. Hughes is up to 45 points through 37 games, putting him on a 33-goal and 100-point pace for the season. He’s producing all of this offense, all while transitioning into one of the best defensive forwards in the league. Maybe the next “S” word associated with Jack Hughes will be Selke.

Stock Down

Jake Allen

With the way the Devils have played lately, it’s become difficult to find downward stocks. It’s nitpicking, but Jake Allen’s game hasn’t been the cleanest. Before his injury, he had lost his last two contests and recorded save percentages of 0.813 and 0.870.

After returning from his injury, he gave up three against the Blue Jackets, including a soft one that squeaked under his pad. Allen ended that game with a 0.842 SV% as well as a third straight loss. Over those three losses, he’s given up -2.36 expected goals. We’ve seen Allen come in and stand on his head for the Devils, and hopefully, with some extra rest during the holiday break will do his body some good before he takes the net in one of the upcoming games against Carolina.

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