Keefe: Which Devils Are Stepping Up in Absence of Jack Hughes, Key Players?

NEWARK—It was never going to be easy, but the New Jersey Devils are, in fact, sustaining a moderate level of success without their best player.

When Jack Hughes went down with season-ending shoulder surgery, plenty of folks were ready to write off the Devils, advising they pack it in for next season. However, you walk into a locker room and try to tell a bunch of players not to give it their all every night.

The fact of the matter is that the Devils still have the bones of a strong team without Jack Hughes, while also dealing with key injuries to Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler.

To combat the absence of the Swiss-defenseman, general manager Tom Fitzgerald acquired Brian Dumoulin from the Anaheim Ducks. It’s not exactly a one-for-one replacement, but it’s good enough alongside Johnathan Kovacevic to keep a defensively responsible pair intact.

No one was replacing the void Hughes leaves externally. Internally, perhaps no one can quite reach his level. However, there is one player who has similarly replicated Hughes’ on-ice presence. And on the blueline, Hamilton’s offense would be missed, if the Devils weren’t seeing that void filled as well.

Even before Hughes was hurt, the Devils were middling. Post-Hughes injury, they remain in that mushy middle with a 5-5-0 record since their superstars season ending surgery. Recently, the Devils’ play has taken a turn for the better, and there are a few players who are stepping when New Jersey needs it most.

Timo Meier

A reminder that as the Devils go, Timo Meier will be the engine that moves them.

RELATED: In Jack Hughes’ Absence, Timo Meier Must Drive Devils

Since Hughes has gone down with injury, Meier has three goals and five points. Yet, pucks have been falling his way a bit more in the last handful of games, as the Swiss-forward has two goals and three points in New Jersey’s last four tilts.

“It’s definitely nice. But you got to work towards it,” Meier explained after scoring in a 5-3 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. “And great job, also, by Nico and Noesen who does a good job of hunting, staying on pucks. That’s how we get pucks back and spend more time in the offensive zone. So we got to continue to do that. I think there’s still a lot there that we can even be better as a line. But, just build on it. And like I said, keep getting the pucks to the net and crash and the bounces are going to go in eventually.”

Meier has been much more than just a goalscorer lately, though.

The Devils’ highest paid forward has a similar commanding presence on the ice as Hughes does. Jack’s might be a little more flashy, whereas Meier’s is a crash and bang type of occupancy.

However, Meier can take over a shift with his speed and skill, facilitate play, and flip a game on its head while looking a step above the rest on any given shift.

Meier proved that to be true again on Tuesday when the Devils were on their heels are forking over two goals that surrendered a three-goal lead.

Severing Columbus’ momentum, Meier transitioned the puck deep into the Blue Jackets’ zone, and rifled a shot past Elvis Merzlikins to regain a multi-goal lead for New Jersey.

Keefe recognized how vital Meier’s role has been for a while now.

“Yeah, he’s been huge. I talked about it this morning, just on how there are extra touches and, a little extra time and all of that,” said Keefe. “The game just starts to open up a little bit more. I think we had talked about it before, even before Jack’s injury. Timo was really starting to come on. I can’t remember where we were now on that road trip, but Timo was playing some really good hockey, and it was really ramping up. And good timing for us, of course, losing Jack. To have him find another level and starting to get pucks to fall in.”

Luke Hughes

Luke Hughes‘ defining moment this season felt like it came before brother Jack went down with injury, and well before Hamilton was put on the shelf.

In a 3-2 shootout victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins, Luke accrued the most ice time among Devils skaters (29:45), and second most in the contest to Erik Karlsson (30:11).

From that point on, Hughes’ ice time has skyrocketed from an average of 19:55, to an average of 23:26 in his last 12 games.

Tuesday’s pivotal clash with the Blue Jackets was another game where Hughes was among the time on ice leaders (22:30). He accrued a goal and power play assist in that time, and was deployed late in the game when the Devils’ needed to maintain their lead.

To Luke, he knows he’s being forced to grow a bit amid injuries.

“Yeah, I think, just another step in my growth. We have a lot of guys out right now, and a lot of guys have to step up,” Hughes explained. “We’re in a massive push for the playoffs right now. So, guys just need to step up, and we got to keep going as a team and as a collective.”

Keefe explained that the injuries to Hamilton and Siegenthaler led to opportunity for others. Luke has grabbed the bull by the horns, establishing himself as the de facto No.1 defenseman for the Devils.

“Well, we have two very important defensemen out, so that’s the first part of it. So you need guys to step up, but he’s another guy, I think, with just more touches, more minutes, you get more involved in the game, and you’re more engaged,” Keefe explained.

“But I think he’s a young player that just every game is just going to keep growing. Confidence is going to keep growing. He’s got special abilities. And so when he’s engaged, and he’s being responsible with the puck, making the right reads, and the right plays, it’s easy to just keep putting him over the boards.”

Devils Honorable Mention

We’d be remiss to exclude the play of Jesper Bratt, who collected three points (1g, 2a) in the Devils’ victory on Tuesday.

He’s well on his way to breaking the Devils’ single season record for assists, having collected 55 in 66 games thus far. With 16 games to go, Bratt requires just five apples to match Scott Stevens’ record of 60 assists in a single season, six to break the record.

Realistically, Bratt has the tools to do that in two games if he really wanted to.

Bratt isn’t so much filling Jack Hughes’ void as much as he is just continuing his offensive dominance he’s displayed all season. Without him, the Devils would be much worse than they already are while navigating their way to the postseason minus key players.

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