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Hynes needs to put Maroon with Hall as Devils begin brutal stretch drive |
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By Gilles Moncour
After tonight’s mandatory two-pointer against the Canadiens, the
Devils face the most difficult stretch of this — or just about
any — season: eight games in sixteen days against the cream
of the NHL, including a two week western road trip. New
Jersey will play a murderer’s row of division leaders and
Stanley Cup favorites: Tampa, Winnipeg, Pittsburgh, Nashville,
and Vegas, as well as the three California teams in four days
— with the desperate Ducks, Kings, and Sharks all fighting for
their playoff lives.
Yes the Devils have a small cushion on the last wildcard spot in
the East, but, quite frankly, if the Devils do not improve
both their their overall play and goaltending they will be on
the outside looking in come April. Ray Shero (with either the
blessings or a nudge from the owners) decided to depart from
his modus operandi and traded useful assets for temporary
help: Michael Grabner and Patrick Maroon. It was a message to
the team that the playoffs have moved from the “hopeful” to
the “expected” category in the brain trust's point view.
Coach John Hynes now has the players for four solid lines:
speed, creativity, toughness, and guile are all present from
multiple sources. The new acquisitions have settled in, know
their teammates, and have a couple practices under their
belts; the time is now to click and come together.
Hynes has had a great year as coach, and has dealt with the injuries
and slumps as well as can be expected. Still, he is not quite
exactly Scotty Bowman-like in his ability to mix and match
lines and find combinations on the fly: it took him almost a
month to combine Vatanen with Green to stabilize the defense —
a move that seemed obvious when the trade was made — and he
has struggled to find a proper partner on the right side for
Taylor Hall as Jesper Bratt’s form declined. Now he must make
the move that can give the Devils a chance to hang on to their
playoff spot: put Partick Maroon with Taylor Hall and Nico Hischier.
Yes, Maroon is a left winger; oh well — shift him over. The Devils
can live with a few mistakes in defensive zone coverages if
that’s what it takes to transfer what Maroon brings to the
table to the top line. Taylor Hall needs his muscle, board
work, and presence in the slot and in the goalie’s grill.
We’ve all watched through wincing eyes as Hischier and Bratt
get pummeled and cross-checked attempting do drive the blue
paint for some garbage after a dynamic Hall foray. They are
game for the battle but will almost always some out second
best, especially against shutdown defensive pairings, which
they will face almost exclusively.
Maroon has played the last two seasons riding shotgun for the best
player in hockey, and has the hockey sense and mindset and
skating ability to play with Hall — who plays more similarly
to Connor McDavid than any player in the league. McDavid and
Draisaitl also played a free-form style where they constantly
switched positions on the ice, giving some positive
reinforcement that Maroon should be able to handle a shift to
the right side. Palmieri must find some chemistry with Zajac,
Zacha, Bratt, Wood, Coleman — anyone except Hall — to give
the Devils another line that can score just once in a while.
Early indications are that Hynes will put together the following
lines tonight versus Montreal:
Taylor Hall - Nico Hischier - Jesper Bratt
Michael Grabner - Pavel Zacha - Kyle Palmieri
Patrick Maroon - Travis Zajac - Stefan Noesen
Miles Wood - Brian Boyle - Blake Coleman
Frankly, these lines might be fine for the Habs, but have zero chance
of working out on the road trip. Bratt is too lightweight for
the top line, Maroon should not be in a checking role, and ten
years of returns show that Grabner should not be placed inside
the top-6. I would like to see Bratt (reinstated after his
rest/benching against Vegas) given a try in his natural
left-wing position, along with Zacha, feeding Palmieri on the
second line. Put Zajac with the responsible speedsters — Wood
and Grabner — on a checking line that could lead the league in
breakaways (though certainly not goals). Coleman-Boyle-Noesen
form a great fourth line with defensive and offensive skills,
to go along with their physical play.
New Jersey now enters a stretch that can break them if continue to
play like “Taylor Hall (and the Devils)” and not as a complete
squad. Schneider and Kinkaid, who will both be tested, need
to make the spectacular saves they have been making, while
eliminating the one weak goal per night which has spoiled some
recent efforts. Eight points from these eight games against
the NHL’s elite should have the Devils in control of their own
destiny for the last two weeks of the season. Coach Hynes has
plenty of chess pieces to maneuver around the board — and a
player currently at a level no one in the NHL can touch. But
the clock is ticking and for Hynes to find the right sequence
of moves to reach the checkmate of a berth in the playoffs, he
can afford very few mistakes from here til April.
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