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1) To date the John Moore - Ben Lovejoy pairing has been nothing short of a disaster. In theory the two players should complement each other fairly well due to their styles but it simply hasn't worked. I think the biggest reason for this, though, is that they've been used primarily against opposing team's top-2 lines (much more so the 2nd unit) and are simply playing over their heads.
At 5 v 5 the Devils are controlling ~32% of the shot attempts, ~35% of the shots on goal, and have an expected goals for of ~25%. John Hynes needs to a) decrease their minutes or; b) split them up because nothing good happens when they're on the ice.
2) Luckily for Hynes and the coaching staff they have some options. One of which could be giving the Yohann Auvitu - Kyle Quincey pairing more minutes. Despite the fact that pairing is made up of a rookie and a left-handed shot playing his off-side they have been remarkably good thus far.
With that pairing on the ice at 5 v 5 the Devils are controlling ~59% of the shot attempts, 68% of the shots on goal and have an expected goals for of ~60%.
They have played some of the easier minutes but have clearly fared extremely well. It can't hurt to give them 2nd pairing minutes and see how they do because, quite honestly, they can't be any worse than the Moore - Lovejoy pairing has been.
3) Pavel Zacha has just one assist this season but he has played very well thus far. He has made some great plays with the puck that make you believe he is ready to stick around for the long haul. He has also posted fantastic underlying numbers. With Zacha out there at 5 v 5 the Devils control 54.8% of the shot attempts, 61.7% of the shots and 61% of the scoring chances. That he has managed that despite bouncing around on different lines is even more impressive. The points will come.
4) I didn't catch last night's Devils' game (live, that is) because I was scouting an OHL game between Mississauga and Barrie. As you surely know, Mississauga happens to feature a couple big name Devils prospects in their lineup.
Michael McLeod and Nathan Bastian skated on the top line with Owen Tippett, who will be a 1st round pick in 2017, and they were very good throughout. McLeod and Bastian both recorded just one assist but it felt like they were creating Grade A chances every time they touched the ice whether it be at even-strength, on the power play or shot handed. They are lethal together.
5) Sticking with McLeod, I've seen him play live more times than I can count but I continue to be blown away by his skating ability. I'm only 22 but I've been scouting OHL games for five or six seasons now and, Connor McDavid aside, I haven't seen an OHL player able to transition from defense to offense as quickly as McLeod does. He'll be deep down low to support the defense, get the puck and skate the length of the ice with it in, like, three seconds. It really is amazing to watch him do the things that he does at such a high pace.
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