A few New Jersey Devils notes on this off-day:
1) I'm really interested to see what GM Ray Shero elects to do with Jesper Boqvist. The 21-year-old has appeared in just nine of 22 games for the eight-win Devils, and hasn't played much when dressed. That can't be ideal for development.
On one hand, his on-ice numbers are pretty underwhelming across the board. He owns a 42.77 Corsi For%, 42.51 Expected Goals For%, and has yet to be on for a Devils goal at 5v5.
With that said, he has shown some real flashes with the puck. This season is also heading towards a pretty dark path, so it could soon be more about developing young players rather than winning at all costs with veterans who won’t be around for very long.
If the Devils were looking like a playoff bound team and Boqvist was being used sparingly, I think sending him home would be a reasonable course of action. That’s not the world we’re living in. The reality is the Devils are 30th in wins, 29th in points, are likely going to miss the playoffs, and some key contributors – like Taylor Hall – may end up being traded down the road. That’d open up a lot of extra opportunities for young guys like Boqvist.
I think the Devils are going to keep him around and I have no problem with that.
2) I didn’t love John Hynes’ decision to scratch Jesper Bratt and Pavel Zacha vs Detroit. Generally speaking, I like to see all of the best players dressing every night. In saying that, I think scratching Zacha was defensible. Hynes is right in saying his play has dropped off.
Zacha’s on-ice numbers at 5v5 were horrible over his last eight games. In that time, the Devils controlled only 35.67% of the shot attempts, 35.59% of the expected goals, and were out-scored 8-2. Not great! I think part of his struggles are due to inconsistent linemates and being asked to drive a depth line, rather than compliment a skilled line, but Zacha obviously can’t be in the top-6/9 *every night* so he has to find a way to better contribute when he isn’t.
Again, I’d prefer him in the lineup over someone like John Hayden or Brett Seney but I can understand making the change. I wasn’t on board with Bratt sitting out, though.
3) Remember when Jack Hughes was getting caved in regularly early in the season? Oh, how things have changed. Hughes has made significant strides at 5v5, to the point where he’s routinely one of the team’s better players. So much so that he now has the best Scoring Chance For% on the team (51.92%) and sits 3rd in Expected Goals% (55.05%).
Hughes is ultra skilled, obviously, so the Devils generating more – and better – opportunities than their opponents with him on the ice is going to lead to really strong goal numbers sooner than later. He’s coming along nicely.
Numbers via NaturalStatTrick.com Recent Posts The end of an era