Six Reasons To Believe the Devils Are on the Upswing Again

The New Jersey Devils’ magic number is down to three, and they have plenty of reasons to believe their playoff appearance won’t just be for show.

Even though the Devils are set to clinch a playoff spot in the next few days, the overall energy surrounding the team seemed very negative until very recently. The Devils were down three huge contributors, they were blowing games, and they looked lost on offense for much of the first half of March. That all changed when the team went to Minnesota, looking to take wins against a playoff team. After succeeding there, the Devils buried the New York Rangers in another home shutout of their rival, restoring much of the team’s vibe to what they were like earlier in the season.

But this is not just a team that stocked up enough points in November and December to sleepwalk into the playoffs. There are real reasons to leave disappointment behind, choosing to embrace hope as the end of the season draws near.

Reason One: Bratt, Hischier, and Meier Are All Producing

Since Jack Hughes’s injury last month, all of Jesper Bratt, Nico Hischier, and Timo Meier have done well to make sure the team’s offense has stayed afloat. Bratt has 4 goals and 20 points. Nico has 10 goals and 19 points, and Timo has eight goals and 10 points since Hughes’s injury. While Timo’s total points have lagged a bit behind the other two, his goal-scoring is what’s important, and scoring more than a goal for every two games played is more than enough to stimulate the offense. Bratt, meanwhile, has regained his early-season form, while Nico seems intent on reaching 40 goals this year.

People do not give Nico Hischier enough credit. When Jack Hughes went down, it did not occur to anyone that Hischier might be able to put the team on his back. But Nico is a first overall pick. Nico has 35 goals. Nico plays all situations and is a constant offensive creator. If he plays like he has been in the playoffs, the Devils will dominate the Carolina top line.

Reason Two: Brian Dumoulin is Helping to Stabilize the Defense

In total, since joining the New Jersey Devils against Winnipeg on March 7, Brian Dumoulin ranks second on the team in CF% (53.33) and xGF% (49.04) at five-on-five. For a team that was desperately searching for an answer to Jonas Siegenthaler’s injury, Dumoulin has been a solid partner for Johnny Kovacevic. He might not be the flashy player everyone wanted at the trade deadline, but Dumoulin has been excellent over the last seven games. During this span, he had a CF% under 50.00 only once (against Chicago), while only posting an xGF% under 50.00 twice (38.26 against Winnipeg and 49.03 against Minnesota). It might have just taken Dumoulin a minute to adjust from Anaheim Ducks hockey to Sheldon Keefe’s Devils, but he has integrated himself very well. One area I really enjoy watching Dumoulin is how steady he is with the puck in the defensive zone, as Kovacevic was turning the puck over a lot between Siegenthaler’s injury and the point that Dumoulin became comfortable with the team. Now that they have played 14 games together, the Devils’ second pairing is now able to move the puck much more efficiently against the forecheck.

Reason Three: Jacob Markstrom is Playing Like Himself

While the initial few appearances after his return from a knee injury did not go very smoothly, Jacob Markstrom has settled back into his 1A level of play with five straight games allowing three or fewer goals. Over the last three starts, Markstrom has held opponents to two or fewer goals per game, winning both ends of a home-and-home with the Minnesota Wild before sticking a nail in the New York Rangers’ coffin with a Saturday afternoon shutout. In these last five games, where Markstrom has given up 10 goals, he has stopped 3.99 goals above average.

Now just three points away from clinching a playoff spot, the team will be able to split playing time pretty evenly between Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen. I would expect Markstrom to play three more games, with Allen getting two. Since Allen was playing well prior to Markstrom’s full recovery, the Devils do have a safety net for the playoffs. However, I would love to see Markstrom take this run of excellent play into Carolina — he is now the team’s true X-Factor in how the rest of the 2024-25 season goes. Since I believe Markstrom wants to win a Cup in his career, I do not think he’s going to care that much about how far people expect the team to go without Jack Hughes.

It’s hard not to believe in him when he’s putting it all out there. His puck tracking has taken a huge step over the last week — just look at his save against Zibanejad on Saturday above.

Reason Four: Luke Hughes is on a Tear

Luke Hughes started this season off a bit slow offensively, focusing mostly on defensive fundamentals with his rock-solid partner, Brett Pesce. As he has felt more comfortable over the course of the year, his creativity has flowed. Shots that would miss the net in November are going in. Passes that got broken up in December are hitting teammates’ sticks. Now, with 16 points over his last 14 games played, including two goals on 1.59 ixG, Luke is picking up for a lot of the offense that was lost when Jack and Dougie got hurt.

It is easy for some to forget how young Luke Hughes is. What he is doing this season is something top defensive prospects aren’t expected to pull off — combining offensive production and defensive excellence — until they’re 23, 24, or 25 years old. Some never put the two together. But Luke is just 21 years old, and he is going to be incredibly difficult to contain when players start getting worn out in the playoffs.

Reason Five: Dougie Hamilton May Return Soon

While Seamus Casey had a beautiful assist in his return against the Rangers on Saturday, the Devils should still get a massive offensive boost from Dougie Hamilton over the next few weeks. Pierre LeBrun reported last week that the Devils have some hope that Hamilton may be able to play in regular season games, after initially believing him to be out until the second round or later. Dougie will pass the five-week mark on his injury tomorrow, meaning he is towards the end of his timetable.

In conjunction with Reason Four, getting a Dillon-Hamilton third pair on the ice would be a matchup nightmare for opponents. Dougie is still an elite, top defenseman in the NHL. However, given that he is coming off a knee injury, he can be eased back into his responsibilities with easier competition, allowing the Hughes-Pesce and Dumoulin-Kovacevic pairings to continue winning their matchups in the top four. Getting Dougie on the ice with the bottom six should also open up a lot of ice, with many deflection goals to be picked up by those who have a knack for it (looking at you two, Mercer and Noesen). Getting anyone who can score at any time onto the ice is a blessing.

Reason Six: Arseni Gritsyuk May Be a Devil

I was originally going to mention Gritsyuk in the above section, as I was uncertain about whether Gritsyuk would sign this or next season. Due to visa concerns, KHL contracts, and the proximity of this team to the playoffs, not many outlets were expecting Gritsyuk to wear red and black this season. That has changed today, with SKA St. Petersburg eliminated from the KHL playoffs. To bring him over, Tom Fitzgerald and the Devils’ ownership group would have to come to a buyout agreement with SKA to release Gritsyuk from his contract that expires around the third round of the NHL playoffs. Today, some accounts on Twitter, including Hockey News Hub and JP Gambatese, began to say that Gritsyuk was set to sign his ELC soon.

So, Arseni may be a Devil this year. I was kind of expecting Fitzgerald to save his Entry-Level Contract year for 2025-26, but going this route would make Gritsyuk available for the playoff run — potentially making up for some offense lost to injuries — while making Gritsyuk a bit happier, as he would get an RFA contract next season. We are still in the rumor mill stages here, but perhaps a reporter will give us more reason to hope soon.

Your Thoughts

How are you feeling about the team following their recent three-game winning streak? Do you feel more confident in this team? What are you most excited to see from this group over the next couple weeks? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and thanks for reading.