There’s enough hockey left to avoid panic, but the New Jersey Devils have already learned a few things about this new-look roster through six games. Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt are doing what you’d expect at the top of the scoring chart, and Nico Hischier has started to find his game. The deeper problem is that too many others have gone quiet, and that’s holding back the kind of balanced attack the Devils need.
For New Jersey, this isn’t just about one or two cold sticks. The team needs multiple forward lines that can threaten, and right now that hasn’t happened often enough. Several players who were supposed to help drive secondary scoring are still searching.
Dawson Mercer is one of the clearest examples. He has just one assist in six games, which is not the kind of start anyone expected from a young forward entering what was supposed to be a breakout season.
Mercer is also a restricted free agent this summer, so the timing makes the slow start stand out even more. He has spent most of his time on the third line, and that hasn’t helped him rediscover the production he’s shown before, whether on that line or alongside Jack Hughes.
Amadeus Lombardi has also had a rough opening stretch. The fourth-line winger has flashed skill at times, and there’s still a path for him to grow into a top-six role someday, but this season has been a difficult introduction.
He has only one assist, even while skating with Cody Glass, who has been one of the more pleasant surprises on the roster. Lombardi’s issues don’t stop there, either.
His eight penalty minutes lead the forwards and rank second on the team, and the Devils have not been pleased with the kind of mistakes he’s making. Too often, it’s a matter of position or stick work going wrong in ways a young player has to learn out of his system.
Timo Meier has delivered the opposite kind of frustration: the effort and physical presence are there, but the payoff isn’t. He’s had shifts where he looks like the most dangerous player on the ice, especially when he’s leaning on defenders along the boards, yet those sequences haven’t turned into enough production.
Meier has only one assist, despite spending much of his time on Hischier’s line, where his game should fit naturally. The same broad concern applies to Anthony Mantha, another power forward the Devils brought in to change the look of the forward group.
He has also been a step behind, though there was at least a small sign of life when he moved down the lineup against the Detroit Red Wings and scored his first goal of the season.
The third line has been part of the issue too, and that starts with Evan Rodrigues. Acquired by general manager Sunny Mehta in the Jacob Markstrom trade, Rodrigues was supposed to bring stability and value as a glue player at center.
That was the role he filled with the Florida Panthers, where he helped them win two Stanley Cup titles. So far in New Jersey, though, he has struggled offensively, and the rest of that line has suffered along with him.
His latest outing offered a reason for hope: he scored the Devils’ first goal with a quick shot from the slot and added an assist in the 5-4 overtime win. It was his first strong game of the season, and the Devils need it to be the start of something.
The offensive slump isn’t limited to the forwards. Luke Hughes has become a target for criticism at the blue line, with his point totals stuck at two and no goal since opening night.
He was supposed to take another step as a scoring defenseman, and that hasn’t happened yet. Arseny Gritsyuk is another player the Devils are waiting on.
Like Mercer, he came into the season with the idea that he could make a real jump and become an important part of the roster going forward. That hasn’t shown up on the score sheet so far.
The Devils are still figuring out their identity, but the early message is clear: if this team is going to score the way it wants to, more than a few players have to wake up fast.
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Devils Escape Needed Win But Keefe Still Has A Problem To Solve
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Devils Still Have A 5 On 5 Problem They Didn't Expect
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Devils Fans Get An Early Rivalry Test Against The Rangers
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The Devils know these games carry their own rhythm, and they will get more than one crack at the Rangers over the course of the year as the two teams split their meetings between both arenas. Still, the first one at Prudential Center has a way of mattering on its own, because every shift can feel a little sharper when these two are on the ice together. For a team trying to build momentum and establish its identity early, this is the kind of test that tells you something right away. [Read more 🡒]