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1) One of the more encouraging developments for the New Jersey Devils has been the recent play of Pavel Zacha.
In the first few games, he seemed lost and was lacking the confidence and jump that had people so optimistic in the preseason. It seems to have returned of late and that shows in the numbers, too.
In Zacha's first five games, he recorded one point, two shots, and five chances at 5v5. In five games since, Zacha registered two points, six shots, and nine scoring chances at 5v5.
The spike in individual chance generation has rocketed him up to 4th on the team on a per-60 minute basis and ahead of notables like Adam Henrique, Kyle Palmieri, and Marcus Johansson.
It's good that Zacha looks ready to pick it up offensively because some of the biggest early season contributors are due for some regression (Jesper Bratt is shooting 40%, Brian Gibbons is shooting 31%, etc.).
2) I know Will Butcher is a pass-first guy, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that, but I'd like to see him shoot the puck a little more moving forward.
As it stands, 186 defensemen have logged at least 80 minutes of ice at 5v5. Of that group, only three have averaged fewer shots per 60 than Will Butcher (1.56).
Getting the puck on net is never a bad play and I think as teams start to pick up on his tendencies, they'll be able to cheat towards passes and that could lead to some problems (aka turnovers).
Butcher doesn't have to channel his inner Brent Burns, but firing an extra puck at the net here and there would force defenses to respect his shot and could help ensure passing lanes stay open as we get deeper into the season.
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