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The New Jersey Devils started the season as well as anyone but their play has fallen off a bit of late – they've dropped four of the last six and been out-chanced by 59 during that stretch.
Luckily there are reinforcements on the way as Travis Zajac has recovered from his injury well ahead of schedule and is expected to return to the lineup Thursday night against Toronto.
Zajac is not the flashiest of players but his importance to the Devils cannot be overstated.
He is the best defensive forward on the roster and, though fans tend to give him a hard time about not creating offense, he finished tied for 2nd on the team in 5v5 points and 4th in 5v5 chances a season ago.
With Zajac back, John Hynes can – and will – reunite a line that was quietly one of the NHL's best when it came to outscoring opponents, which I understand to be important.
The Hall - Zajac - Palmieri trio controlled 53.3% of the shot attempts and posted an Expected Goals For% of ~57% so it's not as if they just had luck on their side. They legitimate outplayed the opposition on a nightly basis.
Perhaps more importantly, Nico Hischier will now be pushed a spot down the lineup.
Hischier has been very good offensively –
just a day ago I noted his 5v5 production and chance generation rivals the likes of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jamie Benn, Filip Forsberg and David Pastrnak – but his line gave up its fair share of chances, too.
That's to be expected when you have an 18-year-old forced to the top of the lineup and facing stiff competition, which will no longer be the case.
Hischier should benefit from easier minutes, more suited for a rookie, and the team will most certainly benefit from Zajac's defensive prowess.
At 5v5, they rank 30th in shot suppression, 31st in Expected Goals Against/60, and were lost without a matchup center capable of playing 18+ minutes against opposing team's best. Zajac's return fills that void.
The Devils' play needs to improve a lot – especially defensively – if they're going to hold onto a playoff spot but getting Zajac back in the lineup is a good start.
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