Every win is important in an NHL season, but their most recent triumph could be viewed as a preview of the what the future looks like for the New Jersey Devils. In their 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers, 20-year-old Nico Hischier had a goal and an assist, 22-year-old Mackenzie Blackwood made 32 saves, 23-year-old Miles Wood had the game-winning goal, and 24-year-old Damon Severson opened the scoring, moving within three points of last season's total (24).
The Devils need their young prospects to continue to develop if they hope to once again become perennial contenders in the NHL and the Jan. 12 win was a prime example of a good day in a season that has featured some not so good days. But that's nothing more than growing pains as coach John Hynes illustrated in his post-game presser.
Hischier and Blackwood are probably two of the best young players at their positions in New Jersey's organization. Severson is in his fifth full NHL season and certainly had his ups and downs throughout his Devils tenure. Wood is in just his third season and although the potential is there, he often times is too fast for his own good or spends too much time in the penalty box. In the win over the Flyers though, all four were key components in a solid team win.
Blackwood was making his first start since Jan. 4 when he had to leave a game in Arizona with a lower-body injury. He looked pretty much just like he did in his other six starts in the NHL, giving his team a chance to win the game. For the past few seasons, Keith Kinkaid and Cory Schneider have been battling to take over as the undisputed no.1 goalie for the Devils and perhaps this whole time they have been just keeping the seat warm for Blackwood.
"I was happy with my overall performance tonight. There were some areas that I wanna clean up a little bit, some technical things but I was happy with my game and the team played great in front of me as well again," said the rookie netminder after his fourth career win.
Hynes was especially pleased with how Blackwood performed during the final stages of the game where he turned aside 12 shots over the final 20 minutes, only surrendering a goal with two seconds left. "When you watch him, he's calm in the net, has tremendous size and he plays a little bit deeper (in the net) so he has the opportunity to see plays and look over people. When you look at him in situations where there are tips and rebounds or scrums, secondary chances, because of his positioning – which he's taken a lot of pride in understanding how to play that way – it allows his athleticism and his size to be in situations to make not only the first save but the second save," said the Devils coach.
Hynes and the coaching staff rely a lot on Hischier, even though he's only played in 122 NHL games. He's the top line center, often playing against the opponent's top line, and while he's not perfect he's shown progression in many areas of his game since he made his debut in October 2017.
The offensive side of Severson's game has always been evident since he first made the club out of training camp in 2014 but it's the defensive side of his game that has left a lot to be desired during his tenure in New Jersey. But it's getting better. It always seems that when he does find himself on the scoresheet the team is usually victorious, which is always nice. But he's still a work in progress.
Wood had a breakout season last year with New Jersey, finishing with 19 goals but this season has been more of a challenge and the goals have been few and far between. He earned himself a new contract and hasn't yet been able to live up to it with only three multipoint games thus far in 2018-19. But he does have five points (2-3a) over the past seven games and perhaps he is starting to turn the corner. How big of a boost would it be if the Devils could add another point producer on the wing without subtracting anyone from the roster?
There are other young players that will be relied upon the rest of this season and beyond if the Devils are truly going to grow and mature as a team. Jesper Bratt, Will Butcher, Joey Anderson, Mirco Mueller, Pavel Zacha, and Brett Seney are all on the NHL roster already. Players like Michael McLeod, Jesper Boqvist and Ty Smith are on their way to joining them. Chances are they all won't be here together at the same time, but the fight is on to see who sticks and who doesn't as an NHL player.