New Jersey Devils should feature very potent 3rd line

The players projected to skate on line three have had their way vs. bottom-tier competition.

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I’ve talked a lot about the New Jersey Devils’ additions on defense – most notably Brett Pesce – and the trickle-down effect they’ll have freeing others to play softer minutes.

I haven’t spent as much time discussing the impact improved depth, and (hopefully) better team health, will have on the forwards. It should be quite noticeable.

For argument’s sake, let’s say Tomas Tatar rekindles his magic with Nico Hischier – at least to some extent – and joins Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, Timo Meier, and Dawson Mercer in creating a fairly consistent top-6.

That would leave Ondrej Palat, Erik Haula, and Stefan Noesen as the favorites to fill spots on the 3rd line.

While that combination of players may not be exciting, the results they could get spending the majority of their time against bottom-of-the-lineup players certainly should be.

Palat, Haula, and Noesen have each dominated bottom-tier competition over the past couple of seasons.