Three things I'd like to see from the New Jersey Devils down the stretch

While the playoffs are probably not in the cards, the Devils can still make good use of their final string of games.

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While the Philadelphia Flyers, Detroit Red Wings, and New York Islanders continue to stumble over themselves – and leave the playoff door open ever so slightly – the reality is the New Jersey Devils won’t be playing hockey in a few weeks.

They can’t afford to lose more than a game or two down the stretch. That’s an extremely tall order given they still have the Rangers, Predators, Maple Leafs (x2) on the schedule; not to mention they haven’t won more than three games in a row all season long.

That said, the final string of games can still be useful. Let’s take a look at a few things I’d like to see down the stretch.

A test drive for Hughes/Mercer/Holtz

The Timo Meier - Nico Hischier - Jesper Bratt line is excellent in all three zones and they have excelled together for long enough to assume they’ll be dynamite any time and every time they play as a trio moving forward.

If the plan is to keep them together a healthy portion of the time, the Devils will need to find out who Jack Hughes’ running mates will be on a nightly basis.

This isn’t an ideal spot for trial and error in that Hughes is clearly compromised due to injury and some combinations that may generally work might not because of that. Even so, I’d still like to see Hughes get a taste with Dawson Mercer and Alex Holtz.

Dawson Mercer was quiet for a lot of the year and that might just have something to do with playing very little alongside Jack. He has produced 2.67 points per 60 on Hughes’ line this season, which is 1st line production at 5v5. He just didn’t get many minutes. We know he can play with Hughes.

We’re also starting to see that Holtz isn’t necessarily out of place with No. 86. They own a 56 xGF% together – and a positive goal differential! – while almost all of their minutes have come at a time when the team is trending downwards at 5v5. Not to mention, there is a battered defense core behind them. Holtz’ shot, and sneaky playmaking ability, seem to complement Hughes nicely.

But how would the three work together? It’d be great to find out.

I know Jack can’t take faceoffs right now so Mercer not being great in that area (he’s hovering around 45% at the dot this season) is not ideal. He can do a lot of the puck hounding that Erik Haula does, though, and has the talent level to be a potential long-term fixture on Hughes’ line.

Since they have the potential to be a go-to combination if and when the Devils use Meier with Hischier and Bratt, it would be nice to see them get a chance.

It’d be another reference point for Tom Fitzgerald to go off and provide more clarity on if he should be chasing another top-6 winger this off-season.

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