Dougie Hamilton (Marc DesRosiers-Imagn Images)
The New Jersey Devils face an added challenge in their quest for the Stanley Cup playoffs and beyond.
New Jersey’s top-scoring defenseman, Dougie Hamilton, is out for the rest of the regular season with an injury he suffered on March 4 against the Dallas Stars.
Hamilton’s recovery time may last into the second round of the playoffs, Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald told the Krackin’ Canuckleheads podcast on Thursday.
After losing center Jack Hughes for the rest of the season and playoffs due to a shoulder injury and blueliner Jonas Siegenthaler for at least the rest of the regular season with a lower-body injury, New Jersey must move forward without Hamilton.
“We turned the page pretty quickly when the injury happened. We just have to press on,” Devils coach Sheldon Keefe told reporters on Thursday.
Hamilton was only one of six Devils players to appear in all 63 of New Jersey’s games before his injury, causing him to miss the following three games. He recorded nine goals and 31 assists for 40 points, as well as 89 blocked shots, 74 hits and an average ice time of 19:48.
New Jersey played most of last season without Hamilton after he suffered a torn pectoral muscle. The Devils finished 10 points out of a playoff spot despite ranking third in the NHL in 2022-23, when Hamilton had 74 points in 82 games.
The Devils rebounded this season by currently ranking third in the Metropolitan Division and sixth in the Eastern Conference, but they’ve largely struggled since Dec. 28. They have the fourth-worst points percentage in that span at .446, with an 11-14-3 record. That’s caused them to fall from a tie for the most points in the NHL on Dec. 27 to 13th place.
Which NHL Teams Will Remain In The East’s Wild-Card Battle?
What’s helped the Devils maintain third place in the division is the Columbus Blue Jackets’ streaky results. Despite having a four-game win streak from Feb. 22 to March 1, Columbus had a four-game winless streak before that and three losses in four outings after that, including on Tuesday against New Jersey.
Since Feb. 1, New Jersey and Columbus are nearly tied in points percentage at .462 and .458, respectively.
But playing an extended stretch without Hughes, the team’s top scorer before his injury, and defensemen Hamilton and Siegenthaler will test the squad’s depth when it matters most.
It will especially test Luke Hughes, who’s averaged 22:29 in ice time in Hamilton’s absence. The 21-year-old has a goal and three points in those three games on the top pair with shutdown D-man Brett Pesce and on the top power-play unit. Fellow 21-year-old blueliner Simon Nemec must also show what he can do in his call-up but has drawn criticism from Keefe about his inconsistency and missed assignments.
The team’s also pressed on with newly acquired center Cody Glass, who’s playing with new leading scorer Jesper Bratt and Erik Haula. Glass has a goal and two assists for three points since the Pittsburgh Penguins traded him on deadline day. Whether he continues his strong start remains to be seen, but he only has 18 points in 53 games this season, and his career-high 35 points came in 2022-23 with the Nashville Predators.
If the standings remain the same, the Devils will face the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round. Both teams rank near the top of the NHL in fewest goals against per game and in the middle of the pack for goals-for per game.
Get the latest news and trending stories by following The Hockey News on Google News and by subscribing to The Hockey News newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com.
