The Devil’s Hughes & Meier sees a big defense under Keefe – Hockey Writer –
When the New Jersey Devils struggle this season, it’s not usually because of a lack of defense. According to Natural Stat Trick, their 220 goals allowed (2.68 per game) to rank fifth in the NHL. In many cases, it freed them from some pretty rough offensive performances.
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Of course, most success can be mentioned with an improved defensive core, which is full of stable and reliable veterans. But the forwards also played an important role in team defense. Star forwards Jack Hughes and Timo Meier both saw huge improvements in the category, as did most forwards in the first season with head coach Sheldon Keefe.
Jack Hughes’s huge steps
As an offensive striker, Hughes was not a person who performed well in hockey defense before. In addition to the shortened shared season in 2020-21, senior figures from Ronno Hockey show that Hughes has been under the league average for every season of his career.
Under Keefe, this has changed dramatically. Hughes is at the 81% of the league’s defensive influence this season, making him one of the better defensive forwards in the league. Hughes made the second biggest improvement in the Devil, rising from the 40th percentage point to the 81st in just one season. That one fell behind Meyer.
In fact, Hughes became so reliable on defense that he became the midstream tay pillar for fine killing. Within more than 51 minutes of killing time, the Devil leads the opponent 2-1. Hughes’ 30.03 expected target (XGF%) triggered the entire NHL in those cases, which is not that close. The next closest is Brad Marchand with XGF% of 26.34.
When Keefe started deploying him in this situation, he said, “(Jack) is smart. You know, I saw enough five-to-five pieces from Jack’s commitment level.
When Hughes was on the ice this season, the opposition averaged just 2.21 goals per 60 minutes (GF/60). That was the sixth place among the Devils’ forwards, but they also scored 3.15 gf/60 on the ice. None of the five better defensive forwards exceeded 2.52 gf/60 (Nico Higen). Very rare for players That The offense is so talented and defense is so high. Hughes’ pace was about 93 points, adding 16 points before he was injured at the end of the season.
Timo Meier’s complete defense overhaul
If you think Hughes is sprinting, wait till you see this: Meier went from one of the worst defensive forwards in the entire league last season (8%) to the best one now (87th percentile). He is often criticized for sometimes trying to complete opportunities, but no doubt Meyer is still a huge purity positive. In the long run, his progress in defense will benefit the team.
When Meyer was on ice this season, the opposition only scored 1.65 gf/60, which put all the Devils forwards and behind Jonas Siegenthaler (1.56 gf/60) across the team. While he kept running and only had 26 points and his bar was low, the Devil still had a 59.26% goal share when on the ice. This led to the Devil and ranked 24th out of 157 NHL forwards, playing more than 1,000 minutes.
Furthermore, it is precisely the lack of completion that hinders Meier’s defensive progress. With the chance he generates, if he finishes the game at the league average, that would push him to have the fourth highest goal rate in the entire NHL (64.44%).
It’s also important to note that Meier didn’t often use the highest strength game before Hughes fell, and then he scored 10 goals in 20 games, a 41-goal pace throughout the season. If he can maintain the same defensive ability and get the last touch, plus the highest strength game time, he will be an absolute monster.
2nd grade store!
These numbers are good signs, but even if healthy, the Devil has some work to do in the offseason to ensure they can be seen as contenders. With Brad Shaw’s promising future as an assistant, many players now comfortable in Keefe’s system, the right move will put them in a good position.
