The New Jersey Devils have much higher expectations for the 2023-24 NHL season than last year. Despite pulling off an Opening Night win, the Devils looked sloppy in the first two games of the 2023-24 season. Their overtime loss to the Arizona Coyotes on Friday night was a mess.
After a strong undefeated preseason, the New Jersey Devils have started off the season lacking chemistry. The Devils looked particularly rough in the first period of both games. Opening Night against the Detroit Red Wings, Vitek Vanecek bailed his team out in goal, especially in the first period. He gave the Devils the opportunity to stay in the game and fight back, which they did, and they pulled off a win.
Night two, the Devils again fought back in the second period. Ultimately, though, they allowed the Coyotes to tie the game in the third period. They were unable to regain the lead before the end of regulation, sending the game to overtime. Neither team scored in overtime, leaving a shootout as the deciding factor. The Coyotes came away with a 4-3 victory.
Here are three Devils to blame for their first loss of the season.
3. Dawson Mercer
Following a solid preseason for this young Devil entering his third NHL season, Dawson Mercer has started out the regular season utterly flat. He's missing the magic that we saw all year long from him in his sophomore season. He didn't tally any points in the first two games and has seemed lost.
Mercer was virtually invisible in the game against the Coyotes. He took just one shot on goal all night. For a player who usually finds ways to get involved, Mercer seemed passive on both sides of the ice. With his success last season and how good he looked in the preseason, Mercer earned a spot in the top six. In order to stay there, though, he needs to get going, especially during the last year of his contract.
Frankly, the Timo Meier-Nico Hischier-Dawson Mercer line has not been good in the first two games. They have a total of zero points between them. They've played poorly offensively and defensively. Perhaps Lindy Ruff should have had Mercer spend more time working with Meier and Hischier during the preseason.
Alexander Holtz spent much of the preseason on Hischier's wing before being dropped down to the third line in favor of Mercer sliding up. Hopefully Meier, Hischier, and Mercer find their chemistry and get this line going soon, otherwise Ruff might need to mix up the lines, which he's known for doing. A shake-up might help Mercer find his magic again and continue to grow.
2. Timo Meier
There are high expectations for Timo Meier who signed an eight-year extension in the offseason. It's his first full season in New Jersey, and fans are expecting him to live up to the contract. It's very early, but Meier hasn't gotten off to a great start. He has no points through two games and has been underwhelming so far.
Much like Mercer's role in the loss to the Coyotes, Meier was invisible. In addition to having no positive impact, he took a penalty for slashing. Meier had the worst GameScore composition on the team according to the stat card by HockeyStatCards on X (formerly known as Twitter). He had a negative offensive impact and the worst defensive impact on the team.
Meier is capable of being a very impactful player, and the Devils will need him to perform like he did last season for the San Jose Sharks before he was traded to the Devils. It takes some time to find chemistry with a new team, so he wasn't to blame for not being as successful after the trade as he was before. But now that he's had time to get acclimated, Jersey wants Meier to be the monster he can be.
If Meier, Hischier, and Mercer don't get going as a line soon, don't be surprised to see them get split up. It might be too soon for a shake-up, but if it doesn't happen yet and the line continues to struggle, a reshuffling of the forward lines could help.
1. Brendan Smith
He wasn't having a bad game for much of the night, but Brendan Smith gets a chunk of the blame for the overtime loss because the game might not have gone to overtime if not for him. Smith took an untimely, bad penalty for tripping in the third period. The Coyotes then scored a game-tying goal on their power play.
During a very messy night for the Devils, Smith was far from the only Devil to have a seat in the penalty box. He just happened to be the one who had the most costly penalty, which is unfortunately a trend for him. Also, in the first two games, Smith has continued to struggle to find his spots. Don't be surprised if he is out of the lineup next week.
Smith has been thrust into a bigger role than expected this season. After Colin Miller failed to impress during the preseason, Smith became Luke Hughes' partner to start off the regular season instead of being the seventh defenseman. He's playing on his offhand side, which he's done before, but it's not ideal.
If Smith can't find a groove with Luke Hughes, the Devils should consider finding Hughes a new regular partner. That might mean Miller getting another chance or Simon Nemec getting the call to the NHL even with the hesitance to pair two rookies together. If the issue still persists later in the season, the Devils might want to look for an upgrade via a trade.
It's very early in the season, and the Devils have plenty of time to find their stride. Their next game is against the Florida Panthers on Monday.
