Yahoo Sports Devils Need To Solve Secondary Scoring Woes
New Jersey Devils general manager Tom Fitzgerald knows his secondary scoring has been a concern.
"When the first line, second line doesn't score a goal, and the power play doesn't score, we don't score," he said on Monday.
Thursday night was another example. The Devils were shut out for 57 minutes before breaking through and scoring on Columbus Blue Jackets goaltender Elvis Merzlikins prior to the end of regulation.
Luke Hughes and Timo Meier scored in the final minutes in the team's eventual 4-2 loss at Nationwide Arena. To be fair, credit must be given to Merzlikins, who made 40 saves on 42 shots.
But by the final horn, Erik Haula's goal drought extended to 11 games, and while Paul Cotter picked up a primary assist, he has not scored since Nov. 12, 24.
Fourth-liners Tomas Tatar and Nathan Bastian, who returned to the lineup on Dec. 10, continue to search for their first points in December.
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It was not for a lack of trying from New Jersey's third line, as Cotter, Haula, and Stefan Noesen combined for seven shots on goal in Columbus. Despite being offensively snakebitten, they have been contributing in other ways.
Cotter has brought a much-needed physical presence to the lineup with a team-leading 113 hits, and Haula has a face-off win percentage of 55.2%, the second-most behind Nico Hischier. Noesen has played a crucial part of the team's power play and leads the team with seven goals on the man advantage.
Dawson Mercer has been defensively strong playing with Hischier and Meier but only has two goals over his last 15 games and 16 points in 35 contests.
Even with players finding other ways to be impactful, Fitzgerald wants to see more offensive contributions.
"We need more from other people quite honestly contributing wise, without naming any names," the general manager said.
Watching the last couple of games, one can sense that it is only a matter of time before the Devils' third line breaks through and provides the additional scoring New Jersey will need to stay at the top of the Eastern Conference.
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