On today’s episode of Daily Faceoff Live, Tyler Yaremchuk and Mike McKenna talk about the Metropolitan Division and if the New Jersey Devils are the favorites to win.
Tyler Yaremchuk: Let’s talk about the two teams that are chasing the Carolina Hurricanes, and with a win, the other night the New Jersey Devils have moved in to tie the Hurricanes in points. They have played one more game, so by points percentage they are just a hair behind the Canes. But, do the Devils have the chance to actually catch the Canes here and with the Svechnikov news Mike, would you call them the favorites?
Mike McKenna: I think so. Especially watching how the Devils played against the Canes head-to-head. You look at Jersey and you look at their advanced metrics, they dominate the Corsi, puck possession and defensively they keep shots to a minimum. I love that head coach Lindy Ruff pressures them, if he thinks they haven’t played their best he will let them know and he doesn’t really sugarcoat anything. An added layer to the Devils that has gone under the radar is how good Akira Schmid has been in a secondary role now for the Devils. Vitek Vanecek came in and set the crease and like Jack Hughes said the other day “man we’ve been getting saves this year and we needed that.” I think Schmid has accelerated his development and I think maybe as early as next year, he’s looking at being a full-time NHLer given how well he has played. Mackenzie Blackwood was in and out of the lineup, they needed that. This is a pretty well-rounded team in Jersey and I don’t see them slowing down even when they’ve had injuries. Now look, even depth guys like Dawson Mercer went 11-12 games in a row scoring goals and you just don’t see that from other teams that are that deep, especially like how the Devils are.
Tyler Yaremchuk: We talked about the production in Carolina, but Dawson Mercer since Feb. 1 leads the Devils in goals and points with 20 in that span. He’s over a point per game over the last six weeks. It seems that they always have someone new to step up and take the reigns. The last thing I wanted to touch on with you and Frank Seravalli spoke on this on the DFO Rundown, we’re not giving Lindy Ruff enough Jack Adams love. That’s a guy who at the start of the season was getting booed by the fans and my hot take was he was going to be the first coach fired. I give Ruff a lot of credit for how he handled this team and the situation since the beginning of the season.
Mike McKenna: Like I said, I think he’s pressed. He’s just a guy who doesn’t let the team off the hook. This isn’t just a young team that you have to coddle anymore, it’s a team with expectations and you saw that when they made the deal for Timo Meier and the Devils are in win-now mode, Ruff knows that. He’s been close before and he knows when to push and I think he’s doing it the right way.
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