Lichtenstein: Hall Aboard? Devils' Star Eyes Early Return From Injury
By Steve Lichtenstein
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Hall's well in New Jersey -- or at least healing much quicker than expected -- and just in the nick of time.
Devils star Taylor Hall last played on Nov. 12 in a 4-2 victory over the Sabres. At a subsequent practice, the 25-year-old left wing tore the meniscus in his left knee, which required arthroscopic surgery.
The original timetable according to the Devils was a three-to-four-week recovery period, but Hall skated on his own over the weekend and participated in Monday's practice. New Jersey coach John Hynes told the media that Hall will accompany the team on its upcoming road trip, though he will not play Tuesday in Winnipeg.
Whenever Hall returns to the ice, it will be a major lift for a team that generally struggles to put the puck in the net. Despite an eight-game goal drought, Hall was leading the Devils in scoring at the time of his injury with five goals and seven assists in 14 games.
The Devils may be in an enviable position, sitting in the eighth and final playoff slot in the highly competitive Eastern Conference with 25 points at the NHL's quarter pole (80 percent of such teams at this juncture go on to qualify for the postseason, according to a stat provided by the MSG Network during New Jersey's 4-3 shootout loss in Pittsburgh on Saturday), but their December schedule figures to be brutal.
If the Devils can continue to tread water for their next 16 games, they should be able to avoid the fate that doomed the other 20 percent.
It won't be strolls around the rinks as 13 of those 16 opponents would qualify for the playoffs as of Monday night. Only six games will be at Prudential Center, where New Jersey sports a spiffy 7-0-2 record. The Devils will face each of the Metropolitan Division's vaunted triad -- the Rangers, Capitals and Penguins -- twice during the month.
This is it, folks. If the Devils have any hope of qualifying for a postseason berth for the first time since 2012, they'll have to find a way to accumulate points during that most difficult stretch.
Like last season, when the Devils hung around the playoff bubble until they were done-in by eight losses in 10 games in February, this team is much more than the sum of its parts. Though improved in terms of overall skill, the Devils still lack the firepower that makes the elite teams in their conference so formidable.
That the Devils have been able to stay afloat in the absence of their most dynamic player is a testament to their unflinching disciplined game and newfound depth. Also, it hasn't hurt that left wing Mike Cammalleri has been shooting flames from his stick in recent games.
Since returning from a six-game sabbatical while tending to his ailing daughter, the 34-year-old has recorded four goals and four assists in three games.
While Cammalleri has rebounded from an early malaise (just three assists in his first 10 games), the Devils are still waiting for their two 30-goal scorers from last season to break out. Kyle Palmieri (three goals) has been battling "upper body soreness" recently, while Adam Henrique (four goals) has been just uncharacteristically ineffective in the offensive zone for much of the season.
On the bright side, the Devils' power play woke up over the weekend, thanks to two Hynes' adjustments. First, he replaced Jacob Josefson with Pavel Zacha along the half-wall and the move paid instant dividends, as Zacha registered a power play goal and a primary assist in the two games. Hynes also paired defensemen Damon Severson and Johann Auvitu on the points, which allowed for more offensive zone time since both are superior to any of the forwards the coach had previously placed there in terms of keeping pucks inside the blue line.
In goal, Keith Kinkaid will again be needed to relieve starter Cory Schneider for a handful of December games. Fortunately, he has been ready when called upon and was near heroic in stopping a barrage of Pittsburgh shots on Saturday before Sidney Crosby was left alone at the doorstep with 14 seconds remaining to deny Kinkaid a deserved victory.
The Devils almost always play tight contests -- 10 of their 21 games have needed extra time and only three of their six regulation losses have been decided by a margin greater than one goal. That means mistakes get magnified. The Devils blew opportunities to cash in on a pair of points over the weekend, falling to the Red Wings in overtime on Friday before coming up short in Pittsburgh. With this upcoming slate, the Devils will have even less room for error. They'll need to bring their "A" game every night for 60 minutes (or more) just to have a chance.
Having Hall aboard will hopefully help them navigate through that dangerous course.
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