10 TAKEAWAYS: The Bright Side

It's been great to be home for six straight nights so far.
These days it's rare to get more than a couple of nights in a row in your own bed.
Hopefully, it's a chance to refresh a little, live in your own surroundings, and gear up for the second half of the season. With three out of a possible six points in the last three games, there are glimpses of a team figuring themselves out, whether it's the power play slowly finding its way, a greatly improved penalty kill, and the emergence of a line with two 22-year-olds and the oldest member of the Devils roster, there is plenty to delve into and numbers to crunch in this edition of 10 Takeaways.

1. Janne's Streak

Don't look now but here comes Janne Kuokkanen. He's been on the best run of his short career, scoring goals in fourconsecutive games, and points in five straight. Dating back to March 9th against Washington, the 22-year-old has four goals and two assists. There appears to be some serious chemistry developing between him and his linemates Travis Zajac and Yegor Sharangovich.

2. That Line Doing Fine

Since that March 9th goal for Kuokkanen, the Zajac line has combined for 16 points in five games. No other line has contributed more in the past week. To go along with Janne's six points, Zajac has six assists, and Yegor Sharangovich has three goals and one assist. Travis has six assists to his name.

3. New Pops in Town

I have to do it. The cycle has come full circle for Travis Zajac, and while there will never be another Z.Z. Pops line, but Travis can now be considered the 'Pops' on his new line. Janne and Yegor are both 22, Trav is the oldest (and longest-serving) member of this Devils team at 35 years old.

4. A Three-Week Wait

On Tuesday the team provided an update on Nico Hischier and his recovery from a puck deflecting into his face against Washington on February 27th. He had surgery on Monday, and the hope is that he may return in approximately three weeks.
That three weeks brings us to early April, around the 6th. That should leave roughly 20 games left in the Devils season, and boy wouldn't it be great to have Nico there. He's played just five games this season, and you could see a spark among everyone having Nico back (that type of allure is part of why he was the perfect choice for captain) and had five points (two goals, three assists) in those five games.
Hopefully, in three 10 Takeaways from now I'll be writing about his return (again).

5. Miles' Off-Season Change

In one of his media availabilities this past week, Miles Wood mentioned that over the summer he changed his off-season skills coach and started working with a new one.
"I did switch my skills coach during the last off-season. I feel like that has helped a lot," he continued. "We have a great group up in the Massachusetts area. We have about 10 or 12 pros that all skate together. It was my first time in my career that had that atmosphere in the off-season. And I feel like it's certainly prepared me for this season."

6. Taking Patty's Advice

Hearing Miles talk about changing his skills coach and being on pace for the best offensive numbers in his career (pro-rated if we were playing an 82-game schedule), reminded me of a conversation I had with him early last season. I saw him in a pretty lengthy conversation with Patrik Elias, who was in town and working as part of the coaching staff, and Elias noticed that Miles looked a little too hunched over on his stick when skating. So Patty suggested Miles add a bit of length to his stick, just a couple of inches, to see if that would be something that could help him improve.
I talked to Miles after that next practice, and he said he immediately felt a difference. It just goes to show that Miles is willing to listen and take advice and try and implement it to get better as an all-around player. This leads me into the role he has also taken on this season.

7. Leadership

I won't forget how on Media Day Miles Wood told me in our first interview how he expects more out of himself this year, and that this is a year where he knows he needs to step up. I love the honesty, but sometimes words can come to bite us all in the butt.
Well, so far, not this time for Miles Wood. He's taken leaps and bounds this season, whether it's offensively or as a voice in the Devils locker room. His numbers speak for themselves, his nine goals on the season lead the team, and is in the top five in points (13).
For the first time in his career, he was also given a letter to wear on his jersey. It's not a full-time letter, but when Travis Zajac and Kyle Palmieri were unable to play earlier this season, it left a void and a need for another 'A'. Miles wore it against Buffalo.
"I think I'm the third oldest forward on the team at 25, which is unheard of," said Wood. "I just felt like I don't have an 'A' or a 'C' on my shoulder, but that doesn't stop me from speaking out when I have to."
Miles has been all about backing up his words this season.

8. No Truer Words

And he's right when he says, 'unheard of'. Particularly this year.
I went to see just how right he was, looking up every opening night roster in the NHL this year. I already knew that the Devils and Rangers were the two youngest teams, but I wanted to get a better grasp of it.
The Rangers may be the younger team as a whole, but the Devils do have the youngest group of forwards on their roster. Of course, rosters change, but I used the opening night rosters for comparison, and Miles' statement checks out.
When it comes to forwards 24 and under, the Devils have ten players, while the Rangers have six. As for players 27 and older, the Rangers have seven, the Devils have just three, and have just five forwards 25 years old and up.

9. Penalty Kill Sees Major Improvement

Dating back to the March 7th game against the Boston Bruins, the Devils penalty kill has gone 16 for 19, allowing just a single goal on March 9th against the Washington Capitals when T.J. Oshie scored at the 17:22 mark of the first period.
That works out to a 94.7 success rate, which other than Calgary, LA, Carolina, and Minnesota, who were all 100% over that span, was the best penalty kill in the league. The Devils also spent the most time on the PK than the four teams ahead of them, the Flames had just seven penalties to kill, the Kings eight, the Hurricanes 13, and the Wild had 12.
New Jersey had 19.

10. The Next Generation

We've talked a whole lot about how young this Devils roster is, not just this week but pretty much all through the season. And it's those rookies who have really stepped up to the plate. NHL PR put out this stat after Sharangovich scored his sixth goal of the season on Tuesday against Buffalo:
It was another point for a Devils rookie this season, to put New Jersey at the top of the class in points by rookies this season. Combined, through 26 games, the rookies have accumulated 20 goals and 27 assists, totaling 47 points.