New Jersey Devils season snapshot

With the NHL pausing the 2019-20 regular season on March 12 due to the concerns surrounding the coronavirus, NHL.com is taking stock of each of the League's 31 teams.
Today, a snapshot of the New Jersey Devils at the pause:

New Jersey Devils

Record:28-29-12, 68 points
Playoff position: Thirteen points behind Carolina Hurricanes and Columbus Blue Jackets for first wild card into Stanley Cup Playoffs from Eastern Conference.
The Devils have fallen short of expectations after a promising offseason that included the selection of center Jack Hughes with the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, trading for defenseman P.K. Subban (Nashville Predators) and forward Nikita Gusev (Vegas Golden Knights), and signing free agent forward Wayne Simmonds.
Though players and management believe better times are ahead, the early struggles led to some major changes. After a 9-13-4 start, the Devils fired coach John Hynes and replaced him with Alain Nasreddine on Dec. 3.
More Devils season snapshot coverage: Awards | Fantasy honors | Memorable moments
They traded pending unrestricted free agent forward Taylor Hall to the Arizona Coyotes for two draft picks and three prospects on Dec. 16, and fired general manager Ray Shero and replaced him with Tom Fitzgerald on Jan. 12. Former Devils goalie Martin Brodeur was named adviser for hockey operations.
The Devils were second-to-last in the Eastern Conference when Nasreddine took over. They're 19-16-8 (11th in the conference), No. 1 in the NHL in penalty killing (86 percent), and tied for 16th with the Golden Knights on the power play (21.2 percent) since the coaching change.
Right wing Kyle Palmieri has scored at least 25 goals for the fourth time in five seasons, center Pavel Zacha has an NHL career-high 32 points (eight goals, 24 assists), forward Jesper Bratt set his NHL high with 16 goals, and center Nico Hischier has taken on more of a leadership role and is thriving on face-offs (51.7 percent). Gusev is second on the Devils with 44 points (13 goals, 31 assists) and 15 power-play points (five goals, 10 assists) in 66 games.
Mackenzie Blackwood has emerged as the future in goal. The rookie is 22-14-8 with a 2.77 goals-against average and .915 save percentage in 47 games (43 starts).

Breakout player

Nikita Gusev:He leads the Devils with 32 points (eight goals, 24 assists) and 14 power-play points (five goals, nine assists) in 43 games since Nasreddine was named coach. He had 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in 10 games before the pause.

Statement win

Devils 3, Washington Capitals 2, Feb. 22:The Capitals rallied from down 2-0 to tie the game 2-2 when Alex Ovechkin scored his 700th NHL goal 4:50 into the third period. Devils defenseman Damon Severson responded by scoring a power-play goal with 1:59 left in the third period for the win. Blackwood made 33 saves to become the first New Jersey goalie to win six in a row since Brodeur and Johan Hedberg each did so in 2010-11.

Most compelling game

Devils 1, Vancouver Canucks 0, Oct. 19:The first NHL showdown between brothers Jack Hughes and Canucks defenseman Quinn Hughes happened in front of 75 family members and friends at Prudential Center. Jack scored his first NHL goal 14:08 into the first period. Quinn, the No. 7 pick in the 2018 NHL Draft, made a sensational move on a zone exit early in the third period that enabled him to skate by Jack at the Canucks blue line.