The New Jersey Devils needed a bounce-back performance, and they had one on Saturday afternoon. After a 6-0 loss a week ago against the New York Islanders and a 5-1 loss against the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday night, they needed a game that showed they aren’t a bottom-feeder team, but rather one that will be competitive all season. 

The Devils defeated the Vancouver Canucks 4-1, and that only tells some of the story. The power play, which was 1-14 heading into the game, led the way, with three of the team’s four goals. 

Nico Hischier, the captain who sets the tone, scored the first Devils goal in the game and his first of the season. He followed it up with another in the second period to put the game away. It’s no coincidence that the team goes as he does. With Hischier getting hot, the hope is the rest of the team does as well.  

Hischier is direct and to the point when he talks. When he speaks, everyone listens, not just because it doesn’t happen often but because he’s detailed in his approach. Hischier is the definition of a lead-by-example type. 

He puts in the work and the younger players follow suit. At 28 years old, Hischier isn’t a grizzled vet, but he’s slowly becoming one of the older players on the team, like much of the core the Devils are built around. Nine players who have played for the Devils this season are younger than Hischier, and he’s someone those players look up to not only because he plays the right way but also because of how he approaches the game. 

After Friday’s practice, Hischier talked about how the power play had to improve. “We need to get better there. I think everybody knows that, and that's why you're trying to put the work in,” he stated after practice. It was clear they had to put the work in for a unit that was a strength in the past but a weakness through three games. “When you try to pepper the goalie and get pucks there, then things will open up,” Hischier added. 

In Saturday’s win, the unit was significantly better, scoring on three of the four opportunities. Hischier set the tone, skating into the high-danger areas and finding the back of the net twice. A good power play leads to a good offense, and the Devils are starting to find a rhythm with both, arguably for the first time all season.

Jake Allen skated in the 500th game of his NHL career. For a journeyman goaltender who was a backup for Jordan Binnington and Carey Price in their primes, it’s an impressive milestone for him to reach. When he joined the Devils, he was a veteran goaltender and one of the leaders on the team.

Brenden Dillon is another veteran, a 35-year-old defenseman who has plenty of experience. He’s bounced around the league and has plenty of wear and tear from his career, and it shows in the battle scars and blocked shots he’s endured. 

Both Allen and Dillon are the leaders who guide the younger players on the Devils. For Allen, it’s about mentoring the two 25-year-old goaltenders to play at a pro level. For Dillon, it’s about guiding a young defenseman like Declan Chisholm, who he’s played alongside as a pair early on this season. 

Allen and Dillon aren’t the outliers either. The Devils have veterans throughout the lineup, often playing alongside younger players who are still maturing into pros. Hischier centers a line with Luke Evangelista on it, a 24-year-old winger who has already shown flashes in his first four games with the team. Brett Pesce is paired with Luke Hughes, who hopes this is the season he makes that big leap and becomes a top-pair scoring defenseman. The Devils hope the combos work. It starts with the vets setting the tone. 

The Devils aren’t a young team and have plenty of leaders on their roster. Some lead by example; others are quick to point out an issue if there is one. Some have already found ways to connect with other players, whether it’s little things in practice or rock-paper-scissors between Evangelista and Evan Rodrigues, where the winner must hand the other’s gear to the equipment manager. 

The bottom line is that the team has the right pieces, certainly from a chemistry perspective, to remain competitive throughout the season. The key is to put it all together. That is tougher because it involves a coaching staff delivering and the talent stepping up. 

The Devils must continue playing at a high level, and like Hischier in the latest game, they must deliver and take control of games. It won’t be easy, with a tough stretch of games ahead that features matchups against the Ottawa Senators (Oct. 12), New York Rangers (Oct. 15), and Washington Capitals (Oct. 17). The Devils want to prove that they are a top team in the Metropolitan Division and can prove it in the games ahead.