Ondrej Palat Scores Against Former Team
The legendary former Bolts winger recovered from an injury just in time to play where his career peaked - against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports - Ondrej Palat Scores Against Former TeamThe New Jersey Devils visited balmy Tampa, Florida to face the even hotter Tampa Bay Lightning last night. The Lightning sit in third place in the Atlantic division while the Devils are on the outside looking in - six points behind the Detroit Red Wings for the final Wild Card position in the Eastern Conference.
Among the Devils' roster is second-line winger Ondrej Palat. The Czech is a Tampa Bay Lightning legend, and only moved to the Devils in 2022.
Sadly, the 32-year-old has gone downhill with the Devils this season, with only five goals and 14 points in 36 games so far. His production value is sub-par at a point every 40 minutes and 19 seconds.
But Palat remains a good additional winger to play alongside the stars of his team. He is a good helper to his linemate, winger Tyler Toffoli, who is the team's top goal-scorer at 20 so far this season. Palat improving his assist count would help Toffoli even more.
If he took more shots, averaging 1.75 shots per game this season, he would also be of aid by taking assists from the likes of winger Jesper Bratt and centreman Jack Hughes, who lead the team with 31 and 30 assists, respectively.
The Bolts invested millions of dollars in Palat between over a decade on the team between 2011 and 2022, and it paid off, with him contributing greatly to their 2020 and 2021 Stanley Cup championships.
He scored 15 goals and 46 points during the latter season.
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The peak of his career was between about 2013 and 2017, scoring 59, 63, 40, and 52 points during those respective seasons. His goal-scoring peaked in the 2013-14 season, at 23 goals in 81 games played.
Palat told reporters after his practice on Wednesday that his return to Tampa feels normal.
"I did last year for the first time but right now it feels more like a regular game," Palat said.
Palat was missing from Dec. 30 to Jan. 25 due to a lower-body injury, but played in practice on Wednesday and returned Jan. 25 to play against the Canes.
He said it felt normal returning from the injury, and that the Devils are confident.
"We just need to keep it positive. We know this season's going to be hard. It's not like we're in a dead-last position, we're right there, fighting for [the] wild card and even [to] go higher," Palat said.
He said they need to improve defense in their own zone.
Despite his struggles with offensive numbers, Palat is a veteran presence for the young Devils. The Devils' average age this season is 26.60 years of age, with stars Jasper Bratt, Jack Hughes, and Nico Hischier being 25, 22 and 25 years of age respectively.
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