The New Jersey Devils have had their struggles this year with the injury bug. Jack Hughes is the highest profile, but defensemen Simon Nemec and Jonathan Kovacevic are also on the sidelines. That made Wednesday an important game and a big win over the Vegas Golden Knights. Devils coach Sheldon Keefe was complimentary of defenseman Brett Pesce in his return from injury, per team reporter Amanda Stein.
“He was excellent. He was himself. Probably fitting that his first shift is on the penalty kill, and he made a couple plays there that the whole bench grew an inch when they see him out there making those types of plays,” Keefe said, per Stein.
The Devils beat the Vegas Golden Knights 2-1 in a shootout, and Pesce's play in regulation helped clinch both points. He played a team-high 23:58 and helped kill penalties throughout the game. Against a strong team like Vegas, it would be easy for a player coming back from injury to be sheltered. But Keefe did the opposite with Pesce.
The Devils signed Pesce to a six-year contract before last season. He is from nearby Tarrytown, New York, so a homecoming of sorts was in line for last year. He played 72 games, scoring just 17 points in a disappointing year for the Devils. Now this year has not been great either, but New Jersey still has time to turn it around.
The Devils were heavily connected to Quinn Hughes in the trade market before he was shipped off to the Minnesota Wild. That puts a lot of attention on their defensive core to step up without the superstar on the back line, as many assumed he would be. Pesce did that on Wednesday, but they'll need a lot more points to turn this season around.
The Devils continue their West Coast road trip against the Utah Mammoth on Friday.
