Devils’ Siegenthaler & Kovacevic Pairing Rejuvenate Defense – Hockey Writers – New Jersey Devils

Last season, the New Jersey Devils struggled on the defensive side of things, giving up 3.43 goals per game – 26th in the NHL. Sure, some of this had to do with poor goalkeeping, but breakdowns and missed assignments seemed to be a nightly occurrence. This season, the return of Jonas Siegenthaler and the emergence of Johnathan Kovacevic have finally given the Devils the shutdown pairing of Jonas Siegenthaler they have been craving.

Jonas Siegenthaler Goes Back

In the 2021-22 season, Siegenthaler was statistically one of the best defensemen in the entire league. He was only on the ice for 173 dangerous chances against them, which was the fewest of all skaters in the NHL (1,200 minutes on the ice – via Natural Stat Trick)… unmatched at times.

The next season (2022-23) he was good again, as his plus-27 average was 16th among NHL defensemen. But in the 2023-24 campaign, he fell off a cliff. He suffered a number of injuries including a concussion and a broken leg. When all was said and done, he finished with 7 sacks in 57 games, 21 more passes than he took and was below 30% in almost every advanced defensive metric – from top-10 to no more than 200 in most categories.

Despite this, he was strong Hockey Writers that the reduction was due to injury only. “When you’re (healthy) and you’re in a certain position, playing game after game, you can just roll with it. If you are injured for a while, you have to find your game again, which is not easy. It should not be an excuse (but) it is a big challenge,” he said to THW.

He went to the World Championships after the season and appeared to have regained his confidence, as his plus-8 average through nine games was sixth among 357 skaters at the tournament. He also scored four points in those games, which is more than 181% more than his regular season average (nine points in 57 games).

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12 games into the season, it’s safe to say he’s back. It’s clear that he’s healthy again, as he’s hitting opponents ~26% more often than last season. Just look at the difference there Siegenthaler on ice: plus-22 hit chance and plus-6 worst chance. All this while the shot attempts are just plus-5, which means that the opponents almost only shoot from the perimeter since Siegenthaler closes the most dangerous areas. And if that doesn’t do enough to show you, maybe this will: Devils goaltenders have a .932 save percentage (SV%) when on the ice. He makes their lives ridiculously easy.

Jonathan Kovacevic Appears

You can’t talk about Siegenthaler’s success without talking about his colleague who has equaled the job of Kovacevic. In many ways, the pairing is reminiscent of the Ryan Graves and John Marino pairing that easily shut down top talent in the Devils’ successful 2022-23 season. It’s a small sample, but this pairing is much better than the pairing was.

Despite being established as a deep-lying defender, Kovacevic turned heads when he played in a top four role. His plus-5 rating leads all defensemen for the Devils. He has even shown offensive prowess, as his six points tied Dougie Hamilton for the most on the Devils d-men. His 58.31 goals-against percentage (xGF%) leads the entire team, just decimal points ahead of Timo Meier and Nico Hischier, and is top-10 among 83 NHL defensemen with 150 or more minutes played. His differential is also good: a plus-23 strikeout probability and a plus-11 strikeout probability.

Head coach Sheldon Keefe joked about calling Kovacevic “Kovechkin” for his new touch; he scores on average ~139% more than he ever had in his career. In fact, he will only need eight points to reach his career high.

And you just don’t get it. Kovacevic keeps it. pic.twitter.com/YzmvH7M8TR

– New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) October 4, 2024

He’s only 27 so it shouldn’t really be a surprise that he’s taking a step forward. Although he typically played less than six minutes during his time with the Montreal Canadiens, he was the 14th player over two seasons. So while offensive prowess is relatively new, responsible defensive play certainly isn’t. Physically, it was not a a lot difference in his career, but he throws hits ~10% more often than last season.

The Most Stressful Matchups in the NHL

Overall, the pairing was the third-best pairing in the entire NHL based on xGF%, according to MoneyPuck. The two in front of them are K’Andre Miller/Adam Fox (New York Rangers) and Quinn Hughes/Filip Hronek (Vancouver Canucks). Two behind them are Mattias Ekholm/Evan Bouchard (Edmonton Oilers) and Jaccob Slavin/Brent Burns (Carolina Hurricanes).

They achieved those metrics in an unusual way, as they don’t produce a case like some of their surrounding metrics do. Instead, they allowed an expected 1.68 goals per 60 minutes, which is best mark in the entire NHL so far. By comparison, the Devils’ most pressing pairing last season was Kevin Bahl and Marino, who allowed an expected 2.21 goals per 60. That may not seem like much, but it means that Siegenthaler and Kovacevic were ~32% more effective than the Devils actually were. best last season.

Time will tell how it plays out, as all pairings ebb and flow over the course of the season. It might be a little unfair to expect it to be the hardest defensive pairing complete of the league for a full 82 games, but if they can be in the top-10, the Devils will have a lot of success.

An old but true saying: defense wins championships. And while the Devils’ defense as a whole has had some growing pains, it certainly hasn’t been the fault of their newfound pairing.