NHL Playoffs: Devils' Josefson Gets Chance To Make His Mark

The New York Rangers have Chris Kreider, and the 21-year-old has provided a spark for his team with five goals (including two game-winners) and seven points in 15 playoff games so far. Now the New Jersey Devils want to see if they have their own post-season “diamond in the rough” with Jacob Josefson.

Who, you ask? Good question. Josefson is listed as a center, 6-foot-1 and 190 pounds. New Jersey took him with its top pick (20th overall) in the 2009 NHL Entry Draft; that happened immediately after New York selected Kreider with its 19th pick. Now their paths will be crossing again.

Josefson is drawing into the lineup at the expense of winger Petr Sykora, who has not scored in the series. It seems obvious that Devils head coach Peter DeBoer wants to see if Josefson’s energy and playmaking ability can be the difference they need.

This substitution is one that DeBoer could not be making lightly. Sykora played in all 82 regular-season and 15 playoff games, tallying 23 goals and 48 points. However, Sykora has not scored in the three post-season games against the Devils; the lack of offense, the difference in ages (Sykora is 35, Josefson 21) and the fact that Josefson is well-rested probably have their roles to play in the decision to put Sykora in the press box.

The Devils need some sort of shakeup offensively: Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist has stood on his head in the past three games, with two shutouts and allowing only two goals in New York’s only loss of this series to this point. New Jersey is running out of time to find holes in Lundqvist’s armor.

Of course, this is a risky decision to make. Josefson is not durable: in the fifth game of the season, Josefson crashed into the boards and broke his collarbone. He came back to play 41 games for the Devils before breaking his left wrist against the Islanders. Even without the injuries, his impact has been minimal with a mere five goals and 19 points in 61 NHL games. He wasn’t used much on the power play either (an average of nine whole seconds per game) while Sykora’s time with the man advantage worked out to just under two minutes per game.

So Josefson is viewed as a playmaker as opposed to a scorer (or an enforcer, for that matter). As long as he can stay healthy, Josefson has a good chance of making positive contributions as the Devils try to stay alive in the playoffs. It’s far less certain whether he can make the kind of impact with the Devils that Kreider has made with the Rangers.