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Dougie Hamilton Will Be Back Thursday |
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Dougie Hamilton is coming back into the New Jersey Devils lineup!
Devils head coach Lindy Ruff confirming that Hamilton will be playing against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday according to Amanda Stein’s twitter account.
“I am counting on him (Hamilton) being in,” said Ruff. “We are ready putting him back in.”
After having a hot start coming out of the prolonged Christmas break, Hamilton suffered a jaw injury against the Washington Capitals on Jan. 2nd. Since that game, the Devils have gone 4-13 in that brutal stretch without their prized free agent pick up last summer.
During that time when Hamilton was recuperating, Devils defenseman Damon Severson has taken over Hamilton’s spot on the power play and the Devils power play has improved greatly. During Hamilton’s time away recovering, the Devils are at a 22.7% success rate with ten power play goals in forty four chances. And their penalty killing unit during that same stretch is at 89.5% kill rate. The Devils special teams actually improved immeasurably while Hamilton was out.
However, the Devils need him back on defense, especially at even strength. His size, leadership, and his ability to get involved offensively was sorely missed.
Let’s see how the Devils play in the next 32 games. Hopefully, they can all stay healthy.
Special teams improvement!
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Sam Woo is co-host and executive producer of the Let's Go Devils Podcast which can be heard live every Sunday at 9pm ET and Wednesday at 8:30pm ET. You can follow Sam on Twitter: @PrimetimeSamWoo
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