With Another Slow Start in 2018-19, Pavel Zacha’s Development is Becoming a Major Concern

Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty ImagesOne of the key factors discussed by many around the Devils heading into this season was whether the team could generate more scoring depth than 2017-18. Last season, Taylor Hall did most of the heavy lifting with some assistance from Nico Hischier at evens and Kyle Palmieri on the power play. In order to make their success a bit more sustainable in 2018-19, the team needed another scoring line that it could count on outside of that top trio. A quality checking line centered by Travis Zajac came together about halfway though the season and plenty of other players chipped in contributions here and there, but the Devils lacked a consistent secondary scoring unit they could use to spell the top line and create mismatches.

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