Hamilton has been on a tear since returning from injury.
Week 20 was an intense one for the New Jersey Devils. They kicked things off against Quinn Hughes and the Vancouver Canucks, scoring seven goals against a red-hot team that’s pushing for the playoffs.
They followed that up with a tough loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets and then another loss in the Hudson River rivalry, against the New York Rangers.
To end the week, the Devils earned a nice overtime win against one of the best team’s in the league, the St. Louis Blues.
In what was a pretty decent week for the Devils, multiple players were noticeable on more than one occasion. None more so, however, than star defenseman Dougie Hamilton.
(Check out last week’s player of the week here.)
Player of the Week: RHD Dougie Hamilton
vs. VAN: 1 G
@ CBJ: 1 A
vs. STL: 1 G
Average Game Score: 1.76
Average defensive impact: 0.24
Hamilton has looked outstanding since returning to the lineup post-jaw surgery and his great play resulted in him having his best week as a Devil yet in Week 20.
One of the best offensive-defensemen in the league, Hamilton scored two goals and an assist in three games this week, including the overtime winner against the Blues.
Dougie goin' HAM. pic.twitter.com/XJWBaVCUYN
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) March 1, 2022
THIS >>>> pic.twitter.com/cwb4MLuqRF
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) March 6, 2022
Hamilton has been pretty poor in his own zone this season, but even looked better in that regard this week, particularly against the Canucks and Blues.
Hamilton was a top-five player for the Devils in three of their four games this week, featuring as the team’s best player against the Canucks and Blues. His Game Score of 4.10 against the Canucks was his second-highest of the season.
Aside from the fact that Hamilton played a well-rounded game all week, the fact that he played so well with different defensive partners is also tremendously impressive.
He played alongside Jonas Siegenthaler in the team’s first two games of the week, during which he looked great, and then played the team’s next two games with Ryan Graves.
Hamilton didn’t have a great game against the Rangers- although he was much better than his partner, Graves- but looked like a totally different player in the team’s next game against the Blues.
As we saw this week, when Hamilton plays well, the other players around him play well, including his partners. If the Devils hope to find success, Hamilton has to be on top of his game and playing as well as he played in Week 20.
Honorable Mention #1: C Nico Hischier
vs. VAN: 2 A
@ CBJ: 1 G
@ NYR: 1 G
vs. STL: 1 A
Average Game Score: 1.50
Average defensive impact: -0.04
Right down Broadway. pic.twitter.com/fa9P1kXfjO
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) March 5, 2022
Honorable Mention #2: RW Jesper Bratt
vs. VAN: 1 G, 1 A
vs. STL: 1 A
Average Game Score: 1.28
Average defensive impact: -0.03
Jesper Bratt is the greatest athlete of all time. Sorry, we don’t make the rules. pic.twitter.com/8Ww6JsTCTG
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) March 1, 2022
Honorable Mention #3: C Jack Hughes
vs. VAN: 1 G, 1 A
@ CBJ: 1 G
vs. STL: 2 A
Average Game Score: 0.95
Average defensive impact: -0.36
Sheeeesh, Jack! pic.twitter.com/JnmnrpdgY4
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) March 1, 2022
