Arseny Gritsyuk saw a career high of 20:39 of ice time on Wednesday in the New Jersey Devils' 4-3 overtime win over the Chicago Blackhawks.
A hat trick from 21-year-old defenseman Simon Nemec, combined with shifts in the top two lines, propelled the Devils to their 12th win of the season. The team currently leads the Metropolitan Division with a record of 12-4-1.
Prior to the win, it was announced that head coach Sheldon Keefe would be shuffling the top two lines in search of a spark.
Devils Make Changes To Forward Lines Ahead of Game vs. Blackhawks - Community PostThe <a target="_blank" href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-jersey-devils/players/devils-noesen-shares-insight-into-playing-with-hughes-bratt">New Jersey Devils</a> have made tweaks to their lineup ahead of Wednesday's game against the <a target="_blank" href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/chicago-blackhawks">Chicago Blackhawks</a>, with head coach Sheldon Keefe using the <a href="https://x.com/amandacstein/status/1988671029175333221">following forward lines</a>.
As a result, Keefe went with the following lines:
Arseny Gritsyuk - Jack Hughes - Dawson Mercer
Timo Meier - Nico Hischier - Jesper Bratt
Ondrej Palat - Cody Glass - Stefan Noesen
Paul Cotter - Luke Glendening - Zack MacEwen
Keefe explained the change was necessary to improve offensive chemistry.
"It has been too long now. Both those lines haven't really connected offensively," Keefe told NJD.TV. "I think it is time. A little bit of a different look for us."
Gristyuk, playing alongside Jack Hughes and Dawson Mercer, recorded three shots on net during his 25 shifts and left Chicago with one assist, contributing to the team's overtime win.
After the game, Gristyuk reflected on his performance in a Telegram message.
“We beat Chicago on the road today in overtime.🔥 I played today in this line, I can say with the best players of their year: Hughes (America) Mercer (Canada). It seemed to work out well. It so happened that two players from our team got injured in the first period and we played two periods with three attacking lines. I haven't felt such pleasant fatigue in a long time. In short, I had a blast. Tomorrow I'm thinking of visiting a sauna in Chicago. I'll be in touch.👋Have a good start of the day everyone, I'm off to bed.🤙🤝”
In his career-high NHL minutes, Gritsyuk felt exhausted but productive, as all three linemates left the game with at least one point.
Jack Hughes finished with two assists, Dawson Mercer scored one goal, and Arseny Gritsyuk ended the night with one assist and three shots on goal.
The team now prepares for its matchup against the Washington Capitals on Saturday.
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