Arseny Gritsyuk has scored a goal in four straight games for the New Jersey Devils, but coach Sheldon Keefe believes he has even more to offer heading into Saturday’s game against the Los Angeles Kings in Newark, N.J.
“I love Grits, he’s done a lot of great things, but I still think there’s a better player there, and we’re going to keep working with him,” Keefe said after a 4-1 victory against the visiting Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night, New Jersey’s fourth win in its past five games.
Gritsyuk is in his second season with the Devils after producing 13 goals and 18 assists in 66 games as a rookie last season. Playing on a line with Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt, the 25-year-old Russian has been a natural fit.
“He has that ability to score, and the way he’s playing with those guys, they’re going to help,” Keefe said. “The puck’s going to be in a lot of good spots to generate offense, but it’s the overall game and it’s not just him. It’s every one of our guys. We’re not going to get hung up on who’s scoring, who’s not scoring, because that doesn’t tell the story.”
Keefe praised forward Connor Brown, who has one assist in two games. Brown missed the team’s opening eight games of the regular season because of a lower-body injury suffered during the preseason.
“He’s bringing so much to our team,” Keefe said. “Is it a coincidence that in two of our better games, Brownie’s been in here?”
Keefe also singled out Hughes, who had an empty-net goal and an assist against the Ducks after going two games without a point.
“Just played smart, played disciplined, did the right things for the team,” Keefe said. “The more of that we have, we’ll have a real chance to do what we want to do over the course of the season.”
The Kings have won two in a row following an 0-4-2 start to the season.
Brandt Clarke scored in overtime on Thursday to lift the visiting Kings to a 3-2 road win against the New York Islanders.
“These are vital points,” Clarke said. “We don’t want to drop these. We want to capitalize on our chances.”
Los Angeles lost its previous two overtime games during its winless start to the season.
“This (overtime) was good,” Kings coach Peter Laviolette said. “I thought we did most everything we wanted to, with regard to faceoffs, possession and execution. It was nice to get some results from it.”
Artemi Panarin, who recorded his first multi-goal game with the Kings on Thursday, said the feeling among his teammates was bright.
“We have only two wins, but still feel good energy in the locker room,” Panarin said. “We’ll enjoy it a little bit and try thinking about the next game.”
After losing his first four starts of the season, Kings goalie Darcy Kuemper has won two in a row after making 41 saves against the Islanders and assisting on Clarke’s game-winner.
“I thought he was phenomenal,” Laviolette said. “We gave up, probably, 20 chances in the first two periods, and if he wasn’t as good as he was, then it would be a different story.”