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New Jersey Devils Power Play Goes From First to Worst at Worst Possible Time

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New Jersey Devils Power Play Goes From First to Worst at Worst Possible Time


The New Jersey Devils let their power play do a lot of their scoring early in the season. Over the first 20 games of the season, the Devils led the league in power-play goals. He scored 25 goals with the mad advantage and just 37 goals at 5v5. The power play was running things.

At the time, the Devils were still posting decent analytics at 5v5, so even if the power play fell back to Earth, the 5v5 goals would regulate. Everything would even out.

The opposite has happened. The Devils’ power play has tanked beyond what anyone thought possible, and the 5v5 goals haven’t caught up. Over the last 25 games, the Devils have eight power-play goals. That ranked last in the NHL during that time. Of course, it’s highlighted by this current 0-for-21 streak.

The Devils just got shut out by the Carolina Hurricanes despite getting three power plays. Jack Hughes is back, so that can’t be an excuse. Ondrej Palat, Timo Meier, Nico Hischier, and Eric Haula are all healthy, so their units are only missing Dougie Hamilton. Was he truly that important?

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Hamilton was obviously important, but he was on the ice for just nine power-play goals in 20 games. The Devils downgraded him to the second power-play unit (which the Devils would say actually wasn’t a downgrade). One of the things that was really working for New Jersey was they had two great PP units with Luke Hughes quarterbacking the top unit. Now, the first unit is top-heavy again.

The Devils have surprisingly been not so bad at 5v5 scoring. Failing to score on Saturday aside, the Devils have scored 59 goals at 5v5 in their last 25 games. Despite scoring the fourth-most even-strength goals in that time frame, the Devils are 11-11-3. Many will point to the injuries (Jack Hughes missed a ton of time, as did Meier and obviously Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler), but they were scoring. Now, they are as fully healthy as they will be all season. And they can’t score.

Obviously, this is made worse by how bad the Devils goaltending has been. Sure, Vitek Vanecek was good on Saturday, but he was the sole reason they lost on Thursday. Now, with the power play failing to score every single game, there is no room for error with the 5v5 offense.

The Devils are in a very bad position. The playoffs are slipping away by the game. They have probably 10 more losses for the rest of the season if they believe the playoffs are still the goal. That means scoring has to happen. They aren’t even getting high-danger chances. The power play tries the same thing over and over. The puck spends too much time on the perimeter and not enough time near the goal mount.

It’s an issue that will literally tank the Devils season. Everything has to go right. That includes the power play. One could argue it has gone so wrong that just by pure luck, the power play will turn around. However, they haven’t done much to fix it. It’s time to make it clear the PP has to get more aggressive. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t matter who is in net. We learned on Saturday that the issues with the Devils are so much more than in net. The power play is quickly at the top of the list.

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N.J. group demands review of Trenton immigration arrest operation at auto shop

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N.J. group demands review of Trenton immigration arrest operation at auto shop


U.S. Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-Mercer, said in a statement on Facebook that she has been briefed about the incident and her office is monitoring the situation.

Pazmino said her organization is calling on members of the community to come together.

“Brown and Black immigrant communities and nonimmigrant communities are welcome, and should be uniting against this force,” she said.

She is also calling on local officials to assist relatives of those taken into custody.

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“We need to support families affected by these kidnappings, with mutual aid, donations and anything else you think will help each other,” Pazmino said.

A woman identified as Andrea, while holding her 1-year-old daughter, Genesis, tearfully spoke in Spanish about the anguish she feels and her fears about the future without her husband Christian, one of the men taken into custody. A friend, who translated her word into English, said Christian was a good and honest man.

“If he used to see a neighbor carrying something heavy, he would run to help them. If a friend needed a favor, he didn’t ask, he just did it,” she said.

Andrea (left) whose husband, Christian, was taken into custody during a raid on a Trenton auto repair shop, holds her 1-year-old daughter, Genesis, while translator Ashley Batz reads her statement in English. (Emma Lee/WHYY)

She said “his daughter was his whole world. He would wake up to her and give her kisses every morning. He would play with her after a long day at work. He loved us and protected us. He didn’t do anything wrong, so why was he taken?”

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The Rev. Erich Kussman, St. Bartholomew’s pastor, said the entire Lutheran Church stands with the family.

“Anything you need, you can come to us. I want you to know that. I will stand with you, and we will do what we can to protect you, because that’s the call of the gospel of Jesus Christ,” he said.

“Standing with ICE is antithetical to the gospel of Jesus Christ, hands down,” he added. “Fifty-one times the scriptures tell us to welcome the immigrant and foreigner as one of our own. If you’re not living true to that gospel, the words of Christ himself, you are not a Christian, no matter what you claim to be.”

With immigration enforcement activity on the rise in New Jersey, lawmakers have proposed several bills to expand protections for immigrant communities. One measure called the “Fight Unlawful Conduct and Keep Individuals and Communities Empowered Act” would allow individuals to file a lawsuit against ICE agents who violate their constitutional rights.

Asma Elhuni speaking at a podium
Asma Elhuni, an organizer with Resistencia En Acción NJ speaks at a press conference at St. Bartholomew Lutheran Church in Trenton, joined by pastor Erich Kussman. The group was responding to the detention of three workers at Agudo’s Repair Shop on Feb. 20, 2026. (Emma Lee/WHYY)

Another proposed bill would require any business that operates a private prison or detention facility in the state to pay a tax equal to 50% of the taxpayer’s gross receipts derived from the operation of the facility during the previous year. The bill also stipulates all revenues generated would go to an “immigration protection fund.”

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Recently proposed legislation would prohibit ICE agents from ever holding a public job in the Garden State, and New Jersey U.S. Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim are proposing legislation to prevent new funding for the Department of Homeland Security from being used to purchase a warehouse in Roxbury, New Jersey.

Requests for comment from ICE and the U.S. Marshals Service were not immediately returned.



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Spring’s coming; Sunny, warm Saturday and significant warm-up ahead NJ

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Spring’s coming; Sunny, warm Saturday and significant warm-up ahead NJ


A brief respite from cold weather is ahead of New Jersey this weekend, before temperatures continue to rise late next week, according to the National Weather Service.

Saturday, Feb. 28 will be sunny across the Garden State, and temperatures will be comfortable, reaching the high 40s and low 50s.

Then, a brief artic cold front is expected to move into the region late on Saturday night, bringing temps to low 30’s and some scattered snow showers on Sunday, especially in North Jersey.

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During the week, a couple low pressure systems are in the NWS forecast. Little snow if any is expected from these systems, especially in the late week, when a significant warm-up is expected.

Asbury Park and Monmouth County weekend weather forecast

Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 45.

Saturday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 33.

Sunday: Partly sunny and a chance of snow before 1 p.m. The high should be near 39. Chance of precipitation is 30%. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch possible.

Sunday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 22.

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Wildwoods and Atlantic County weather forecast

Saturday: Partly sunny, then gradually becoming sunny, with a high near 56.

Saturday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 31.

Sunday: Partly sunny and a slight chance of rain before 1 p.m. The high should be near 44. Southeast wind 5 to 10 mph. Winds could gust as high as 20 mph. Chance of precipitation is 20%.

Sunday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 19.

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Newark and Essex County weather forecast

Saturday: Mostly sunny, with a high near 53.

Saturday night: Increasing clouds, with a low around 32.

Sunday: Cloudy and scattered snow showers before 1 p.m. Then gradual clearing of skies, with a high near 39. Chance of precipitation is 40%.

Sunday night: Partly cloudy, with a low around 17.

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Juan Carlos Castillo is a New Jersey-based trending reporter for the USA Today Network. Find him on Twitter at _JCCastillo.



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Winning numbers drawn in Thursday’s New Jersey Pick 6 Double Play

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Winning numbers drawn in Thursday’s New Jersey Pick 6 Double Play


The winning numbers in Thursday’s drawing of the “New Jersey Pick 6 Double Play” game were:

8, 23, 29, 34, 43, 45

(eight, twenty-three, twenty-nine, thirty-four, forty-three, forty-five)

For more lottery results, go to Jackpot.com | Order Lottery Tickets

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