Hall driving Devils toward playoff berth
Forward has personal 19-game point streak in second season with New Jersey
RELATED: [Blue Jackets-Devils game recap | Wayne Simmonds out 2-3 weeks for Flyers](https://www.nhl.com/news/wayne-simmonds-injured-out-2-3-weeks-for-philadelphia-flyers/c-296155456)]
Notice the past tense in Hall's quote. He is the biggest reason he can use it.
He's starting to generate some Hart Trophy buzz with a personal 19-game point streak (13 goals, 14 assists) and the Devils holding the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference, which means Hall is in position to make the postseason for the first time in eight NHL seasons.
Hall has 63 points (25 goals, 38 assists) in 55 games this season. He's on pace for 88 points. He had 80 points in 2013-14, when he was with the Edmonton Oilers and they missed the playoffs by 24 points.
The Devils, even after a 2-1 loss against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday, a loss that ended a four-game winning streak, have a six-point cushion through 60 games.
"If anything, [never making the playoffs] has lit a fire under him," Devils forward Kyle Palmieri said. "You look at his time in Edmonton, this time of year was gearing up for the draft lottery. Being in this situation, he's been able to elevate knowing how important he is to our team."
Prior to this season, Hall had never been in position to make the playoffs through 60 games in a full NHL season.
The closest the Oilers came at the quarter-pole in his five full seasons with them was 12 points out in 2011-12. They were in playoff position through 36 games in the 48-game 2012-13 season but went 3-9-0 in their final 12 and missed by 10 points.
The Devils were six points out of playoff position through 60 games last season. They went 3-15-4 in their final 22 and missed by 25 points.
"You don't want to start feeling sorry for yourself, but at the same time you have to take a look at it and say, 'Am I really the reason?'" said Hall, who has a 12-game point streak (eight goals, seven assists) since returning from a thumb injury that caused him to miss three games Jan. 22-25. "I don't think that. I never thought that."
Realistically, though, he couldn't be quite sure.
Now he can be. He's playing like a winner.
"I think since coming here, [Devils coach] John Hynes, he's probably given me the most accountability, [more] than any coach I had in Edmonton," Hall said. "I think that's really been good for me."
The accountability stems from the relationship Hall and Hynes have built in their two seasons together, the type of relationship Hall never had a chance to build in Edmonton, where he had five coaches in six seasons.
He's partly to blame for that.
"In Edmonton, I didn't really want to talk to coaches," Hall said. "I didn't want to go and have dialogue with coaches; I just wanted to go and play. A lot of guys are like that. Here, I think [Hynes] has really enforced the fact that I need to. We talk about a lot of stuff. He listens to what I say and has been a good sounding board on a lot of things."
Hynes deflects the credit to Hall, but don't underestimate the importance of their meeting in Toronto after last season and what it did for their relationship.
Hynes flew up to meet with Hall, have lunch and discuss what transpired in Hall's first season with the Devils, when he had 53 points (20 goals, 33 assists) in 72 games.
Hynes spoke and Hall listened. More importantly, Hall spoke and Hynes listened.
"He's an excellent player, but he's very coachable, he cares a lot about the team, the organization, and he wants to do the right thing," Hynes said. "That was something we talked about. I think as a coach sometimes with players you can use them, you can take their skill and their talent and what they can do for you, and it helps the team. But with him, it's also trying to make him a better player. He's a young guy, so hopefully helping work on his leadership skills, what it means to be a culture driver, areas on the ice that he needs to get better. And he's a very smart, observant individual, so when you have discussions with him, his input and his feedback makes a lot of senses. It's concrete. It's not just off-the-cuff ideas. He challenges you as a coach."
Hall wouldn't feel confident enough to do that if he weren't comfortable too. He said that's a huge factor in his success.
"Everything just seems so normal now, and that's a really good feeling for me," Hall said. "Some people thrive off variability, being in different places, whatever it may be. I enjoy just the same team, same coaching staff, same group of guys, same arena."
He never had that in Edmonton, and he didn't have that last season when he struggled with being traded away from the team that selected him with the No. 1 pick in the 2010 NHL Draft and then dealt with the difficulties of the transition, including changing conferences and moving to the other side of the continent.
Hall, though, returned to New Jersey for training camp and found the same coaching staff, the same general manager, many of the same teammates and the same expectation of trying to build the Devils into a winner.
"Last year, he was a little quiet, a little timid," Palmieri said. "This year, he's stepped up in a big way, obviously with his play on the ice but off the ice he's become more of a leader. He's a true pro."
He wants to be a winner. He's finally on the right track.
"And he's driving the bus," Devils center Brian Boyle said.
