The win in Vegas capped a 3-1-1 record for the Devils on their season-long five-game road trip. Part of that success was the play of Boqvist, who notched three goals and four points on the road swing.
"It was a pretty good trip," the Swede said. "I got some goals and it's always fun when you win a lot of games, too. That's most important."
The 2021-22 campaign has been a remarkable progression for Boqvist. He began the year in Utica of the American Hockey League, posting eight points (2G-6A) in seven games before being recalled to New Jersey.
But after initially playing five games or the Devils, Boqvist found himself in and out of the lineup for the next three months. He appeared in 10 games from Nov. 20 to Jan. 25 while missing 16 contests (six injury; 10 healthy scratch).
After being a healthy scratch for four straight games (Jan. 19-25), something clicked for Boqvist. He was reinserted into the lineup at the center position and those first seven games back saw him score four goals and six points while posting 15 shots.
Ruff pointed to Boqvist's move to center - he had played primarily as a winger prior - as the period when the team started to trust in his play.
"When we moved him to the middle and kept him there on a full-time basis," Ruff said. "He's become our third-line centerman. That's when he started to push his way through."
Boqvist's offensive production - nine goals and 16 points since Jan. 27 - has been partly from finishing his chances - "That's another area he's improved, his shot and accuracy," Ruff said - but also, his skating has allowed him to create more opportunities for himself to finish.
"He's skating really well. (When) he gets the puck he's separating himself from people, his speed has been good," Ruff said. "I think he's carrying momentum into plays. His timing on breakouts has been good. When he picks up pucks, guys aren't tracking him down or catching him from behind. He's hitting the blue line with a lot of speed and has been able to back the defense off."
Boqvist, a second-round pick (36th overall) in 2017, noted that he hasn't gotten faster. But that his reads and reactions are the biggest reason that his skating this season looks so much better than previous years.
"I'm skating in the right spots now. I'm not faster or anything. I'm probably in better areas," he said. "I've been watching a lot of clips too on how to get the puck with speed or find the puck with speed."
