Hall continuing to build resume for Hart Trophy, lead Devils playoff push

NEWARK, N.J. -- Forty-two.
If we're going to analyze Taylor Hall's candidacy in the
Hart Trophy
race, and that's exactly what this column intends to do, 42 stands out as much as any number that defines the season the left wing is having and his immense value to the New Jersey Devils.

The Devils have won 42 games with Hall in the lineup and he has 42 more points than anyone else on team with two games remaining, including against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Prudential Center on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; MSG+, TSN4, NHL.TV), when New Jersey will be able to clinch a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
No team has a wider gap between its top two scorers than the Devils with Hall and his 93 points (39 goals, 54 assists) in 75 games, and rookie center Nico Hischier with 51 points (19 goals, 32 assists) in 80 games.
The closest is the Edmonton Oilers' 35-point gap between Connor McDavid, who leads the NHL with 103 points (41 goals, 62 assists), and Leon Draisaitl, who has 68 points (24 goals, 44 assists).
Edmonton has been out of the playoff picture for months.

The Devils have stayed in it all season because of Hall, who has 17 points (eight goals, nine assists) during a nine-game point streak, including six goals in a four-game goal streak.
"There's lots of talk about him in Hart Trophy consideration and things like that," Devils coach John Hynes said, "but when you look at the impact this guy has had on our team, on the organization and where we're at, it can't be close."
That's up for debate as the Hart Trophy race is as wide open as it has been in years. Hall is in the middle of it, surrounded by 5-10 legitimate, deserving candidates.
"That's for you guys [the media] to vote on," Hall said. "I just go out and play."
Hall's advantage might be his 42-point lead on Hischier for the Devils scoring lead. Without it, if Hall was, say, a 70-point player instead of a 93-point player, a 25-goal scorer instead of a 39-goal scorer, the Devils likely would be what many thought they'd be this season -- out of the playoff picture.
They're 42-25-8 with him in the lineup and 1-3-1 without him. They're 36-17-4 when he has a point, 6-8-4 when he doesn't.
"I can't imagine there's a single player more important to their team, other than maybe a goaltender, in the entire League than he is to ours," Devils defenseman Ben Lovejoy said.
It doesn't mean Hall absolutely should win the Hart Trophy, but it should be a major consideration for the voters from the Professional Hockey Writers' Association, especially since many of the other top MVP candidates have a teammate or teammates who are in the top-20 in the League in scoring or who are candidates for another trophy.
Nathan MacKinnon, fifth in the NHL with 94 points (38 goals, 56 assists) in 72 games, is immensely valuable to the Colorado Avalanche and their push for a playoff berth. But he skates with forward Mikko Rantanen, who is tied for 16th with 82 points (28 goals, 54 assists).

Anze Kopitar, seventh with 91 points (35 goals, 56 assists), has defenseman Drew Doughty, a potential Norris Trophy candidate who is seventh among defensemen with 59 points (10 goals, 49 assists), riding shotgun in the Los Angeles Kings' playoff push.
Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov, second with 98 points (38 goals, 60 assists), has center Steven Stamkos, tied for 10th with 86 points (27 goals, 59 assists); Victor Hedman, a Norris Trophy candidate who is sixth among defenseman with 61 points (16 goals, 45 assists), and goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, a Vezina Trophy candidate.
Philadelphia Flyers forward Claude Giroux, third with 97 points (30 goals, 67 assists), has forward Jakub Voracek, who is tied for 14th with 83 points (19 goals, 64 assists).
Pittsburgh Penguins center Evgeni Malkin, fourth with 96 points (42 goals, 54 assists), has right wing Phil Kessel (87 points) and center Sidney Crosby (86 points), each in the top 10 in the League.
McDavid has Draisaitl.

Hall has good teammates but nobody who would be considered elite, yet he's sixth in scoring, eighth in points per game (1.24), tied for eighth in goals, third in power play points (37), tied for third in overtime goals (three), ninth in shots on goal (274) and on the verge of getting his team into the playoffs.
"Taylor has scored consistently all year and just enormous goals seemingly every night," Lovejoy said.
Lovejoy has the best perspective of any Devils player on the impact a Hart Trophy candidate has on a team. He played with Malkin when he won it in 2011-12. He also played with Anaheim Ducks center Ryan Getzlaf when he was the runner-up in 2013-14 and with Crosby when he was the runner-up in 2015-16.
"[Hall] is more important to our team than those high-end guys that I've played with are to their teams," Lovejoy said. "I've played with Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, and Malkin and Crosby, and those teams, they have many weapons that can beat you. Taylor has played with a rookie center (Hischier) the entire year. A really good rookie and they've certainly made each other better, but Taylor has thrown us on his back so many times and willed us and skilled us to victories."
Forty-two of them so far, one for each point that arguably best defines his value to the Devils.