The New Jersey Devils have turned their season around in a hurry, and now comes the hard part: keeping it going in a crowded Eastern Conference.
A five-game winning streak just snapped last night when a tired Devils group, playing the back end of a back-to-back, ran into an Avalanche team that had not played since Sunday. Even with that loss, the bigger picture looks a lot better than it did earlier in the year.
Over their last 10 games, the Devils have gone 7-3-0 and banked 14 of a possible 20 points. That works out to roughly a 118-point pace over an 84-game season.
That kind of number may be tough to hold all year, but if this recent form sticks, New Jersey could finally be looking like the team plenty of fans and pundits expected a few seasons ago.
The arrival of Connor Hellebuyck should help keep the wins coming, and his first game in black and red was more than solid. Still, the Devils need more than one strong addition to stay on track.
The East is tight this early, with only two teams below .500 in the conference. By comparison, the Western Conference has five teams sitting below .500, even with all the loser points floating around.
The only team that can really claim a comfortable cushion is the defending champion Carolina Hurricanes. If the Devils want to keep pace, they have to keep controlling games and forcing opponents onto their heels the way they did during the win streak.
Getting another run going soon would obviously help, and tomorrow’s matchup against Vegas offers a chance to start one. Beyond that, New Jersey needs continued production from its top names.
Nico Hischier has been scoring at a pace that would put him in line for 40 goals, which would be a major milestone. Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt have kept piling up points, and the Devils need both of them to keep that going while adding a few more goals of their own.
Jesper Boqvist deserves credit too, after giving the team an excellent start and providing support scoring that has mattered. Luke Evangelista and Arseny Gristyuk have also given the top six a jolt, making the Devils more dangerous up front.
There are still a few spots where New Jersey could use more. Timo Meier has only one goal in 13 games, and Dougie Hamilton is also sitting on just one goal despite his role as an offensive defenseman.
Anthony Mantha has three goals while mostly skating in third-line minutes, which is not bad, but the Devils would love to see him catch fire. The blue line also needs sorting out down low.
There is no cap room for a call-up right now unless someone gets waived, so the staff has to settle on the best fit among Declan Chisholm, Johnny Kovacevic and Brenden Dillon.
If the Devils can keep getting solid production across the roster, they have a chance to make this a very successful season. But the climb is still steep in a competitive East.
Sitting in a three-way tie for sixth-best win percentage in the conference is a strong start, but it only matters if they can hold it over more than 13 games. There are already teams close behind them, including some that made the playoffs last season.
New Jersey has given itself a platform. Now it has to prove it can stay there.
In Other News...
Jack And Luke Hughes Are Running Into A Costly Devils Problem
The Devils have gotten the kind of offense that should make the standings look friendlier than they do, with Jack Hughes still driving play and producing at a strong clip early on. Even so, there is a familiar problem hanging over the group: the attack is generating chances, but too many of those looks are getting swallowed up before they ever reach the net, which makes every offensive push feel a little more expensive than it should be.
Jack and Luke Hughes are both getting caught in that same traffic, and the blocked-shot issue is part of why New Jerseys scoring efficiency has lagged behind its overall production. For a team that expects its top skill players to tilt games, finding cleaner lanes to the goal could be the difference between good shifts and actual payoff, and it is the kind of detail the Devils will have to sort out if they want the offense to start cashing in more often. [Read more 🡒]
Jesper Bratt Debate Just Got More Uncomfortable For Devils Fans
Jesper Bratt has become one of the most important drivers of the Devils attack, but the conversation around him is shifting from admiration to uncertainty. After a career-high season, his goal total has leveled off and his assist production has dipped, which makes for a tricky evaluation of where his true baseline sits as he moves deeper into his prime and remains central to New Jerseys offense.
Analytics models have only added to the unease, suggesting that last years scoring surge may have been more of an outlier than a new norm. For a player whose value is tied so closely to his playmaking, that kind of projection matters, because it raises the possibility that the Devils may need to rethink how they measure his impact if the numbers keep settling in lower than expected. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Trade Drama Just Got Murkier After Insider Walks Back Claim
The Devils defense group keeps finding itself in the middle of roster talk, and the latest twist only adds another layer of confusion. Elliotte Friedman has walked back an earlier report that said Brenden Dillon used his no-trade clause to block a deal last season, clearing up one part of the picture while leaving the rest of it unresolved. What is clear is that Dougie Hamilton did invoke his no-trade protection, which at least gives New Jersey one confirmed piece in a much messier puzzle.
The bigger issue is the one that still does not have a name attached to it. Friedman did not confirm who the other player was, even as Johnny Kovacevic and Jonas Siegenthaler remain possibilities, and that uncertainty matters for a team already working through plenty of defenseman trade chatter under GM Sunny Mehta. With the Devils continuing to adjust the roster, the distinction between rumor, leverage and actual contract protection is becoming harder to separate, and this is one of those stories that could still change depending on which side eventually clarifies it. [Read more 🡒]