The New Jersey Devils finished October looking like a team that had found its footing. A 9-5-0 record, a four-game win streak, and five wins in their last six games told the story of a club that shook off an uneven start and started driving play on its own terms.
That surge has come from a few places: the top six clicking, stronger work at 5-on-5, and a noticeable lift on the defensive side. The special teams still need attention, but the Devils have spent enough time tilting the ice in their favor to keep generating chances. The roster got an extra boost with the addition of goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, who helped deliver two wins on the most recent road trip.
With November here, it’s time to sort out the month’s top performers.
Arseny Gritsyuk takes the top spot after a month that firmly established him as one of the Devils’ most reliable threats. He put together a five-game goal streak that started against the Rangers and ended with an empty-netter against the Los Angeles Kings. Since moving onto the top line with Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt in Anthony Mantha’s place, he’s been an offensive catalyst.
That trio has produced eight goals and 58 shots over ten games. MoneyPuck has the Gritsyuk-Hughes-Bratt line seventh in the NHL in expected goals at 7.1 and sixth in shot attempts with 136.
Gritsyuk has also piled up ten points in his last eight games, including a two-goal night against the Vegas Golden Knights. He tied that game at two late in the opening period, then followed it with a coast-to-coast finish in which he backhanded his own rebound into the net to make it 4-2.
“It’s Jack and Grits’ world. We’re just living in it.”
In just his second NHL season, Gritsyuk has carved out a real place in New Jersey’s top six, and his early-season form suggests there’s more coming.
Luke Hughes lands at No. 2, and the case is already building that he can be the Devils’ top defenseman. He missed the offseason while recovering from shoulder surgery, but through 14 games he’s looked every bit like a player ready for a breakout.
His first goal of the season came in the home opener against the Philadelphia Flyers, when he tied the game at two late in the third period and helped set up a 3-2 overtime win. He also scored twice in a 7-1 victory over the New York Rangers. Through this stretch, Hughes has five goals and two assists and is on pace for 30 goals, which would top the career-high he set in 2023-24 with nine.
He leads the team in ice time per game at 23:57, but the workload only hints at how much he’s doing. He’s been on the ice for 411 shot attempts, 23 goals, 214 scoring chances, and 84 high-danger scoring opportunities.
His speed, puck movement, and discipline in all three zones have stood out early. So has his ability to recover pucks, force turnovers, and jump into the attack.
Against the Stars on Tuesday night, he showed the full package by weaving through the offensive zone and ripping a wrist shot from the circle.
Nico Hischier checks in at third, which says plenty about the standard he’s set. The captain remains a key piece of New Jersey’s loaded top six, and his influence has only grown with Timo Meier and Luke Evangelista on his wing.
Hischier keeps doing a little bit of everything. He scores, he anchors the defensive side, and he handles the top power-play unit.
Last month he delivered two multi-point games, starting with two goals and an assist on Oct. 10 against the Vancouver Canucks. He later scored twice in a 5-1 win over the Dallas Stars, including the game-winner in the second period.
So far this season, Hischier has seven goals and two assists while averaging 2.4 shots on goal per game. He ranks second in the NHL with 157 faceoff wins and leads the Devils with a 59.7 win percentage at the dot. He also reached a pair of milestones, scoring his 200th NHL goal against the Canucks and moving to 206 career goals to pass Bobby Holik and Travis Zajac for third place on the Devils’ all-time goals list.
November brings a packed slate for New Jersey, starting with a two-game homestand. The Devils will also see the New York Islanders and Washington Capitals again after both teams beat them last month. The month closes with a back-to-back after Thanksgiving, beginning with the Calgary Flames and Simon Nemec’s first return to Prudential Center since being traded.
The question now is whether the Devils can keep riding this form and stay near the top of the Metropolitan Division.
In Other News...
Devils Quietly Made A Goalie Move That Signals Their Bigger Plan
The Devils made a small but telling move on the goaltending front, sending Remi Poirier to the Capitals for a 2027 seventh-round pick. Poirier never appeared in an NHL game for New Jersey after being acquired from Dallas before this season, but the trade still clears a bit of organizational clutter while giving the club another draft asset to work with down the line.
For Washington, the deal is about replenishing depth after losing Clay Stevenson on waivers, a reminder that even minor goalie transactions can ripple through an organization. For New Jersey, it fits the broader pattern of keeping the pipeline flexible and the asset base moving, even when the return is modest and the headline is easy to miss. [Read more 🡒]
Jack Hughes Has The Devils Looking More Legit By The Game
The Devils kept building on their own surge with a 5-2 win over the Golden Knights, another result that makes them look increasingly more like a team that belongs in the conversation. It came on a night when the Panthers were handling Winnipeg and Calgary was taking care of Seattle, but New Jerseys result stood out for the way it fit the larger trend around the club: steady progress, more confidence, and a roster that is starting to play with real purpose.
For a team that has spent so much of the season trying to prove it can stack good nights together, this was the kind of victory that matters beyond the standings. The Devils are getting the sort of contributions and structure that can change the way opponents approach them, and Jack Hughes remains central to that shift. The broader question now is whether this is simply a strong stretch or the point where New Jersey starts looking like something more durable. [Read more 🡒]
Devils Offense Is Finally Flipping A Problem Fans Know Too Well
For years, the Devils have been the kind of team that could create looks but still leave fans shaking their heads at the final tally. That familiar problem has been hanging around again early this season, with the offense still not fully cashing in on the chances it generates, even as the underlying numbers point to a group that should be doing more damage.
The encouraging part is that the gap is starting to shrink. Jack Hughes, Arseny Gritsyuk, Anthony Mantha and Luke Evangelista have all helped push the attack closer to where it should be, and there is still room for the power play to swing upward as well. If that trend holds, the Devils may finally spend the rest of the season looking less like a team fighting its finishing and more like one turning chances into goals at an above-average rate. [Read more 🡒]