This is the best I’ve ever seen New Jersey play! The New Jersey Devils have taken the NHL world by storm as they have won eleven games in a row, giving them the joint best record in the entire league.
Am I dreaming or are the New Jersey Devils actually one of the best team in hockey? The Devils have been so bad for such a long time now that I feel strange just even putting the worse ‘Devils’ and ‘best’ in the same sentence. Aside from one lucky playoff berth off a once-in-a-lifetime season from Taylor Hall back in 2018, the Devils haven’t been to the playoffs once since the 2011/12 season.
Yup, the Devils have had one playoff berth in the last decade, which is easily the second worst run in recent NHL history. Only the Buffalo Sabres, who haven’t been to the playoffs at all since the 2010/11 season, have been a more miserable franchise in the last decade. Yet, unlike the Sabres, the New Jersey Devils are actually trying to change their fortunes as their years of high draft picks is finally paying off.
Like I said, the Devils 11-game winning streak has rocket them up the standings as they now sit in 1st place in the Metropolitan Division, 2nd place in the Eastern Conference, and 2nd place in the entire NHL. The only reason why they are in 2nd is due to the fact that they have one more loss (15-3) than the Boston Bruins (15-2), but they have also played a game more so that fact may change.
Regardless, the Devils high draft picks, such as Jack Hughes, Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, and Dawson Mercer, have all been fantastic this season, though Huges, Hischier, and Brett have stepped it up another level. Each one of these players has at least 7 goals and 19 points on the year, with Brett leading the team with 7 G, 15 A, and 22 PTS.
After years of doubt and frustration, it’s great to see guys like Hughes and Hischier showcasing their superb talents to the rest of the NHL as many had already written them off as busts. It just goes to show that you can’t judge a young player until at least 3-5 years into their career, and that still may be too early as defenseman are notoriously slow developers.
Nevertheless, the most impressive thing about this New Jersey team is how great their defense and goaltending have been playing. Under the tutelage of Lindy Ruff, the Devils revamped defense of Douggie Hamilton, Ryan Greaves, John Marino, Brendan Smith, Jonas Siegenthaler, and Damon Severson have been sensational as they have thwarted the league’s best offenses on a nightly basis.
Out of the 32 NHL teams, the Devils have given up the least number of shots (419), they have the 4th best GA (41), and obviously have the joint most wins in the league. The pickup of former Capitals goalie Vitek Vanecek was a brilliant move as he’s one of the main reasons for those stellar defensive stats.
With a .916 SV%, 2.15 GAA, 1 SO, and 8 wins/9 starts, Vanecek has been one of the best goaltenders in the league and has completely changed the bust narrative that surrounded him since his dismal from the Capitals this past offseason.
Hopefully the Devils can keep up their impressive start throughout the rest of the season as it’ll be nice to see them back in the playoff again. They have taken being the saying ‘fashionably late’ to the postseason way too literally these past ten years.
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