Devils Off To Another Hot Start
Some folks might be tempted to tout the Devils winning consecutive home games over two-time Stanley Cup finalists Florida and Edmonton to push their streak to four games following an opening night loss in Carolina as issuing a statement.
If so, that statement should read: Been there.
Hot starts in New Jersey have been as ubiquitous as the leaves changing. The Devils were also 4-1 last season—and owned the NHL’s fourth-best points percentage on Christmas—only to barely sneak into the playoffs after a major slump. The year before that, they started 7-3-1 and finished in the lottery.
Only in their record-setting 2022-23 campaign, where the Devils went on a ridiculous 21-2-1 run following defeats in their first two games, did the early season results portend that something special was brewing.
Make no mistake, this certainly beats the alternative. That the Devils have been able to bank points against a much tougher slate (on paper—beating a Panthers squad missing stars Alexsander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk on their back-to-back and the Oilers on their third game in the New York area isn’t quite as much of a measuring stick) can only help their cause should they end up in a dogfight against Metropolitan Division competitors Carolina and Washington.
During Saturday’s 5-3 triumph over Edmonton, Devils center Jack Hughes, perhaps inspired by the awesome presence of MVP Connor McDavid on the other bench (they matched up on the ice for 4:03 and played fairly even, according to NaturalStatTrick.com, as the Nico Hischier line drew the heavy assignment burden), took his skating to 11, scoring twice and adding an assist without committing any of the egregious turnovers that too often lead to dangerous counters. When Hughes is able to bring that extra gear, this will always be a fun team, win or lose.
Meanwhile, Hughes’ linemate Jesper Bratt ran his points streak to all five games with a second period power play goal, Connor Brown potted a shorthanded breakaway against his former club after Luke Glendening’s high-effort dive to nudge the puck ahead to give New Jersey some breathing room in the third period, and Jake Allen continued to solidly mind the Devils’ net while starter Jacob Markstrom recovers from a lower body injury. Allen ranks seventh among the 52 NHL goalies with at least two games played in NST’s goals saved above average metric, and that was after being dinged by former teammate Curtis Lazar’s meaningless snipe with three seconds remaining.
The Devils’ special teams remain the envy of the league, running their streak to 16 consecutive penalty kills after holding powerful Edmonton off the score sheet on three man advantage opportunities. In the meantime, New Jersey also netted a pair of shorthanded goals while also converting twice on the last eight of their own power play attempts.
These are all good things. However, there are also warning signs, albeit these come from small sample size data. The Devils at five-on-five have been pretty average in both the actual and advanced metrics. They have surrendered four goals while protecting leads in the last four minutes, including two when the opponent pulled its goalie for an extra skater. It hasn’t come back to bite them yet, but nothing is more discouraging than blowing points.
Though the Devils’ third line has held up to date, especially with rookie Arseny Gritsyuk injecting a bit of dash to it, rolling with Cody Glass in the middle will be challenging. That he’s been subpar in the faceoff circle since coming to New Jersey at last season’s trade deadline isn’t helping. The Devils are 25th in the league in faceoff win percentage this season and anyone who watched their five-game loss to Carolina in last postseason’s first round should understand the urgency to plug that hole.
Some matters, though, will always be out of the Devils’ control. The Devils nearly got goalie’d by Florida backup Danil Tarasov on Thursday before pulling away in the third period for a 3-1 victory.
Health obviously is the biggest variable. New Jersey has so far been able to withstand the Markstrom injury plus the absences of net front presence Stefan Noesen and stay-at-home defenseman Johnathan Kovacevic. On the other hand, injuries to Hughes, whose last two seasons ended with shoulder surgeries, or Hischier would likely prove as devastating as Barkov’s has been for Florida.
It’s a long season, folks. Feel free to celebrate the club’s first four game winning streak in over 1,000 days…for two more days. A difficult back-to-back starting Tuesday at Toronto and then home versus Minnesota looms with the possibility that any hyperbolic “statement” made will need an edit.