Rolling Devils’ Regular Season Successes That Might Not Translate Into The Playoffs
There hasn’t been a better time to be a Devils fans since the team’s run to the Stanley Cup Final in 2012. New Jersey is on another roll, with its 5-4 overtime victory in Arizona on Sunday earning it five of six points on a three-game road trip to move to 41-15-6 on the season, the NHL’s third-best record.
By many accounts, the Devils were also a big winner at last week’s trade deadline, grabbing high-scoring left wing Tino Meier from San Jose in exchange for nothing of immediate consequence. Meier needed just three shifts to score his first goal in his new jersey (no pun intended) and his 32nd of the season. His presence has the potential to have a trickle-down effect on the team’s bottom six—third-liner Jesper Boqvist lit the lamp twice in Arizona.
Unfortunately, one of the two teams ahead of New Jersey in the standings is fellow Metropolitan Division member Carolina, who is up by two points with another game in hand. If those positions hold over the final 20 games, that means the Devils’ likely first-round opponent will be their cross-river rival Rangers.
I’m not going to say that the Devils will be underdogs in such a matchup, but, like any playoff series, anything can happen, especially if a team runs into a hot goaltender. That aside, here are three other reasons for Devils fans to not get swept up in a frenzy about a deep run just yet.
1) Overtime rules
New Jersey has been ridiculously dominant in overtime this season, with Sunday’s victory tying a franchise record with 10 wins in 13 games that were decided in the extra session. They could have easily won Friday’s contest at Vegas too when they put nine shots on goal, many of them off Grade A scoring chances, versus none for the Golden Knights. Except Vegas goalie Adin Hill was a brick wall, and he eventually brought home the victory for his team in the ensuing shootout.
The disclaimer here, though, is that regular season overtime is three-on-three, where the Devils can throw out a host of highly-skilled players to take advantage of all the open ice. The trio of Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, and Dougie Hamilton has often left opponents mesmerized with their skating and ability to maintain puck possession. And when they need a break, Head Coach Lindy Ruff can turn to guys like Nico Hischier, who sniped home his second OT game-winner of the season on Monday, Dawson Mercer, and Damon Severson.
OTs in the playoffs, though, are a different animal. They’re played five-on-five and can be marathons, not the sprints that have made the Devils so tough to contend with in the regular season. The tired legs could dampen the Devils’ speed advantages that made them so effective in OTs this season. These games are more likely to be decided by flukish goals off deflections or scrums versus the brilliance we’ve witnessed throughout the season.
2) Playing From Behind
The Devils lead the league this season in comeback victories (21), wins when allowing the first goal (18), and win percentage when trailing after two periods (.333). That’s all well and good, but not something you want to bank on come playoff time, when the competition stiffens and the checking gets a ton more diligent.
Fortunately, the Devils have been a bit better in getting off to faster starts in their more recent outings. It took a period, but they never let Philadelphia get the upper hand in a 7-0 rout last Saturday and then jumped all over defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado to start the road trip with a 7-5 victory on Wednesday. The Vegas contest was a bit of a roller coaster, but then the Devils got up, 4-2, on Sunday before allowing the lowly Coyotes to come back in the third period to send the game into overtime.
The Rangers are 24-5-4 when scoring first, which happens to include a regulation and OT loss to the Devils. Ironically, the only time in the three previous meetings (the regular season series concludes on March 30 at the Rock) where New Jersey took a 1-0 lead was during a 4-3 Rangers OT victory.
Should the two teams indeed face off against each other in the playoffs, though, you can throw those previous results out the window. The team that scores first will likely have a material advantage.
3) The blue line cycle
I can’t tell you how many times per game that the Devils’ penchant for playing cute just inside their opponent’s blue line has greatly unnerved me.
This is systemic, since Ruff’ encourages his defensemen to move up into the offensive zone, with forwards bearing the responsibility for covering for them at the top. To maintain puck possession, the Devils often cycle near the blue line, which has high risk/high reward potential. Obviously, such maneuvers can lead to scoring chances as the defenders tire from the chase. However, one mishandle/poke check/pass in a skate and the opposition is off in transition, many times with numbers in their favor.
I’ve seen these gaffes all season from players elite like Hughes to muckers like Michael McLeod. In the regular season, the Devils have mostly gotten away with this type of shaky puck management. They are, after all, really good. The concern, thou8gh, is that mistakes are magnified in the postseason.
The last thing you want in the playoffs is to gift the opposition odd-man rushes. I’d much rather see the Devils keep the puck in deep and work below the goal line, even if it means more 50/50 battles where they lose control. Let the other guys make the mistakes that can cost playoff games.