Why are the Devils 21-4-1? insane easy schedule, makes perfect sense.

[Habs Halifax]

I haven’t heard of half the guys on their team and I watch a ton of hockey and all of them are contributing

It's the ultimate team game. Basically how the Habs got to finals and yeah, Canadian division helped. But thinking it was only Price is foolish. Danault, that big/mobile top 4D combined with Suzuki/Caufield and then Toffoli, Anderson, etc. Habs had a very good depth team that season and then it fell apart with Price and Weber on LTIR and letting Danault walk.

Best teams have very good top end players with depth to support it. Playoffs are a different game

A guy like Miles Wood is not known to many fans and even some fans who know of him, don't know the value he brings cause they look at points.

 

[My3Sons]

So since this jinx thread was posted, NJ has slowed down a bit. They are now 19-4-1 so they are 8-1-1 since the thread was posted. But, In their last five they are 3-1-1. Still not terrible despite the naysayers. Absent big injuries it's hard to see them falling out of the playoff race at this point.

 

[danpantz]

It's the ultimate team game. Basically how the Habs got to finals and yeah, Canadian division helped. But thinking it was only Price is foolish. Danault, that big/mobile top 4D combined with Suzuki/Caufield and then Toffoli, Anderson, etc. Habs had a very good depth team that season and then it fell apart with Price and Weber on LTIR and letting Danault walk.

Best teams have very good top end players with depth to support it. Playoffs are a different game

A guy like Miles Wood is not known to many fans and even some fans who know of him, don't know the value he brings cause they look at points.

Oh i know Miles Woods. Have wanted him on the B’s for years.

They do have some young high end talent. Hughes is a superstar and Hischier aint far behind.
Whole team is just so mobile they skate you into the ground.

 

[Habs Halifax]

So since this jinx thread was posted, NJ has slowed down a bit. They are now 19-4-1 so they are 8-1-1 since the thread was posted. But, In their last five they are 3-1-1. Still not terrible despite the naysayers. Absent big injuries it's hard to see them falling out of the playoff race at this point.

I think they make the playoffs at this stage. Are they are legit top 5 contender? NO. But they could make the playoffs and gain experience. Or they could have one of the higher seeds and loose to a wild card team.

 

[My3Sons]

I think they make the playoffs at this stage. Are they are legit top 5 contender? NO. But they could make the playoffs and gain experience. Or they could have one of the higher seeds and loose to a wild card team.

You have to start somewhere. If NJ is ever going to move past rebuilding they have to start by at least making the playoffs regularly. Entering the season my guess is the team was hoping to be competitive all season and have a shot at the playoffs (likely via wild card) down the stretch. They've shown the ability to be better than that. So far so good. If the team hits on a top three seed for the playoffs it's certainly possible they get matched up against a team with significant playoff experience. That said, it probably matters more who is healthy headed into the playoffs and who gets the better goaltending.

 

[Habs Halifax]

You have to start somewhere. If NJ is ever going to move past rebuilding they have to start by at least making the playoffs regularly. Entering the season my guess is the team was hoping to be competitive all season and have a shot at the playoffs (likely via wild card) down the stretch. They've shown the ability to be better than that. So far so good. If the team hits on a top three seed for the playoffs it's certainly possible they get matched up against a team with significant playoff experience. That said, it probably matters more who is healthy headed into the playoffs and who gets the better goaltending.

Lots of hockey left and who knows what happens in the playoffs but Devils fans should be happy about their direction.

Good cap structure moving forward but lots of RFA's and UFA's to manage this off season. 10 players under contract but lots of work do to.

 

[Bcap88]

Lots of hockey left and who knows what happens in the playoffs but Devils fans should be happy about their direction.

Good cap structure moving forward but lots of RFA's and UFA's to manage this off season. 10 players under contract but lots of work do to.

The main one will be getting Bratt locked up which will give them a core of Hughes,Bratt,hischier,Hamilton,mercer
And Marino for the next half decade at least and not to mention L.Hughes and Nemec and holtz if they pan out

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

They will have a hard time making the playoffs

I will bet you any amount of money they make the playoffs.

 

[2 others]

I will bet you any amount of money they make the playoffs.

There's smart contracts, wanna do it?

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

There's smart contracts, wanna do it?

I don't know how to do that, but if it's a secure way to make this wager I'm in.

 

[bobbyking]

devils =illuminati =conspiracy confirmed

 

[severian]

Ugly win against Philly after an ugly collapse against Nashville. But still 3 out of 4 points and an 11 game road winning streak. This thread needs to be on the first page.

 

[Wiggleboom]

Devils remind me of the Bruins in 2008-09. Excellent young core that surprised everyone to rise near the top of the standings. Bruins disappointed in the playoffs that year losing to the underdog Canes in round 2, but that gave them necessary experience to build on in future years. And the Bruins have been a contender for 15 years in a row since then (2 years they missed the playoffs by 1-2 points). I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Devils go on a long run of contention like that.

 

[glenwo2]

Devils remind me of the Bruins in 2008-09. Excellent young core that surprised everyone to rise near the top of the standings. Bruins disappointed in the playoffs that year losing to the underdog Canes in round 2, but that gave them necessary experience to build on in future years. And the Bruins have been a contender for 15 years in a row since then (2 years they missed the playoffs by 1-2 points). I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Devils go on a long run of contention like that.

sounds good to me.

 

[glenwo2]

Why are the Devils 20-4-1 in 1st Place in the League, @GeorgeLeafer12 ?

(this thread is still gold)

 

[King In The North]

Looking at their roster, coach, coaching staff, GM. The fact that they were trash last season with pretty much the same roster and staff 27-46-9 | 248-307 (-59)

versus

11-3-0 | 51-36 (+15)

Unreal season, 100% unsustainable.
- I just hope that they wont end up like Buffalo Sabres, when they led the league early of that season

Have you considered...watching them play?

 

[Identity404]

Devil's look pretty damn good to me, but damn their schedule has been insanely soft so far. They are pretty much a lock for the playoffs, but it will be interesting how this young team reacts to some adversity as the regular season grind continues and the schedule gets tougher.

 

[Perfect_Drug]

It's the ultimate team game. Basically how the Habs got to finals and yeah, Canadian division helped. But thinking it was only Price is foolish. Danault, that big/mobile top 4D combined with Suzuki/Caufield and then Toffoli, Anderson, etc. Habs had a very good depth team that season and then it fell apart with Price and Weber on LTIR and letting Danault walk.

Best teams have very good top end players with depth to support it. Playoffs are a different game

A guy like Miles Wood is not known to many fans and even some fans who know of him, don't know the value he brings cause they look at points.

Should also say that Habs team literally played like those games would be their last.
They sacrificed their future playing careers to gut out the performance of a lifetime going to the finals.


Last year they came out of the gate like they still hadn't fully recouped, and had absolutely nothing left in the tank.

Gallagher & Petry, clearly weren't the same players they were the year before. Obviously Price & Weber were finished. Byron & Armia might be more or less done.

 

[Ducks4Cup]

Time to update the title of this thread, 11-3 is soooo long ago

 

[Jersey Fresh]

Devil's look pretty damn good to me, but damn their schedule has been insanely soft so far. They are pretty much a lock for the playoffs, but it will be interesting how this young team reacts to some adversity as the regular season grind continues and the schedule gets tougher.

Mid/end of December will be a big two weeks competition-wise.

 

[glenwo2]

Devil's look pretty damn good to me, but damn their schedule has been insanely soft so far. They are pretty much a lock for the playoffs, but it will be interesting how this young team reacts to some adversity as the regular season grind continues and the schedule gets tougher.

to be fair, with how this team had struggled the past several years, a "soft" schedule never made any difference. They would lose those games, too.

So I'll take what progress I can get here.

 

[Identity404]

to be fair, with how this team had struggled the past several years, a "soft" schedule never made any difference. They would lose those games, too.

So I'll take what progress I can get here.

Given the parity in the league, beating the "bad" teams isn't always a small feat. The hurricanes lost to the coyotes at home for example. The devil's start is still super impressive regardless of their schedule.

I'd expect the devil's to go on some sort of rough patch this season... I think the next test is seeing how the team reacts, and if they let it spiral or not.

 

[AfroThunder396]

I don't think any Devils fans expects them to continue this pace and finish with +65 wins. That would be absurd.

They will lose some games this year. But even if they go .500 in their remaining games (27-27-1), that's still 47 wins and 98 points which might be enough to make the playoffs.

 

[KovalchukFistPump]

I bet culture is an underrated aspect of this. That was part of the point of bringing in Palat. Although he's barely played, I could see his competitiveness rubbing off on the young guys on the team.

Getting rid of Zacha for Haula is pretty key too. Haula might not be able to hit a soccer goal right now, but he is doing a lot of other things the team needs. Zacha was an absolute cancer last year. Sounds like the vets in Boston have set him straight, but he absolutely had to go after quitting early on last year in NJ.

 

[haak84]

I bet culture is an underrated aspect of this. That was part of the point of bringing in Palat. Although he's barely played, I could see his competitiveness rubbing off on the young guys on the team.

Getting rid of Zacha for Haula is pretty key too. Haula might not be able to hit a soccer goal right now, but he is doing a lot of other things the team needs. Zacha was an absolute cancer last year. Sounds like the vets in Boston have set him straight, but he absolutely had to go after quitting early on last year in NJ.

Smith has been a big help in the culture area as well. Miles Wood maturing and being tired of losing has helped. He stated after the team lost a game that it is unacceptable for them to lose 2 in a row. I thought that was just lip service but since that statement they have not lost back to back games.

Hischier is the main driver since he is the captain. Such a gift to have a 23 year old leader like him for the next decade.