The Devils are clicking on all cylinders right now. The victories are constant and convincing. Even in rare defeats, the team still looks sharp.
The Devils are currently on pace for 107 points on the standings. They have a goal differential of +28, and have allowed the sixth fewest goals in the league so far. The five teams who have given up fewer goals have all played fewer games than New Jersey. The Devils are 6-3-1 in the last 10 games and even in those losses, the team still manages to look like the better team. The Devils are a juggernaut showing no signs of slowing down.
A 12 save shutout, which still included some nice saves by Markstrom, against a surging Penguins team, shows how the Devils are really clicking in all situations, in all three zones. The Devils look like one of the best teams in the league just about every time they play, even when they lose. The Devils recent losses still see them out-playing the opponent for long stretches of the game. For example, in a 4-2 loss in Columbus, the Devils out shot the Blue Jackets 42-20 and got robbed a few times by Elvis Merzlikins. When they lost 2-1 in overtime against Toronto, they out shot the Leafs 39-17 and Stolarz played the game of his life in goal for the Leafs. In just about every game they are playing the Devils are dictating the pace, controlling the puck, creating a ton of chances, and not allowing the opponents to do much of anything. Some nights they convert those opportunities, other nights they don’t, and sometimes the opposing goalie just has all the answers. But, night in night out, the Devils are consistently the better team. The Devils are not unbeatable, but they play in a way that makes it damn near impossible to beat them repeatedly or on any sort of regular basis. Good luck beating this team in four out of seven games…
The captain Nico Hischier is having a career year. With 17 goals in 36 games, he is on pace to score 38 goals, smashing his career best of 31. Hischier had a hand in all three Devils goals against Pittsburgh yesterday and is still the best face-off man on the team. Nico is usually centering a line with Stefan Noesen and Timo Meier, and is helping both of them to great years. Not even half-way through the season yet and Stefan Noesen already has the most goals of any season in his career so far. Meier has 25 points in 35 games played, including 5 points in his last four games played. Meier is also 5th among Devils forwards in hits this season, with 60 so far, while Noesen is second among forwards with 84 hits. This line led by Nico Hischier is proving to be a force on the score sheet as well as a physical force, pushing the opponents all over the ice. The Devils have a crash line capable of out playing any top line in the league while consistently running them over.
The goaltending has been good, the offense has been awesome, and the defense has been great. Even when they lose, which is going to happen to all great teams occasionally in an 82 game season, the Devils still look sharp. Arguably most importantly, the Devils have been great coming off a loss, not allowing losing streaks to happen. The Devils have lost back to back games just once since the end of October. Colorado beat New Jersey 4-0 on December 8th and the Maple Leafs beat the Devils 2-1 in overtime on December 10th. So, even the one time they had back to back losses they still at least got a point in the second game. The Devils are rolling and even frustrating losses can’t derail the hype train for longer than one night. That bounce back ability shows the Devils have a mental toughness required of championship contenders. If you can name one team you would pick to beat New Jersey in a playoff series right now, I would laugh in your face and call you a dummy.
Coming up, the Devils play the most dysfunctional team in the NHL, that poverty franchise from Manhattan, on Monday afternoon at the Rock. Then there is an extended break before a home and home with a fellow Metropolitan Division contender, the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday and Saturday, and a trip to Anaheim on New Years Eve. Those two games against Carolina will be a measuring stick weekend for both teams in a possible playoff preview. The Devils still have 46 games left before the playoffs and I’m excited to see the team keeping rolling through them all before the real work begins in mid April. Let’s Go Devils.
The Morning Skate 