With some actual time off between games for once this season, now is probably a good time for more of an overview post with the Devils, especially given that they’ve officially reached their quarter pole of the season. After winning seven of their last nine games and improving to 12-7-2, things are currently looking up even after a dull 4-0 loss at Tampa Bay on Saturday night, the only blemish in Florida week after a surprising sweep of the Panthers in a rare two-game road series.

Yes, that shutout was the third blanking already this season but to me that’s a bit of a non-story people are giving way too much oxygen to. Okay, the Devils were blanked four times all of last season so from that standpoint three in a month and a half isn’t ideal, but would the Tampa or Calgary games really have been any better as 4-1 and 3-1 defeats? We have scored 72 goals in 21 games including ten in the two games against the Panthers, so that’s overall pretty good.

Of course the other shutout – the inexcusable 1-0 home defeat against the Sharks – was the last time anyone saw them in New Jersey when they were understandably booed out of the building after the almost inevitable Mackenzie Blackwood revenge game to the tune of a 44-save shutout. As much as I didn’t like Blackwood, honestly I was just more annoyed we lost to the worst team in the league and it was another dreadful home performance, particularly the first two periods. I get they had a stirring late comeback from two goals down late in the third against the Isles the night before and had won three in a row before that game, but those are the kind of games that can drop a playoff team to a bubble team.

If I have any concern at this point, it’s the home form. Once again, we’ve been a lot better outside of New Jersey (9-4) – including the neutral site ‘home’ win against the Sabres – than at the Prudential Center (3-3-2). Ironically the Sharks game was my first regulation loss in four games attended this season, but it definitely gave me a bit of PTSD after any number of horrible performances against teams we ‘should’ beat at home. Yet the same team who couldn’t even score against the worst team in the league two weeks ago all of a sudden started raining in goals against the Stanley Cup champs in back-to-back games.

I would have watched Tuesday’s game…except for the fact it was an ESPN+ only game. It’s quite honestly silly that certain regular season games are behind an additional paywall while you can watch every last playoff game on network TV. I don’t know enough about the business end of contracts to know why the NHL can’t do the same thing the NFL does with its exclusive rights games and put them on the air locally. Every last dopey New York Jets game I’ve been able to see even if it’s a Prime Network exclusive. Honestly, I’d almost forgotten about the game last Tuesday until I saw the 4-1 score afterward. The phrase out of sight, out of mind applies here. At least being able to watch the highlights back was nice.

It was especially annoying since I had other plans Thursday and really couldn’t watch that game either. In many ways, the 6-2 Thursday win was even more impressive, especially since they were outshot heavily on Tuesday but Jacob Markstrom shined in a 34-save game and goals by Jack Hughes, Paul Cotter and Timo Meier gave the Devils just enough offense to win the game, with Ondrej Palat also getting an empty-netter late to snap a long Panthers winning streak and get the bad taste from the Shark game out of our mouths.

However, Thursday’s win – in a sign perhaps of being a good team – had a completely different starring cast with Jesper Bratt throwing down a hat trick, Stefan Noesen also scoring a brace and Dawson Mercer adding a power play goal, one of three the team scored with the man advantage in the game! Also, a different goalie starred as Jake Allen would make 25 saves getting each member of the tandem a win in Florida. Granted, Thursday’s game was a bit more balanced in terms of the play than Tuesday was…but they all count the same in the W column.

I kind of figured Saturday would be a coming down to earth game, especially against a Lightning team that have owned us in recent years (granted, so have the Panthers). This is one where I do give a bit of a schedule pass, especially with the insanity that has been the Devils’ first six weeks of the season. Not only did we kick off with an overseas trip to start the season, but the majority of our first few weeks have been on the road with a Western Canada trip and a Florida trip among our thirteen games away from home. The fact we have 3-5 more games played than most of our competitors at this point in the season is ludicrous. I guess it’s good for the back end at least in terms of wear and tear?

Not that I really trust the team yet to be able to take advantage of the softer part of their schedule – which isn’t even going to come until after they play the Hurricanes on Thursday and go to Washington Saturday – at least they’re thriving against the odds over the last few weeks though. And we’ve had good health to this point with thirteen skaters having played in all twenty-one games so far, as well as our starting goalie tandem both being available and in the net for all of them. Thankfully they’ve both been decent to above average so far, a rarity for Devils goalies in the last decade! Among guys who haven’t played every game so far, at least people like Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce have been able to add to the defense, especially since they gave up fourteen goals in the two games before the pair returned to the lineup, and since they have come back the team is 7-3-1.

Despite my pooh-pooing of the shutout stat I do think we’re due for some regression offensively, unless you think both Noesen and Cotter will have 25-35 goal seasons (since both have 9 and 7 respectively so far, and their career highs are 14 and 13). I don’t know if this is a three and a half goal a game team without a real solution in the top six although at least Hughes and Bratt are making Palat seem like he’s got a pulse offensively, while he’s done the grit work for the skill part of the line. Speaking of offense, hopefully Dougie Hamilton is due for some more goals after only scoring one in his first twenty-one games so far, albeit he’s at least put up thirteen assists including beauties like this one to spring Jack for the OT winner against the Isles a couple weeks back:

I haven’t even said a word yet about Nico Hischier, who’d clearly be the team’s MVP through the first quarter of the season, leading the team in goals with ten, third in points and being second in plus-minus with a +10 (only behind defensive revelation Jonathan Kovacevic with +13) along with all the faceoffs and stellar defensive work he brings to the table. As you would expect, Bratt, Hughes and Nico are pacing the rest of the team in points. We’re gonna need good health to continue though, especially without much help on the horizon from Utica who’s still winless in thirteen games, even after firing coach Kevin Dineen a couple weeks back. That said, Nolan Foote has been one of the few offensive bright spots for the Comets and now that he’s been called up by the Devils, he’ll hopefully get a chance before too long.

I’ll likely have to miss this Thursday’s game as well, which might be a good thing considering the double bugaboo of it being at home and against another of our nemesis teams in the Hurricanes. Even if they didn’t have a history of owning us, the game wouldn’t be easy against the team currently leading the East in winning percentage with a 13-4 record. It’s still early but man the Metro playoffs look like they’re gonna be a handful with the Canes, Rangers and a resurgent Caps team all off to hot starts. Of course, our goal first is just to make sure we’re in the playoffs this time around and go from there.