Here are my quick hits on the Florida road trip heading into TBL tonight and my 20-game review on the Devils’ season so far:
FLA Recap
The Florida road trip has been tremendous for the Devils to this point! The two-game set vs. FLA, especially Thursday night’s game, was one of the most impressive showings I’ve seen in a long, long time from a Devils team. It was a complete, gutsy team effort, both mentally and physically. You had buy-in from every player up and down the lineup, you got incredible contributions from both the PP and PK, and your goaltenders locked down the net to take down the defending champs on their home ice — not once, but twice in a row. What more could you ask for?!
Big Mental Test in Tampa
What I’m really looking forward to now is the test the Devils have in front of them tonight in Tampa Bay. For me, this game is going to be a great measuring stick as to where the maturity level of this team is at. The Devils know heading into this game that they could very easily "take this game off" and lose to a team that just had an emotional home win over the historically hot Winnipeg Jets for Vasy’s record-setting 300th W. Everyone would still call the trip a success, including me. That being said, as a former captain, I hope to see that the mindset in that room is, “We want all 6 points; let’s get the job done and sweep this trip, boys!” Let's see if the team can rise to the occasion and prove to everyone that after beating Florida twice, they still wanted more and proceeded to beat Tampa Bay as well! That would be a fantastic statement to the rest of the league!
Comparison Time
For me, the two real significant differences that stand out when comparing this Devils team to its predecessors, specifically the 2022-23 team, are that it’s better constructed to sustain the momentum they’ve built so far, and they finally have above-average goaltending. Yes, that 2022-23 team was phenomenal to watch for so many reasons and had tremendous success, but it’s also no secret that they were a team that was built for the regular season. It was a smooth ride all the way through the regular season into the first round - until they finally faced real adversity in the second round vs. CAR - and they didn’t have a response for that.
Now, in this graphic below, you’ll see the Devils are still on par with their goal production and goals against rates from 2022-23, but they are also averaging almost 10 more Hits/GP from that season - in addition to the 10 fights already compared to just 3 in the first 20 GP of ‘22-‘23. And lastly, a .911 Sv% is a huge improvement from a .885.
So yes, as we’ve seen throughout the season — and look no further than the FLA games — this current Devils team is better equipped to dictate and initiate the physical part of the game, which, in turn, forces other teams to be less ambitious in trying to push the Devils around. For me, this is what will make the Devils a more durable team long-term and better suited for that spring-time playoff-styled hockey, as they hopefully get back in the postseason!
Offensive Review
Now, all other factors aside, I mentioned briefly that the Devils are still producing offense at similar rates to that of 2022-23, and I want to isolate those numbers here and give some more love to the Devils’ ability to get to the inside and finish their chances this season, as they are currently sitting top 10 (or just outside of it) in essentially every major offensive category this season.
Some might say the Devils are not quite as dangerous as they’ve been in prior years in terms of generating chances off the rush, but that is not true, as they have created similar rates in that category. It’s important to remember what HC Keefe has been preaching regarding his offensive structure and philosophy to date, which is to defend less by controlling the puck more, and as a result, you won’t bleed as many chances against.
Defensive/Goaltending Review
Lastly, taking a look at some of the team’s underlying defensive numbers through the first 20 games, it’s been impressive to witness the whole team buying in and turning around the commitment to defending, which was such a major issue last season. Overall, the team has done a fantastic job of preventing the opposition from getting to the inside. The Devils are currently conceding the second lowest rate of shots on net from the slot, the fifth fewest HD chances from the inner slot, and they’re also ending plays quickly, ranked ninth in OZ Poss. Time AG/GP. Combine this with the fact that the Devils are finally getting the above-average goaltending they’ve been desperately missing for years, and that’s the receipt for the Devils being ranked fifth in Goals AG/GP this season. Incredible improvement!
Rachel and I will dive deeper into all of these topics, show some video examples, touch on special teams, and more during our pregame show tonight, so be sure to tune in to MSG/MSG2 at 6:30 p.m.!
I know you fans can agree it’s been exhilarating to watch the games on this trip so far, and I hope we see the Devils put an exclamation point on it with at least a point tonight!
Let’s Go Devils!
-Sal
