27 games: 22W, 3L and 2 OTL/SOL translates to six points out of a playoff spot. Wait, what?? Come again…
It's become a little surreal to witness the Devils come back from - quite literally, the dead. They were written off, what feels like months ago at this point, as a top lottery team. And this in of itself was a bit of a shock to the hockey world. For as long as Martin Brodeur has tended goal for the Devils, they have been a team to be reckoned with. So, to see the Devils not be competitive, at the very least came as a huge surprise considering their heavy investment into one of the world’s greatest offensive talents. Ilya Kovulchuk was supposed to complement an already balanced offense and sturdy defense into a serious contender. The Russian superstar signed a deal to lace it up until the year 2025 for 100 million dollars (well, after a lengthy contract controversy, Kovulchuk actually originally sold his soul to the Devils until the year 2027)!
Half a season later, it clearly didn’t quite work out the way they expected it to play out. And thus, as is typical for the NHL, a change had to be made, and the easiest way to do that is to oust the coach as the scapegoat. So, out the door went John MacLean and in came – yeah, you guessed it, a very familiar face -- the guy who only just retired earlier last summer, Jacques Lemaire. The New Jersey Devils were 9-22-2 when they made the coaching change. But for a little while, the change didn't seem to help them out much and really hit rock bottom at 10-29-2. Then suddenly... 22 wins in 27 games.
Teams are scared to play the Devils now, when only a few weeks ago, they were easily circled in the dressing room calendar as an easy win. To see how the Devils have taken their season from the graveyard into the bubble playoff team mix is remarkable. And this turnaround has been a full team effort – their coveted superstar winger has completely turned his season around during this stretch and Hedburg has really stepped in well for the injured Martin Brodeur -- but Marty is healthy again, and they are still winning. Four of their 5 losses during this 27 game stretch were 1 goal defeats (two being in OT). They only have one loss by more than a goal during this stretch and that was to the Detroit Red Wings (not really that bad of a loss).
The Devils seem to really have the Hockey God's on their side right now. They could have easily tanked the season a while ago, but they haven’t seemed too fond with that idea whatsoever. For this Devils team, there is no “sneaking” into the playoffs. If they get that coveted 8 spot, everybody will know it and everybody will have seen it coming at this point.
As of right now, no one really knows how far NJ can continue to pump out wins. And that's what many said when the Devils were "sellers" at the trade deadline. So with the regular season hitting its final stretch, as a majority of the teams only a dozen games left to go, can the Devils defy all odds and shock the hockey nation?
Soon we’ll find out what the Devils are really made of, but right now, I wouldn’t bet against them. And if I am any of the top 3 teams in the east, I would not want to face a red-hot Devils team.
Stay tuned…
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