New Jersey Devils Need To Finish November Strong
By Brian Cooke
The New Jersey Devils are currently 11-4-2, sitting at the top of the Metropolitan Division with 24 points. Tonight the Devils look to extend their two game winning streak and steal one from Toronto. Beyond tonight, here is what New Jersey must do to remain at the top by the end of November.
November 16th at Toronto- Tonight, New Jersey looks to stay red hot in the offensive zone, coming off a seven goal performance in Chicago. The Devils should be fresh since they haven’t played since Sunday, and tonight Travis Zajac will grace us with his 2017-2018 debut. Zajac’s presence should help as New Jersey looks to tighten up their defense. The Maple Leafs will be without their most dangerous forward, Austin Mathews. This game is very winnable as the Devils look to dominate them like they did on October 11th, resulting in a 6-3 game.
November 18th at Winnipeg- This will be a difficult game. The Jets are currently second to the Blues in the Central Division, and have been one of the hottest teams in the league recently. In their last ten games, only one came without registering a point. This will be a good road test for the Devils, but I won’t feel too bad if they drop this one.
November 20th at Minnesota- This will be the Devils fourth and final game on the road trip, and this is one I am confident in. The Wild have not started the season the way they envisioned, but there is plenty of time to figure it out. Minnesota’s starting goaltender Devan Dubnyk has three straight shutouts, so I’m expecting reality to catch up to him sooner rather than later.
November 22nd vs Boston- Finally, a home game! The Bruins have been underperforming all season, mostly due to injuries. The Devils need to capitalize on the crippled team coming into Prudential. Boston lost four straight, but I don’t expect them to be this bad the entire year. I think they will be a good second half squad, but the Devils will be looking to expose their shallow roster.
November 24th vs Vancouver- The Canucks have not been as bad as people were expecting. Their youngsters have been putting up a great showing thus far. I think they still have to improve to be a powerful force, but they are showing some promise. The Devils shutout the Canucks on November 1st, and I expect Cory Schneider to have another determined, strong game.
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November 25th at Detroit- The second leg of a back to back, expect to see Keith Kinkaid in net. The Red Wings have had a nice start to the season, and I think this will be tough game. Detroit will also be playing their second half of a back to back. Hopefully they will be jet-lagged. If all my predictions are correct up to this point, I am fine with losing this one.
November 27th vs Florida- The Devils will wrap up the month of November at home against the Panthers. No excuses, this is a must win. Florida gave us a scare earlier this month, but I think they are one of the weakest teams in the East. To stay at the top of a very competitive Metropolitan Division, you need to win the easy ones.
With the remaining seven games of the month, I’m putting my chips on the side of optimism. I have the Devils going 5-2 to finish off the month. I do think New Jersey can stay at the top of the Metro heading into December going 4-3 as well, but nothing less. The schedule will only get tougher, so it is critical for the Devils to build a division lead while they can.