New Jersey Devils’ Best Case Scenario Post All-Star Break

Obviously the New Jersey Devils have not been playing their best hockey in 2018 thus far. However, instead of everything being negative surrounding the team (except for Brian Boyle getting the nod for the All-Star game), we as fans should have something to look forward to. So let’s take a look at the best case scenario on how the Devils can turn this stretch around in the final months of the season.

The New Jersey Devils should begin with getting healthy. The loss of Taylor Hall in the past three games has obviously been detrimental. There’s no question that he creates scoring chances that not many other players can in the league. Regaining him in the lineup Tuesday against the Buffalo Sabres can help jump-start the offense.

Hall wants to make it to the playoffs as badly as anyone. He’s never made it there in his career since being drafted first overall in 2010. Before the hand injury, Hall scored 12 points in the previous 7 games. Given his thirst for playoff action, I don’t see those numbers slowing up. Expect Taylor Hall to be the horse that the Devils ride into playoff time.

Despite Taylor Hall being important, the Devils are going to need more to stay in the playoff hunt. Staying on the topic of becoming healthy as a team, after the sending Mackenzie Blackwood back down to Binghamton, it seems as though one of our two injured goaltenders (Cory Schneider or Keith Kinkaid) will be back on Tuesday night. Hopefully we get our number one goalie in Cory Schneider is back in the crease. Schneider has been in the playoffs before, however he would love to be the starting goalie in net for a team poised to make a run.

Schneider hasn’t been on his game lately, which means he can only go up from here. He knows he must play better, and he should. If Schneider gets hot, there’s no reason that this Devils team can’t get back to where they were in mid December.

We talked about the huge impact Taylor Hall has on the New Jersey Devils, however I think Schneider’s play is even more important. Since coming to New Jersey from Vancouver in 2013, Schneider’s play and the Devils record has seemed to go hand in hand. Rarely are the Devils able to score enough goals to take the load off of a struggling goaltender. Best case scenario here, Schneider comes back hot off injury and begins to give the team a chance to win every single night.

The New Jersey Devils’ depth needs to show up again. Earlier in the season, I wrote an article while the Devils were winning about how depth scoring was leading the team to victory. Well, it’s doing the opposite during this stretch.

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Third and fourth line guys have not been producing much of any offense. Guys like Stefan Noesen, Brian Boyle and Miles Wood cooled off in a big way all at the same time. This cannot last forever. Look for the third and fourth line to pick it up a lot. They will be pestering opposing teams while creating gritty scoring chances in the other end. Hopefully, Brian Gibbons will be back soon to add to this group.

Kyle Palmieri’s another enormous piece to this team who has been underwhelming. Remember last year around this time? Palmieri turned his scoring ability to the next level. Last season he scored 26 goals, 20 of them came after the new year. There’s no reason that cannot happen again. Palmieri is a leader of this team who knows what he has to do to get this team going again.

Despite the extremely poor stretch, the Devils are far from out of the race. Although its as low as they have been in the standings this year, they still do have possession of the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. They have the tools that can get the team back to where they were in the first half. Once the calendar changes from January to February and the Devils can have a fresh start after the All-Star Break, things can start to turn around.