The New Jersey Devils have been disappointing in their most recent stretch of games. The Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals have seemingly already secured the two Eastern Conference Wild Card spots. It looks like Devils fans will most likely have to look forward to the draft once again this upcoming summer. All that aside, New Jersey, like many other teams, had a handful of games postponed due to COVID outbreaks leaving a lot of makeups to be played.
Well, we now finally know when those matches will take place as the NHL released updated schedules for each team. Let’s take a look at the updated slate of games for the Devs and how it will impact the rest of the season.
Home and Home against Toronto (1/31-2/1)
New Jersey is 1-2-1 against teams north of the border so far this season and will be facing arguably the best Canada-based team twice as we transition from January to February. Toronto currently holds a record of 26-10-3 and could be a serious Stanley Cup contender if they don’t live up to their previous reputation. With studs like Auston Matthews and William Nylander along with a goalie like Jack Campbell, it’ll be intriguing to see how much of a fight the Devils can put up, especially with it being a two back-to-back.
Previous Meeting:
New Jersey last saw Toronto back on January 14th, 2020, losing the game on the road 7-4.
Despite trailing for the majority of the game Blake Coleman tallied a hat trick while the Devils also received a goal from P.K. Subban. Matthews had a hat trick of his own for the Leafs while Frederick Andersen got the win in goal over Louis Domingue, who had to be pulled for Cory Schneider.
@ Montreal (2/8)
In a schedule that seems so tough, the Devils might actually have a break here as they head back north of the border to face the Montreal Canadiens. While the Devils are a long way out of a playoff spot (16 points behind Boston), the Canadiens have a league worst 22 points on the season. It’s been a rock bottom year after Montreal was in the Stanley Cup Final just a season ago. While this is a great opportunity to let New Jersey’s young core shine, it’s still important not to take anything for granted as we can’t forget the Devils lost to the Coyotes at home 4-1 not too long ago.
Previous Meeting:
New Jersey and Montreal last met on February 4th, 2020 when the Canadiens barely escaped Prudential Center with a shootout win. However, as many would say, this is a classic Devils loss. New Jersey had a 3-0 lead halfway through the 2nd period and then would ultimately trail 4-3 late in the 3rd. While Kyle Palmieri would tie the game with the extra attacker on the ice, the Devils would, again, lose in a shootout.
vs Pittsburgh (2/13)
In the middle of February, the Devils will meet the Penguins for the 3rd time this season, playing host at ‘The Rock.’ After a very mediocre start to the season, Pittsburg has shot all the way up Metropolitan Division standings, moving all the way to 2nd place. We always talk about how the Devils need a goalie, well the Penguins have one. Tristan Jarry was named an All-Star this season for the Pens, registering an incredible .926 save % along with 23 wins on the season. Jake Guentzel has also been electric for Pittsburgh.
Previous Meeting:
After the Devils beat the Penguins 4-2 back on October 30th to earn their first road win of the year, New Jersey fell to the same team back on December 19th 3-2, right before the two-week shutdown. While Janne Kuokkanen and Nate Bastian were able to get on the board for Devils, they trailed for both the majority of the 2nd period and the entire 3rd period failing to establish any dominance.
vs Lightning (2/15)
Despite a losing playoff series and a loss this season, New Jersey has had a good bit of success against the Tampa Bay Lightning. They are the only team to beat them in regulation in Tampa while trailing going into the 3rd period and are considered to be one of Andrei Vasilevskiy‘s ‘kryptonite.’ The Devils are 1-1 this season against them on the road so it will a fun game to see if they can get the best of them in Newark as well.
Previous Meeting:
The last time these two teams met was just a few days ago as the Devils fell to Tampa 3-2. Jack Hughes and Damon Severson recorded goals for New Jersey. While Anthony Cirelli scored the game winner with less than 10 minutes to go in the 3rd period.