On Tuesday night, the New Jersey Devils defeated the Montreal Canadiens by a final score of 5-1. As you probably know by now, that is their 10th straight victory. It is one of the best ten-game stretches in the team’s history.
Over this stretch, they have blown some teams out, had some comeback wins, and even scored a few overtime goals to keep it alive. All of their best players have been their best, and the depth guys are contributing more than expected.
They also have gotten excellent goaltending from everyone who gets the opportunity. That applies to Vitek Vanecek, who made 25 saves on 26 shots against the Habs on Tuesday. They need to keep it up to keep the winning streak alive. There are plenty of reasons to believe in this team.
On Tuesday, Jack Hughes stole the show with two goals and an assist for three points. Jesper Bratt and Dougie Hamilton also had multi-point efforts as all three of them have dominated during this ten-game winning streak.
Nico Hischier’s line with Tomas Tatar and Fabian Zetterlund also had a goal in this one, but it was deemed offsides, and the goal didn’t count. Hischier and Tatar had their seven games point streaks snapped, but they were still arguably the best line going against Montreal’s top trio.
The New Jersey Devils are one of the most exciting teams in the entire league.
All of these guys have made for some exhilarating hockey. Plenty of unnamed players have helped New Jersey do what they are doing. As mentioned before, you can claim that this is the most exciting stretch in the history of the Devils.
It certainly isn’t the best Devils team in history, as they were amazing from 1994-2012. With three Stanley Cup wins and two other Finals appearances there as well. However, those teams were slower and less dynamic than this group.
When they play against other teams in the league today, they appear to be much faster and much more skilled than any Devils team we have ever seen.
It is primarily because they have been patient in developing guys like Hischier, Hughes, and Bratt, amongst others. This didn’t happen overnight.
Because this is the first year that we are seeing this from the group they have, it is hard to predict how far they can take it. The win streak certainly won’t last forever, but they have an inside track at the postseason now, which is nice.
Can they win a round? Things tighten up in the playoffs, which they will need to learn how to deal with over time. Getting there this year is extremely important, so winning as many games as they can right now is a must.
They will search for their 11th straight win on Thursday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Toronto made easy work of the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night so the Devils will have their hands full with Auston Matthews and company.