New Jersey Devils: 5 Most Surprising Stats Of 12-Game Winning Streak
The New Jersey Devils have been the best team in the NHL of the last month. They haven’t lost a game since Monday, October 24th. If the Devils survive Edmonton on Monday night or Toronto on Wednesday night, then the Devils will go a full month without losing a game. This is one of the greatest stretches to be a Devils fan in team history.
The Devils are winning games in every type of way. They can suffocate teams with defense, as they did against the Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators. There are insane offensive performances like the one against the Columbus Blue Jackets and Detroit Red Wings. We even had a goalie steal a game against the defending Stanley Cup champs.
Overtime winners, come-from-behind victories, goalie injuries, and two Canadian road trips can stop the Devils from losing. And that is where we will start. There are surprising stats in any streak, but the tenacity of this team is its most impressive feat.
Times Devils Went Into Intermission Down: 2
The New Jersey Devils have come-from-behind victories, but they don’t waste time coming back. They usually respond to goals before the period ends. Sometimes, they do it within minutes. The Devils don’t let anything get them down. They are always looking for the next goal. Whether that cuts a deficit, ties the game, or puts them up by five. They go after offense with the same determination.
Only twice in 12 games did the Devils go into the intermission losing the game. The first time was November 3rd against the Oilers. The Devils had a dreadful second period and gave up goals to Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid. They eventually went off in the third period. Miles Wood got the Devils within one less than two minutes into the period. Then, with less than four minutes left in the game, Ryan Graves and Jesper Bratt scored within seven seconds of each other to win the game.
On November 8th, Nazem Kadri scored the only goal of the first period. The Devils scored two in the second to take the lead, and they would beat the Flames for the second time in four days. And that’s it. At the end of 39 periods (including three overtime periods), the Devils only finished two with a Lindy Ruff speech about coming back. It’s honestly remarkable.
High-Danger Chances Against At All Strengths: 119
Here, we tag in Natural Stat Trick to help us formulate some advanced stats. High-danger chances are something we often use to judge NHL teams. It’s one thing to get a ton of chances overall, but getting chances in incredible scoring areas often leads to goals.
The Devils’ defense has been getting its flowers for how well it’s played to start the season. They deserve it. Adding John Marino looks like one of the best moves of the offseason. It allowed the Devils to make great pairs up and down the lineup. Graves-Marino, Hamilton-Siegenthaler, and Severson-Smith are the right pairs right now. There’s no way Lindy Ruff will change that unless we see an injury.
The Devils have allowed 119 high-danger chances since October 23rd. That’s the lowest in the league. Remember, this is at full strength, power play, penalty kill, and overtime. The Devils have been winning games because they suffocate opposing offenses. Does that sound familiar?
The Devils are turning back the clock. Tom Fitzgerald went after the types of players that help teams win in 2022. It might look similar to how the Devils were winning in 2000 and 2003, but things had to change slightly with a different league. The Devils need a player like Dougie Hamilton who can hold himself defensively but also crush it offensively.
The Devils’ defense has been the best in the league this season. The numbers do not lie. While nobody will be a Norris candidate at this point, there is no team with the same depth at the position. It’s crazy how different this defense is playing compared to just two years ago.
Total Goals Scored: 54
Over the last 28 days, the Devils have been great on defense. However, the offense has been just as good. They scored 54 goals, again the best in the league during that time. They haven’t even played the most games. Some teams have a full game over the Devils. 26 of those goals have been high-danger goals, almost half. These haven’t been cheap goals. The Devils are scoring with incredible plays.
Jesper Bratt and Nico Hischier lead the team with seven goals in this stretch. Only two players have failed to score while playing more than one game. Damon Severson and Brendan Smith play a very different game right now. They aren’t getting those offensive chances that lead to goals. Just about everyone else is.
What’s crazy is 17 players have more goals in this stretch than Hischier and Bratt. The Devils aren’t getting all of their goal-scoring at the top. They are getting it from different players every night. Sometimes, it’s the BMW line that’s driving the offense. Other times, the captain puts Tomas Tatar in the perfect position. There are even nights when the defense is driving scoring.
There is no sign the scoring will stop. The Devils have four lines that can score at any time on the ice. The Devils are a wagon, and it’s because of the symmetry between the offense and the defense.
Akira Schmid and Vitek Vanecek save percentages: .971 and .941
You know this season is special when even the goalies are playing out of their minds. Only one goalie who’s played at least three games has a better save percentage in this stretch than Akira Schmid’s .971. Jeremy Swayman has an equally ridiculous .976 for the Boston Bruins. Vitek Vanecek has played a ton since Mackenzie Blackwood suffered a knee injury. He has a .941 save percentage in 10 games. That’s good for 16th in the league since October 23rd.
Vanecek made it very easy for Lindy Ruff when Blackwood comes back. He is the bonafide starter until he proves otherwise. The big question is actually whether Schmid has earned his right to stay in the NHL and be Vanecek’s backup. That’s incredibly complicated, but there are a lot of complications that come to mind. For one, money has to be part of the equation for Schmid. His salary with the Devils is $850,000. It’s $65,000 when he plays for the Utica Comets. That is not an insignificant part of this equation, especially for someone who isn’t a first-round pick or guaranteed a future roster spot.
That’s something the Devils can put off for the next few weeks. For now, Devils fans can enjoy the fact the Devils can stop the puck. The defense is really helping them by keeping hard shots away, but the goalies still have to stop the shots. They are doing that at an elite level.
Michael McLeod, Nico Hischier, and Erik Haula Faceoff Percentage: 60%, 56%, 55%
Faceoffs aren’t the end all be all we once thought they were, but they are still incredibly important. They are especially important in certain situations. The fact that Michael McLeod, Erik Haula, and Nico Hischier are all well over 50% in faceoff percentage shows the Devils really focused on something that wasn’t a strength. The Devils didn’t win many faceoffs last season. This year, they are getting possession when they need it.
Faceoffs are most important on the penalty kill. Getting possession at the beginning of the kill takes off crucial seconds from the opponent’s advantage. It can be the difference between a successful kill and a goal against. McLeod wins 77% of the faceoffs on the kill during this stretch. Hischier wins just under 57%.
The hockey world might not appreciate faceoffs as they should, but it’s clear that the Devils didn’t agree. They worked on faceoffs. They did it a lot, clearly. Hischier had a complete turnaround in the faceoff dot under Lindy Ruff. He is playing as well in the dot as he’s ever played. He gets possession at an incredible clip.
Next. Devils Franchise Record For Points Will Be Broken. dark
Playing Haula with Jack Hughes also allows the team to get possession for their best player. Hughes still struggles in the dot, but now he can focus on playing center once the Devils get possession. Haula does that for this team, helping them get to the next level.