New Jersey Devils Have A Terrible Time In December Almost Every Year

The New Jersey Devils were considered one of the best teams in the NHL on December 1st. Only the Boston Bruins were clearly better, and the Devils were outworking everyone in front of them. They were better in every aspect. The defense was one of the best in the league. Lindy Ruff was putting out four good lines. Even the goaltending was playing at league average, which is all this team needed at the time. It seemed like the Devils finally had the right formula to win.

Then, the team actually had to play December games. The Devils have gone 3-6-2 in December. They’ve come up losers in nine of 11 games this month. That doesn’t really put us in the Christmas spirit.

This isn’t anything new. The Devils are bad every holiday season. Last year, the Devils went 3-8-1 in December. They were 1-8-1 leading up to Christmas. Their December stretch solidified it would be another lost season for Garden State hockey. This included four losses of at least three goals. The team just didn’t show up in December. Of course, this was about when the goalie situation turned insanely bad.

Of course, there were no games played in December 2020. We were excited about a Mackenzie Blackwood-Corey Crawford pairing (the former just signed a three-year extension and the latter was preparing to start a two-year pact). We all know how that ended.

December 2019 was a wild one for the Devils. They started the month losing six games in a row. Then, they benched star forward Taylor Hall. He was eventually traded to the Arizona Coyotes (ironically, the team that ended the six-game stinker), and the Devils were officially sellers in mid-December despite the hype of the offseason.

In 2018, the Devils went 3-5-3 going into Christmas, salvaging points but still leaving Devils fans sad at the end of eight of 11 contests.

One strange theme is the Devils end the month after the Christmas break insanely well. They won all three games between Christmas and New Year’s in 2018. They went 2-0-1 in 2019, and likely would have won all three if Damon Severson scored on the right net. They went 2-0 last season. So, the Devils haven’t lost a game in regulation between Christmas and New Year’s since losing to the Washington Capitals on December 30, 2017.

The Devils restart their schedule on Wednesday against the Boston Bruins. Then, they take on the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday. If the Devils somehow continue this trend and win both of those games, the sentiment toward the team will be entirely different going into 2023. They are still in the driver’s seat. If they win the next two games, they will be right back on pace as one of the best teams in the NHL.