The month of December hasn’t been too kind toward the New Jersey Devils. They currently have a record of 3-7-2 this month with one more game to be played (Pittsburgh Penguins) before closing out 2022. Despite their struggles, the Devils still hold the second position in the Metropolitan Division, however, they have very little room for error. For better understanding, there’s currently a three-way tie (Penguins, New York Islanders, New York Rangers) from the fourth through sixth positions in the Metro. To add insult to injury, all three of those teams only trail the Devils by two points. This puts extra pressure on the Devils to try and break out of their slump in order to regain their comfortable points cushion.
Obviously, their previous matchup against the Boston Bruins was another frustrating outing for their entire team. Because they once again had a lot of good looks and opportunities but weren’t able to convert them into multiple goals. As previously mentioned, they have to face the Penguins and then the Carolina Hurricanes on New Year’s Day. Since these next two games are against divisional opponents, it might be imperative for the Devils to come away with the win in both matchups.
Tensions were high in the Devils locker room after the Bruins defeat on Wednesday. The stress and frustration seem to be showing within the organization. I asked Erik Haula whether or not the team views the next couple of games as potential “must-win” scenarios.
“Must-win is a tough word,” Haula said. “I think it’s a little too much. But if you look at it, it’s one win in eight games. So, that ain’t gonna do it.”
While Haula seemed to be somewhat content with his approach toward these next couple of games, Lindy Ruff had a different perspective.
“We view every game as a must-win,” Ruff said bluntly. “We look at every game from the start of the year and just talked about getting better and just being ready to win on any night.”
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While I understand that Haula is not trying to add any more pressure on himself and his teammates, these next couple of games are must-wins for the Devils. Because these points start to add up, the Devils certainly don’t want to see themselves slip even lower in the division. They need to find some sort of consistency quickly; otherwise clinching a playoff spot will be that much more difficult. I don’t want the Devils to infamously become one of those teams that went on a lengthy winning streak but somehow still missed the playoffs.