5 Records New Jersey Devils Could Still Break This Season
The New Jersey Devils are one of the best teams in the league, enjoying one of the best seasons in franchise history. There’s a chance to make it historic.
The New Jersey Devils are enthralled in one of the best regular seasons in franchise history. So many things went right in 2022-23. Jack Hughes went from an analytical darling and future star to one of the best players in the league. Dougie Hamilton solidified his status as a top offensive defenseman. Nico Hischier took the next step offensively to really lead this team. They finally got a goalie who can give them average to above-average goaltending from Vitek Vanecek. Now, thanks to all that went right, the Devils are in second in the Metropolitan Division and already clinched a playoff spot.
One might think the Devils are going through the motions for the final nine games. They have to fend off the Rangers, but making the playoffs was a huge goal for this franchise. Accomplishing that means the team can breathe a little easier.
There are plenty of individual and team goals that can still be accomplished. Some records are still in the balance. Devils fans have a lot more to root for than just wins.
1. Jack Hughes – Most Points By A Devils Player
Jack Hughes was going to CRUSH the Devils points record. He was well on his way to scoring 100 points, the first time a Devils player would reach such a feat. Then, Hughes got hurt. It wasn’t anything serious, but it knocked him out for a few weeks. He was still on pace to beat the record when he returned, but Hughes hit a rough patch.
Right now, Hughes has 86 points with nine games remaining. The record for points in a season is held by Patrik Elias in 2000-01. He had 96 points.
Hughes is ten points away. That’s a hefty task, but it’s far from impossible. Hughes is scoring at the highest rate in the history of the franchise. His 1.25 points per game is better than Taylor Hall in 2017-18, his MVP year. That pace would give Hughes the record, placing him at 97 points on the season.
After Hughes scored three goals in a back-to-back this weekend, it showed he has his scoring touch back. That will help him break more records this season.
2. Nico Hischier – Game-Winning Goals
Game-winning goals aren’t the end all be all we once expected. Not every game-winning goal is treated the same. An overtime goal comes at 3v3. Some game-winning goals come in a 7-1 blowout. Others come with a first-period goal in a 2-1 snoozer. Those goals are obviously not the same as a third-period goal that came with barely any time on the clock.
Still, it’s cool to see Nico Hischier coming up on the record for most game-winning goals in Devils history. It’s not an easy feat asking Hischier to score two game-winning goals in nine games. And that would only tie the record set by John MacLean in 1989-90.
Still, we’d be hard pressed not to add the captain to this list. Only MacLean and Brian Gionta (whose Devils franchise goals record appears to be safe) have more GWGs than Hischier has right now.
Hischier has some game-winners that probably aren’t very memorable. He scored the GWG against the Tampa Bay Lightning earlier this month. Nobody remembers that because Jesper Bratt scored a hat trick in that game. He also scored the overtime winner against the Arizona Coyotes. In November, Hischer had back-to-back games where he scored the game winner against Calgary with nine minutes left, then had an overtime winner against the Ottawa Senators. If Hischier can get hot again, he could at least tie MacLean’s record.
3. New Jersey Devils – Most Road Wins All Time
The New Jersey Devils and Boston Bruins are steeped in a race for the most road wins of all time. The Devils were well on their way before a few trips and falls over the last few weeks. Still, the Devils are four wins behind the 2005-06 Detroit Red Wings. There are five road games left for the Devils.
The Boston Bruins are one of those games, but it comes late enough in the season that they have everything locked up. They might not see Vezina candidate Linus Ullmark or any of the somewhat injured Bruins like Patrice Bergeron. In fact, the Bruins might sit some of their stars in that game to ensure they are healthy for the playoffs.
Of the other four games, they have the Islanders this week, Chicago and Winnipeg on a back-to-back this weekend, and then the Capitals are the final game of the season. The Devils can absolutely win those four games. The second half of the back-to-back will be the hardest game to win just because of the travel and the opponent (the Jets). It still seems possible.
One more win, and the Devils will have the sixth-most road wins of all time. Two more road wins brings them to third, tied with the 1998-99 Devils for the franchise record.
4. Dougie Hamilton – Most Points By Devils Defenseman
Dougie Hamilton is already breaking his own personal records. He has a career high in goals (19), assists (49), and points obviously (68). He’s averaging just under a point per game, and he’s fourth in the league in defensemen points. Quinn Hughes and Josh Morrissey have one more point than Hamilton. Erik Karlsson is having the most ridiculous season with 90 points.
Hamilton would need to really ramp up his scoring to catch Scott Stevens. Some might be surprised that Stevens, and not Scott Niedermayer, holds the record for most points by a defenseman. At this point, Stevens is known as a heavy hitter who captained the Devils Stanley Cup winners with an iron fist and an even harder shoulder block. However, prior to 1995, Stevens was one of the best offensive defensemen in the game. He has 908 points in his career, 12th all time amongst defensemen.
10 points over the last nine games is a lot to ask from a defenseman, but it’s far from impossible. He’s scored at an incredible clip in other parts this season. He had 14 points in seven games from January 22nd to February 11th.
Hamilton is having a historic season in terms of Devils lore. He’s already second in franchise history for points by a defender. However, a great run would be awesome to bring momentum to the team prior to the playoffs.
5. Damon Severson – Expected +/-
You knew there had to be a surprise on this list. Damon Severson is that surprise. He’s been incredible analytically this season and pretty terrible with the eye test. This is nothing new. Severson has always been an analytical darling that gets destroyed by the fanbase. He makes crazy mistakes that don’t always show the real impact in the advanced numbers. He also makes a million little moves that help the Devils win.
Looking at the overall season Severson is having, this is the best of his career in certain aspects. He was played on the third line for the majority of the season, which really protected him from the mistakes that hurt him last season. That’s why Severson’s expected +/- is 21.2. That’s more than Jack Hughes, who’s at 20 even.
According to Hockey Reference, Expected +/- considers the shot location and uses league-wide averages to determine the likelihood of that shot being a goal. Whether a goal is scored or not doesn’t matter. It takes shot quality into account.
Expected +/- doesn’t go back as far as some other stats. It’s relatively recent. Right now, the leader in the stat for Devils franchise history is actually Jaromir Jagr in 2013-14. He was great that season, but it is surprising.
dark. Next. 5 Players Fighting For Playoff Minutes
Severson, with a couple of really good weeks, could beat Jagr, who had 23.6 in expected +/-. It would have to be an incredible end to the season, but the Devils can get hot and help Severson jump into the leaderboard. He’s currently fourth on the list, behind a couple of Andy Greene seasons.