5 Questions New Jersey Devils Must Answer In Playoffs
The New Jersey Devils are making their first playoff appearance since 2018 and looking to win their first series since 2012. There are a lot of moments and storylines stealing headlines as we head into the series against the New York Rangers (we assume).
The New Jersey Devils made the postseason weeks ago. That gave the writers and analysts plenty of time to develop storylines heading into the first playoff series in five years. However, most of the storylines have been developing all season long. It became clear in November that the Devils were likely to be postseason-bound. Yet, most real analysts aren’t putting them in real contention status. That’s because there are a few narratives following this team.
Those narratives might rear their ugly heads, but it’s clear the Devils are going in with a lot of unanswered questions. That’s because there is no history to rely on. The Devils as they are constructed now, have never been to the postseason. Their last run came at Taylor Hall’s hands, lasting five games against the top-seeded Tampa Bay Lightning. This time, there needs to be some proof with this pudding. With a much better seeding, there will be higher expectations.
Question 1: Can This Team’s Youth Prove Itself In Unknown Territory?
Playoff pressure is real. It is just different when the 82 preceding games mean nothing. It’s harder to brush off losses. Heck, it’s harder to brush off bad shifts. One goal against could be the difference between moving on until the next round and moving on to the next green. If the Devils young team wants to avoid golfing, they need their stars to dominate.
Jack Hughes, Dawson Mercer, Nathan Bastian, and Michael McLeod are some of the eight players on the roster to have zero playoff games on their resumes. Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Damon Severson, and Miles Wood have just that 2018 series under their belts.
While Dougie Hamilton, Erik Haula, and Vitek Vanecek have playoff experience, the Devils as a whole have to prove they can handle the pressure of the postseason. Winning one series would do the trick.
Question 2: Can Vitek Vanecek Devils Through A Series?
Vitek Vanecek was the right man for the job. The Devils needed a goalie desperately after the season they suffered through in 2021-22. Seven goalies trotted themselves out for the Devils last season, and none of them played well. This offseason, Tom Fitzgerald traded for Vanecek, and he gave Mackenzie Blackwood one last chance. Vanecek stole the net, and he’s the man going into the playoffs.
He’s played in the playoffs before, which is more than Blackwood can say. However, Vanecek had a few rough starts when it mattered most. He has three starts but just 112 minutes of ice time. That means he was pulled from two of those three starts. His postseason save percentage is .855. That’s obviously terrible.
Vanecek has never been in this position. He’s always been behind Ilya Samsonov when he played in Washington. This time, he’s THE guy. He has to be great. Who knows if that will help him or put more pressure on him, but it will definitely be different.
Some might have issues with Vanecek’s workload. He’s never played this many games in his career. Will he burn out in the playoffs? We just need to see it. Once Vanecek puts together a great playoff performance, Devils fans will breathe easier.
Question 3: Can Timo Meier or Jesper Bratt Put Together A $10 Million Performance?
We haven’t spoken much about the Jesper Bratt and Timo Meier contract statuses. That’s because they’ve both been playing well, and the Devils can wait until the offseason to deal with both of them. However, Meier and Bratt could put a lot of pressure on Fitzgerald to open the Harris-Blitzer checkbook with superstar performances in the postseason.
Meier has a little more leverage since he has that $10 million qualifying offer. Can he earn a $10 million contract as an AAV? We can’t see Fitzgerald offering something that hefty, but what if Meier scores 10 postseason goals? He’s already acclimated well with the Devils. He has nine goals in 18 games. He’s already earning a hefty paycheck. A quality playoff performance will have fans screaming for more.
Now Bratt is a different story. We’ve been doing the negotiation with his camp for years. Well, we haven’t. However, we’ve felt the stress of it. Most fans aren’t looking forward to another runaround with Bratt’s agent. However, a huge playoff performance would make it worth it.
Bratt scored the lone goal against the Boston Bruins on Saturday night. He’s been prone to do that as of late. He’s really turned it on, and if he can continue to stay hot going into the playoffs, he could be a key component of the Devils advance.
Question 4: Will Jack Hughes Take That Next Step?
The New Jersey Devils will go where Jack Hughes takes them. While they have stars up and down the lineup, Hughes is clearly the top guy. He just tied the New Jersey Devils franchise record for points in a season. He and Patrik Elias both have 96 points in their top season. Hughes needs one more point to break that franchise record.
Elias did that in 2000-01, a year where the Devils went to the Stanley Cup Final. The Colorado Avalanche won the Cup, but Elias kept his scoring going. He had 23 points in 25 games, the most points Elias ever had in a postseason.
It’s too much to ask Hughes to score like that in his first postseason. Elias did have five points in his first postseason performance, which lasted eight games total. Hughes just needs to show he has superstar tendencies in this year’s playoffs.
This is especially true if the Devils are facing the Rangers in the first round. We do not want to hear from our arch-nemesis if Hughes doesn’t dominate. It’s hard to imagine Hughes falling off that much. His brother is now here. There’s no reason to feel pressure. He should be light and breezy.
Question 5: Can Devils Defense Avoid Terrible Mistakes?
For the most part, the Devils defense has been great this season. It’s hard to get fans to believe us when saying it because there are these major mistakes that stick out like a sore thumb. There are a million examples that seem to repeat. Dougie Hamilton has a bad habit of giving up 2-on-1s. Damon Severson still passes the puck in front of his own net, and it gets intercepted more often than we like. It just happened Saturday night. Luckily, it didn’t end up in a goal.
Ryan Graves has been making too many mistakes, even though he seems to redeem himself. John Marino has been much better than his slump a few weeks ago, but that can change if they aren’t careful.
The bottom pairing is going to be either Kevin Bahl, Brendan Smith, or Luke Hughes. It seems pretty clear that will be the weak link on the defense in the playoffs, but Bahl has been very good recently.
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The Devils have seen mistakes go in the back of the net far too often. Since March 1st, the Devils have allowed 175 high-danger chances. In the same time period, the Devils have 303 high-danger chances. Yet, the Devils have given up more high-danger goals than they’ve scored. It seems preposterous, but their mistakes are ending up in the back of the net. They need to avoid the mistakes entirely to move on in the postseason.