The New Jersey Devils are clearly a different team in 2024-25 than they were last year. Heck, this is even a different team that helped them break franchise records in 2022-23. The Devils focused on a different style that includes creating offense through hitting and an intense forecheck in the neutral and defensive zones. The Devils are even on pace for 2,000 hits for the first time since hit numbers have been covered like this.
Hits are a huge part of the Devils success this season, and they are leading the league in hits with 504, but that's not surprising. The Devils have played 20 games, which is way more than all the other teams in the league.
Sheldon Keefe, the Devils new head coach, is also very keen on teaching the importance of hitting. His Maple Leafs teams always were near the top of the league in hitting. Last year, they had more than 2,200 hits as a team, which is higher than the Devils' pace this season. The hits shouldn't be too surprising because of the lead in games played and the Keefe style.
What is surprising is the Devils are leading the league in fighting. Just the other night, Brenden Dillon took on Florida Panthers fighter Jonah Gadjovich. The heavyweight battle sparked the Devils. We can't say the fight is the reason the Devils beat the defending Stanley Cup champs, but it definitely didn't hurt, as the Devils played much better after the fight.
Gadjovich clearly didn't have enough of the Devils, as he fought again on Thursday night. It was a rare back-to-back matchup with the same team in the same barn, as the Devils were in South Florida for the second time in three days.
Both fights lifted Dillon and MacDermid to three fights on the year. Four other players on the Devils have a fight, giving the Devils a league leading 10 fights.
We expected a tougher team, but we didn't expect a team that fights like this. The Devils are averaging a fighting major once every two games, as first reported by Rachel Herzog on MSG Networks.
The Devils are a tougher team, and they've put their money where their mouth is. They haven't even had many rivalry matchups, playing no games against the New York Rangers or Philadelphia Flyers. We expect both those matchups to come with some animosity and some fighting majors, especially if a certain untalented oak tree is in the lineup.