3 X-Factors that will make or break the rest of the Devils season

The Devils need a lot to happen if they want to make it back to the postseason, as their current play has not been up to par over the last four months. But it’s not because of the coaching or that a step back was needed. Instead, their best players have had a tough time staying healthy, and that will be problematic for any hockey team. 

Their defensive game hasn’t been where it needs to be, and to make things worse, the Devils goaltending has been unable to compensate for so-so play at times in the defensive zone. These issues have broken the Devils season to date, but if they can turn them around, then their 2023-24 campaign is far from over. 

Let’s look at how injuries and bad goaltending have affected them, and how they can turn themselves into at least wild card contenders down the stretch should they fix those two issues. There is one more X-Factor that could also trend the Devils season upward, and one that few may have considered. 

The Devils key players must stay healthy if they want to make a playoff run

A star player like Jack Hughes isn’t just the kind of guy who can transform a mediocre team into a relevant one, but he’s a franchise player who can turn a good team into an elite group. Fortunately for the Devils, they are a good hockey team that is more than capable of playing near or at an elite level with Hughes on the ice. 

Unfortunately, Hughes hasn’t been available all season, appearing in just 38 contests as of February 19th. In those games, he’s scored 50 points and 17 goals, good for 1.31 points per contest. If he were healthy for most if not all games this season, New Jersey would have won a few more of those close contests, and they wouldn’t be on the outside looking in on the wild card race.

Other players like Nico Hischier and Timo Meier have also missed significant time, seeing action in just 43 and 41 games, respectively. If their key players can stay healthy down the stretch, the Devils would more than benefit and likely play more than just 82 games this season. 

New Jersey must pick things up in the net, or else they will miss the playoffs

While the Devils are in the top 12 in goals scored, they have struggled defensively all season, allowing 185 goals. Through February 19th, that number sits 25th in the NHL, and much of this has fallen onto their goaltending.

It’s true that they can use another defenseman in the rotation, as someone like Noah Hanifin would be great, but their top goaltender this year, Vitek Vanecek, has been a major disappointment. He’s only faced roughly 27 shots on goal per game, which should be a manageable number given how well a player of his caliber performed in recent seasons. So his abysmal 0.890 save percentage and 3.18 GAA is inexcusable. 

Either A, the Devils add one more piece to the defensive rotation to help prevent a few more shots from making it to the net, or B, they trade for a goaltender like Jacob Markstrom to settle things down between the pipes.  

If they sit there and do nothing, then they better hope someone currently in the lineup steps up. But since they have the assets to make a trade to strengthen at least one of their weaknesses and they aren’t too far outside of a wild card, they need to make a splash in the next few weeks before the trade deadline.