The New Jersey Devils have been inconsistent to start the season. And that’s why they have a 4-4 record. Losing as much as you win in the NHL can work sometimes, but there have to be overtime losses built in there. The Devils are winning their overtime games, so all their losses are in regulation.
What’s become a problem is that they are losing too many games against divisional opponents. Two of their four losses have been against the Washington Capitals and New York Islanders, and they haven’t even faced the juggernaut Carolina Hurricanes yet. Their division wins include a dominant victory against the New York Rangers and an overtime win over the Flyers, meaning they gave them a point to play with.
Devils fans just aren’t feeling it to start the season. There have been too many odd-man rushes, the goaltending hasn’t been nearly good enough, and the Devils aren’t finishing their chances. Many think it’s the same old Devils.
While they might be right, the numbers are showing something different. They are dominating in chances, in shots, in so many different statistics that assume the goals are going to come eventually.
Again, the #NJDevils have not had the underlying numbers they have put up early since 2022-23. It’s why I’m so confident in the process. To compare this to the rest of Keefe’s/the core’s tenure isn’t really justified. https://t.co/nnpojrGFvy
— JP Gambatese (@jp_gambatese) October 19, 2026
We’re once again having a conversation about analytics and their role in today’s NHL. When it comes to the Devils, they often do well when it comes to 5v5 analytics, but this year is different from previous years.
Sunny Mehta is an important part of the equation
The backlash to the analytics isn’t helped by the new Devils GM, Sunny Mehta. He’s known as an “analytics guy,” and he brings that approach to his roster-building. He brought in players with a high probability of helping the Devils succeed.
And they have worked, but it comes down to more than xG. Arguably, xG is actually driven by this statistic.
The Devils are fourth in the league in offensive zone time. Only the Utah Mammoth, Florida Panthers, and Carolina Hurricanes have the puck in the offensive zone more than the Devils.
They are actually in the defensive zone just 38.4% of the time, while they are in the offensive zone 43.3% of the time. The rest of the time, they are in the neutral zone. When looking at a team that could not get out of the defensive zone last season, this is why we have to believe in this offense.
Last season, the Devils were actually in the defensive zone more often than they were in the offensive zone. An inability to clear the zone counteracted their ability to gain and dominate possession.
This season, that’s not the case. They can dominate possession AND steal it back when they need it. That will be key in the Devils starting to establish themselves as a true playoff contender instead of the .500 team they are now.
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