Over the past two seasons, a lot has been made of the New Jersey Devils’ struggles in the second half of back-to-backs. In 2023-24, a campaign that ended without a playoff berth, New Jersey went 3-11-2 in such situations. This past season, one that did include postseason hockey, the Devils went 3-8-1 in the second half of back-to-backs. Just taking those records at face value, we can see how much of a grind it has been for this team to collect points when dealing with no rest.
While it’s true that they still made the postseason in one of those years, it’s inarguable that they could have forged a much easier path to the playoffs if they just played better in these situations. Even just one or two more wins would have made a big difference, even if, admittedly, it might not have changed anything once they were actually in the playoffs.
But the thing about those numbers is that they lack context. Sure those records look bad, but the second half of a back-to-back is tough for any team. It makes sense that a team would perform worse in those scenarios than when having at least one day of rest. So the question then becomes, is this performance unusually bad, or is this par for the course for most NHL teams? Although even this might not be the right question to ask. Perhaps instead of comparing this to all NHL teams, it would be best to compare them to other contenders. After all, New Jersey is presumably in their contention window right now, so it doesn’t really matter for our purposes to see how they stack up to bottom feeders like Chicago or Anaheim.
So today, let’s add some context to these numbers. I went back over the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons and figured out how each postseason team performed in the second half of back-to-backs. This is what I found:
2023-24
Eastern Conference
New York Rangers: 11-1-0 (.917 Points Percentage)
Carolina Hurricanes: 8-2-4 (.714)
Florida Panthers: 6-1-1 (.813)
Boston Bruins: 4-4-3 (.500)
Toronto Maple Leafs: 7-6-0 (.538)
Tampa Bay Lightning: 5-5-0 (.500)
New York Islanders: 1-6-3 (.250)
Washington Capitals: 8-5-2 (.600)
Western Conference
Dallas Stars: 6-3-2 (.636)
Winnipeg Jets: 6-2-0 (.750)
Vancouver Canucks: 5-3-1 (.611)
Colorado Avalanche: 4-3-1 (.563)
Edmonton Oilers: 5-5-0 (.500)
Nashville Predators: 8-0-1 (.944)
Los Angeles Kings: 4-6-2 (.417)
Vegas Golden Knights: 5-4-2 (.545)
Back in 2023-24, the postseason teams certainly held their own during the second half of back-to-backs. In the Eastern Conference, only the Islanders registered a points percentage below .500 (they still weren’t worse than the Devils though, as the Isles’ .250 points percentage was equal to New Jersey’s that season). Out west, only the Kings were below .500. Every other postseason squad was at or above breakeven, including a few teams that absolutely killed it (hello, Nashville).
How does this compare to 2024-25? Let’s find out:
2024-25
Eastern Conference
Washington Capitals: 7-6-0 (.538 points percentage)
Toronto Maple Leafs: 10-4-2 (.688)
Tampa Bay Lightning: 5-5-0 (.500)
Carolina Hurricanes: 8-7-0 (.533)
Florida Panthers: 7-7-0 (.500)
Ottawa Senators: 8-4-2 (.643)
New Jersey Devils: 3-8-1 (.292)
Montreal Canadiens: 7-5-3 (.567)
Western Conference
Winnipeg Jets: 2-6-0 (.250)
Vegas Golden Knights: 9-4-0 (.692)
Dallas Stars: 8-2-1 (.773)
Los Angeles Kings: 9-4-1 (.679)
Colorado Avalanche: 8-3-1 (.708)
Edmonton Oilers: 7-7-0 (.500)
Minnesota Wild: 5-6-1 (.458)
St. Louis Blues: 4-4-2 (.500)
The Devils were the only playoff team in the Eastern Conference below .500 in the second half of back-to-backs. It’s no wonder they just squeaked in. Meanwhile in the Western Conference, there were two teams under the breakeven mark: The Wild and, shockingly, the Presidents Trophy winning Jets. Somehow, the Devils played better than Winnipeg with no rest in 2024-25. Go figure.
In any case, we see now that if you want to be a playoff team, doing well during the second half of back-to-backs is close to mandatory. Not 100% mandatory as we can see, but close.
So where does that leave New Jersey in 2025-26? Well they have 15 back-to-backs, which is a large number, but the Devils are always saddled with a large number of these due to their geographic location. What should the goal be for the 15 second halves? Let’s say 7-8-0, or a .467 points percentage. I think this is being very generous to the Devils, as I’m not even asking for a .500 points percentage here. I’m simply asking for something reasonable. That’s how poor New Jersey has performed in these situations over the past two seasons: I would consider a record right below .500 to be a win. By the way, in case you were wondering, the 2022-23 team posted a 9-3-0 (.750) mark in the second half of back-to-backs. That’s how you set a franchise record in points.
Conclusion and Your Take
The New Jersey Devils need to perform much better during the second half of back-to-backs, plain and simple. It didn’t cost them a postseason berth last year, but it took a pathetically weak Eastern Conference bubble to make that happen. The Devils can’t bank on the middle of the East being awful again. If they approach .500 (or, heaven forbid, eclipse it), that should go a long way toward returning New Jersey to the top of the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference.
What do you make of New Jersey’s struggles in these situations? Now that you see how other playoff teams perform, what would you set as the goal for the second half of back-to-backs in 2025-26? As always, thanks for reading!