Whoever made the NHL schedule for this season decided apparently that they did not want to be nice to the New Jersey Devils. Well, at least not in the month of October. While the team may not have to deal with a large number of back to back games (just one set of those) the number of successful teams from 2024-25 is daunting. Only three of the Devils’ 11 opening month games are against non-playoff teams, with two of them being against the same San Jose Sharks team. The other eight games include a challenging pair against the Colorado Avalanche, a home contest against the defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers, and a season opening matchup against current kryptonite the Carolina Hurricanes.
With the Devils limping their way into the playoffs last season, and a less than stellar showing in them, accruing as many points as possible will be important. Playing as many good games as possible will be another focus. And the Devils will need to start strong in October if they hope to be a strong team going into April and hopefully beyond. While some of their results will be based on outside factors, such as injuries (Matthew Tkachuk won’t be appearing for Florida for example), some of it is going to also dependent on things that can control.
With Sheldon Keefe coming back for a second season in New Jersey now, much of the system will be staying the same. The Devils also retained much of the same personnel from last season, meaning the players should know what to do and where to be in Keefe’s gameplan as well. There will be some growing pains with a few new pieces, but hopefully much of that can be figured out in training camp and the preseason. I’m not saying that the Devils should be going 11-0 to start the season in October (would be great if they did though) but they can’t go 3-8-0 and only beat the non-playoff teams either. An early test against a number of successful teams could be the experience this Devils group needs.
So is there anything working in the Devils’ favor to help them get off to a strong start. Well, there’s a couple, though not as many as fans would like I’m sure. The lack of back to back is a strong starting point, meaning the team will get at least one day to rest and/or practice between contests. A couple of opponents (Florida, San Jose when they are the road team) face the Devils on the back half of a back to back, meaning they should be somewhat tired against a fresh Devils team. While those are both home contests, the Devils also have three other home games, giving them the last line change, and hopefully at least a bit of a match-up advantage. Couple those five home games (which includes the two teams on the end of a back to back) and two other games against non-playoff teams from last year, and the Devils could at least theoretically go 7-4-0 in that stretch. 14 out of a possible 22 points isn’t the best outcome, but against a tough set of opponents, it could be enough to push the team into a strong position for when the level of competition decreases at least a bit.
But if 14 points enough? Well, it could be depending upon how the team looks. If they’re strong on the ice, and it just isn’t their night or they get beat due to match-ups in situations without last change, it’s hard to argue against 14 points. But if they make dumb mistakes over and over in both winning and losing scenarios, then that’s more cause for concern because those issues could keep arising and costing them more points as the season goes. There’s a reason the title says “Play Well in October” and not “Win in October” because strong play will translate later on. Mistake filled play puts the team right back to where they were in 2024-25, and with other teams who just missed the postseason attempting to strengthen their rosters, the Devils might not be fortunate enough to sneak into the playoffs again like they did last season.
If this Devils group hopes to be championship material, they need to start playing strong hockey every nigh. And that begins even with a tough October schedule.
What are your thoughts on the opening month for the New Jersey Devils? Are you concerned about the ratio of playoff teams to non-playoff? Does the number of road contests concern you? Are you reserving judgment until you see what the group looks like coming out of the preseason? Leave any and all comments below and thanks as always for reading!