The New Jersey Devils lost yet another game on the road last night to the Chicago Blackhawks in overtime. Since the teams reached the extra session, the Devils will earn a point in the standings for the overtime loss, but it still leaves an unsettling feeling for the fans. This 2016-17 Devils team has struggled on the road so far, and the reverse is also true: the team has been very strong on their home ice (7 wins, and only 2 losses – both in overtime) which has buoyed their overall performance.
There are some fans and local “beat” media types that are quick to point out that many of those games where the Devils performance has lacked are in games against top tier teams or teams with winning records, for the most part. They would also be correct in generalizing the effort of New Jersey being very resolute in many of those games, where they have battled to stay in those losing games rather than give up.
However, in my view, the fact that the Devils have played 14 games on the road this season and have won just 3 of those games and lost 11 times (7 in regulation and 4 in overtime), is a concern. I can concede that it is still early, there is a great deal of hockey still left to be played; but the reality is that these trends get entrenched and they are difficult for teams to turn around.
In addition, the team has been without star forward Taylor Hall who was out with an injury until his return last night to the action in Chicago. Hall does significantly impact the manner in which the team approaches the strategy to a given game. His ability to use his speed and skating ability to push the puck forward puts pressure on the opposing team and changes the way in which the Devils hold the zone offensively and transition the puck as well. That type of impact cannot be underscored. It obviously remains to be seen how a healthy and effective Taylor Hall as well as the health of other key players impacts the performance of the team on the road as the season moves forward.
The silver lining in the case of a tough team like Chicago is that the Devils will not have to play there again this season. The Devils also dealt with a trip to the West Coast already and subjected themselves to that gauntlet. The point being that they have put some of the more difficult road trips behind them.
It should also be noted that the Devils schedule is “back loaded” with home games in the second half, which if they play to their potential and are in the mix for a wild card playoff spot, they should be able to win several of those home games, so they figure to be well positioned in the long term.
Conversely, they have not played many Metropolitan Division opponents so far this season, so New Jersey has some difficult games ahead against teams in the top of the standings such as the New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and the surprising Columbus Blue Jackets.
In addition, the Devils have several games remaining with the top teams from the Atlantic Division such as the Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, and Boston Bruins. It is going to be “tough sledding” until February where they have nine of their eleven games that month are at home at Prudential Center.
In the meantime, we will learn if Travis Zajac has found his scoring touch again after the hat trick last night. We will see how the new defensive pairings for this season hold up under the crucible of Metropolitan divisional rivalry games. We will see if the young Devils prospects can continue to contribute in the various facets of the game on a consistent basis.
The Devils have areas to improve and they have areas where they have been surprisingly better than anticipated, but that is not unlike many other teams at this point in a hockey season. It remains to be seen how the road ahead will treat New Jersey, but I know one thing: they have to figure out a way to win games away from Prudential Center, or else this season will be over before we know it.