New Jersey Devils Need To Find Consistency Entering the Playoffs

The New Jersey Devils are heading back to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2023. However, the Devils did not get into the playoffs themselves. They need help from their divisional rival.

New Jersey, with a win on Tuesday night against the Boston Bruins, could have punched their ticket itself. But it was not meant to be, and the Devils fell 7-2, needing help on Wednesday night to earn a playoff spot in 2025.

They got that help when their rivals, the Philadelphia Flyers, beat the New York Rangers 8-5, thanks to a Tyson Foerster hat-trick. While it is great to see an “X” next to their name in the standings, knowing the team reached the playoffs, the players themselves know they must be better if they want to compete in the playoffs against the Carolina Hurricanes.

“It’s nice we know who we’re playing (in the playoffs). We still have four games left, and we want to focus on that first and make sure we feel good about ourselves,” Nico Hischier said to the media on Thursday following practice. “I know it’s not easy to make the playoffs. It’s the first step that we wanted to achieve. I think we earned it throughout the year. Now it’s about building our game and getting ready for Game 1.”

If the New Jersey Devils are going to play games like they did against the Boston Bruins in the playoffs, they are going home early. New Jersey has to find that game that made them successful earlier in the season. While they are missing players like Jack Hughes, Jonas Siegenthaler, and Dougie Hamilton, the Devils have to get back to playing defense-first hockey.

That type of hockey is what wins in the playoffs. Limiting your opponent to 20 shots or fewer. Helping your goaltender clear out pucks. Do not make silly turnovers that end up in the back of your end. Not to mention playing a consistent 60-minute night in and night out. Those are things the New Jersey Devils have struggled with all year.

“We just need to find out what our identity is and stick with it,” Stefan Noesen said following the game on Tuesday. “It’s just consistency. It’s being hard and doing the little things right.” 

When everything comes together, the New Jersey Devils can compete with any team in the league. It shows that when they stick to their structure and systems, New Jersey can beat the Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers (twice in a week), and Washington Capitals, along with the other top teams in the NHL.

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However, when it does not go well for the Devils, it does not go well. Their defense and goaltending get exploited. Similar to how the Carolina Hurricanes exploited the Devils in the second round of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. If they get down in games, the players do not know how to adjust to a team clogging up the middle.

Not to mention, the Devils play a different style—well, the players do. Instead of sticking with hard forechecking, they try to run and gun, which makes things even worse. In the playoffs, everyone has to be on the same page. Sticking to your systems and game plan allows teams to stay in games they have no business being in.

For some reason, the New Jersey Devils have not been the same team since returning from the Christmas holiday and that December night’s loss to the Carolina Hurricanes. Right now, they are a .500 team at best.

It is a team that continues to communicate the same message after losses regarding urgency, playing to an identity, competitiveness, and consistently playing a well-structured game.

“We know that we have better than that,” Jesper Bratt said to the media following practice on Thursday. “We have four games to build great momentum, build a good feeling in this room, put in good, competitive, well-structured games in the playoffs. These four games are to see how we carry ourselves and raise our bar.”

Again, there is excitement for the Devils in the New Jersey area. New Jersey must think positively and realize they have made the Stanley Cup Playoffs two of the last three years. That is the takeaway, not looking at it as three playoff appearances since 2012.

But the Devils have to be sharper and better prepared entering the playoffs. New Jersey can’t let a good start, being up 2-0, slip away and not play their game. The Devils have a habit of letting bad bounces affect the outcome of games, and it did Friday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins, giving four straight goals in a 4-2 loss.

The clear message heading into the playoffs is that the New Jersey Devils need to learn how to be uncomfortable in tight situations. These past couple of losses are a reminder that if the players do not show up on a nightly basis, they are going to lose, especially to teams lower than them in the standings.

“There needs to be a recognition of the challenges ahead to keep growing and be in game mode,” Sheldon Keefe said on Thursday. “I think it’s important that we stay in game mode here, we have had a light schedule. It’s gonna heat up again on us, which I think is a good thing going into the playoffs. So I think it’s important to stay going. And as you know, the last game (Boston game) is a perfect indication or example of what I’m talking about with staying game ready.”

While the New Jersey Devils accomplished their goal of making the playoffs, backing in was not on the cards. The next three games are a growing period for the players as they try to find their game heading into Game 83.