How An Unlikely Devils Team Has Managed To Etch Their Name In History

They just refuse to lose.

For just the fifth time in NHL history, the New Jersey Devils have won 13 consecutive games, now standing just 4-shy of the record set by the 1993 Penguins.

And despite the team who’s pulled it off being one of the least likely heading into the season, the portion of the schedule the Devils did it through adds to the remarkable nature.

They became the first team ever to sweep both the easter and western road trips through Canada in one run, alongside taking down the former Stanley Cup champs, all without their biggest free agent signing in Ondrej Palat, and their starting goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood.

Since their last loss on October 24, they are outscoring their opponents 56-24, averaging 4.31 goals a night and 35 shots on net a contest, all amongst the top of the league.

And best of all, their 16 total wins (32 points) on the year has already given them over half of their 2021 points total (63 points).

So, how have they been able to transform into a powerhouse seemingly out of thin air?

The answer to this starts and ends with production from their prospects.

On their active roster, the average age for the team is under 26 years old. This has allowed for a relatively balanced cap distribution for the team, as only 3 players surpass a $7 million hit towards the salary cap this year.

And even for those same team-leading contracts (Dougie Hamilton, Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier) all 3 of them fall outside the top-40 contracts in the NHL.

So, with this top of the team contract, has come top of the team production on the year, and Hischier (22 points), Hughes (21 points), and Hamilton (14 points) are 2-4 of the skaters.

Alongside this level of play from the front line attack, has come quality contributions from some of the lesser earners. Over the stretch, players like Tomas Tatar (12 points, $4.5 million cap hit), Yegor Sharangovich (10 points, $2 million) and Miles Wood (10 points on $3.2 million) have been efficient in the seasons’ first 19 games.

It’s about as even of a distribution as you could hope for as a front office mind. But for a team to separate from strong start to a 13-game winning streak takes unexpected production, which the Devils have 2 prime examples of.

The first, being the teams’ leading scorer Jesper Bratt. Bratt, earning $5.45 million in his 6th year in the league, is already on pace to shatter his career year of 73 points.

In 19 games, Bratt has 8 goals and 16 assists, leading the team in assists but 1 shy of the team crown in goals. 7 goals and 8 assists of this total has come since the starting of the streak, as in only 3 of those games did he not record a point.

Bratt currently finds himself tied for 12th in the NHL in points, tied with Jack Eichel.

Normally, this would be the runaway storyline, if it were not for the job done by Vitek Vanecek.

The 26-year-old in his first year with New Jersey was unexpectedly thrown into the starting role after losing Blackwood to injury, and in the process all he’s been able to do is produce a 9-1 record with 23 goals allowed, a .918 save percentage and 1 shutout on the year.

Vanecek ranks 3rd being Linus Ullmark and Connor Hellebuyck in league-best goals against average at 2.14, but in comparison to them, he only makes $3.4 million to their $5 million and $6.2 million cap hit this year.

Simply put, everything that Devils fans were optimistically hoping for with their young talent in the preseason has been exactly that, and they all have Lindy Ruff to thank for that.

It’s a good thing Ruff was able to accept the apology the crowd gave him after beginning the year with “Fire Lindy” chants in the home opener.