Epiphany For The Devils | Defector

Despite four straight seasons without a postseason appearance, and an entire decade with just one lonely playoff win, these New Jersey Devils aren’t going to get away with another lackluster year. As they’ve added more and more talent through both the draft and free agency, only to be plagued by bad luck and underachievement, 2022–23 feels like a year in which the pressure is on to put it all together and at least show something better than the seventh- and eighth-place divisional finishes of years prior.

That longing for improvement became painfully tangible in the team’s home opener, just two weeks ago, when their second 5-2 defeat in as many games prompted “Fire Lindy” chants, which targeted the team’s third-year coach Lindy Ruff. That loss to the Red Wings felt like even more of a failure because, after their first defeat against the Flyers, eighth-year Devils winger Miles Wood let off some steam and amped up the stakes of their early-season affairs.

Those comments looked bad in the cold light of an 0-2 record, but ever since losing that “must-win” game the Devils have been playing up to their potential, not just winning but dominating the flow of play as they’ve shot to the top of the Metropolitan with a 6-3-0 mark. Against Anaheim, in what I guess was a double-or-nothing must-win game, the Devils absorbed the shock of an early 2-0 deficit, doubled up their opponents’ shots, and came back to win 4-2. They handily beat the Islanders while outshooting them 43-17. They took down the Sharks in similar fashion before suffering a goaltending breakdown against the Caps—it happens—then came back to get revenge against the Red Wings in a dominant 6-2 win. On Friday night, hosting the Avalanche, it was 21-year-old centerpiece Jack Hughes who shot through traffic on a third-period power play to score the game’s only goal as New Jersey outdueled the reigning champs.

And in their follow-up on Sunday afternoon against Columbus, the team enjoyed an easygoing prelude to Devil’s Night when they egged and T.P.’d the Blue Jackets to the tune of a 7-1 final score. As the crowd booed newly uniformed Jackets star Johnny Gaudreau, who many believed would sign with the Devils this offseason, the home team refused to coast, ripping CBJ apart with a whopping 53 shots on goal. And after that regretful quote that already feels like it came from another season entirely, Miles Wood delivered some neat hustle long after the outcome was decided and gave the game its final score.

“This win shows character,” said Nico Hischier, the Devils’ 23-year-old captain. “We beat a…