Devils 4, Hurricanes 2: Here to stay

The Devils once again answered the bell against one of the NHL's best teams.

Follow along on Twitter @ToddCordell | @InfernalAccess

Be sure to join the Discord channel to talk hockey with our writers and subscribers.

---

A few observations from New Jersey vs. Carolina:

Here to stay 🏠

Playing a lot of games early in the season allowed the New Jersey Devils to get a leg up on the rest of the field and plant their flag near the top of the standings.

While some teams have closed the gap in games played, big wins against elite opponents like Florida (x2) and Carolina have the Devils making themselves at home as one of the top seeds in the league.

They have still played more than anybody else but their standing is not a byproduct of that. New Jersey’s points percentage of .636 is strong and sees the Devils sandwiched between the Golden Knights and Panthers, a spot they’d happily sign up to be before the season.

The Devils are full value for it, too. They’re beating good teams and they’re doing so with a sound process.

Take last night, for example. The Hurricanes are consistently one of the league’s most dominant sides when it comes to out-shooting and out-chancing their opponents. They almost always have edges in both categories.

That wasn’t the case on Thursday. After a slow start, the Devils really found their footing and grew into the game.

They spent more time on attack, they were the faster team, and it was their high-end skill guys making key plays to break things down in the halfcourt.

When all was said and done, the Devils controlled 63% of the high-danger chances and 67% of the expected goals across all situations.

Seth Jarvis or not – and back-to-back or not – that is no small feat against the Hurricanes.

There comes a time when you are what your record says you are. Despite having played the 6th toughest schedule (via Hockey-Reference), and dealing with abnormalities like an overseas trip, and a more compact schedule than any other team, the Devils’ record suggests they are very good.

Maybe, just maybe, we should believe it.

Hughes and Bratt continue to make magic 🪄