Welcome to the New Jersey Devils 3 Up, 3 Down for the 2022-23 season. Moving forward, this will be a monthly column chronicling the highs and lows from the previous month of action.
The New Jersey Devils’ most challenging month of the 2022-23 campaign is behind them. The club is in the final stretch as only seven games remain before the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs begin. Nico Hischier’s team earned a record of 8-5-3 including a 3-0 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes and scoring seven goals against the defending Stanley Cup champions.
Here’s a look at some of the good and bad from the past month for the Devils.
Plus 1: New Jersey Clinches Playoff Berth
New Jersey became the third team to punch their ticket to playoffs behind the Boston Bruins and Carolina Hurricanes. It is the first time since the 2017-18 campaign that the Devils will be part of the postseason. The only players who remain from the club’s last appearance are Hischier, Miles Wood, Damon Severson, and Jesper Bratt.
Related: Devils’ Window to Contend Is Open: How We Got Here
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“It’s weird because the only other time we were in the playoffs when I was on the team (it came down to) the last few games,” said Severson. “We had to really earn our spot right at the end of the season, very, very end. So to have that, to clinch early, we earned it. We played really well all year and we set ourselves up early in the season to be successful.”
Minus 1: Giving Up The First Goal
The Devils conceded the first goal of the game nine times in March. Slow starts have been something that has haunted the club throughout the season, but luckily they have been able to rally and record 24 comeback victories, which is a franchise record.
It is an area the Devils need to tighten up as the postseason nears, and one of the team’s veterans knows how important it is to start on time once the playoffs begin in a few weeks.
“Obviously, in the playoffs starts are imperative,” said Brendan Smith. “I know that if you score the first goal in a playoff game, it’s like 60 percent or something crazy that the first team who scores wins. That’s a huge impact. I’ve always known that starts are very big.”
Plus 2: Vanecek Joins Elite Company
On March 30, goaltender Vitek Vanecek skated onto the ice at Prudential…
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