The New Jersey Devils have made the playoffs just one time over the last ten seasons. However, their fortunes might be set to change in 2022-23 because they had a great start to the season. How far this momentum can carry them remains to be seen, but the Devils look like a team that has the personnel to end their four-year playoff drought, and will certainly be attracting the attention of fans of NHL betting.
Center Jack Hughes is strong up front and is contributing his share of goals, as are Nico Hischier and left winger Jesper Bratt. This group is also making plenty of assists, while Tomas Tatar, Jonas Siegenthaler, and Dougie Hamilton are other valuable members of the starting unit.
In goaltending, Vitek Vanecek has a pretty low goals against average, while Akira Schmid has surrendered even less when he takes to the ice.
The Devils have fallen on hard times over the last two seasons. They won only 19 of the 56 games during the shortened 2020-21 season. A year later, they only won 27 of 82 games.
But in the 2022-23 season, the Devils took an early lead in the Metropolitan Division. The franchise looks to have turned the tide and is ready to become a competitor again, perhaps making the playoffs for the first time since 2018.
The New Jersey Devils joined the National Hockey League in 1974 as the Kansas City Scouts. They became the Colorado Rockies two years later and the Devils in 1982.
The team enjoyed much success from the mid-90s to the early 2000s by winning three Stanley Cups in 1995, 2000, and 2003. Their latest Stanley Cup appearance was in 2012, but they lost to the Los Angeles Kings.
The Devils also have five conference titles and nine division championships. They haven’t possessed the Presidents’ Trophy in their history. Their last playoff appearance came in 2017-18, but they were eliminated by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round.
The Devils play their home games at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The arena opened in 2007 and can accommodate 16,514 hockey spectators. Aside from the Devils, it is also home to the New Jersey Rockets of the United States Premier Hockey League and the Seton Hall Pirates. The venue’s exterior is a tribute to New Jersey’s railroad and bricklaying industries.
Devils fans are proud of their team’s heritage. They’ve been at the peak of the hockey world and will not stop cheering until they become a top contender again. For that reason, the Devils’ home games can be loud, and that’s not good news for road teams.
It’s no surprise that the Devils’ toughest rivalries are with teams geographically near their home base. Their feud with the New York Rangers is dubbed the Battle of Hudson River. They’ve met 262 times, and the Rangers have a 126-105-21-10 advantage in their all-time series.
The Rangers also have a slim 18-16 edge in postseason faceoffs. Their last postseason meeting came in the 2012 Eastern Conference Finals, with the Devils winning in six games.
Meanwhile, they also have the Battle of the Jersey Turnpike with the Philadelphia Flyers. A strong Flyers following in South Jersey adds to the intense rivalry. The two teams have met 254 times, with the Devils having a 130-101-15-8 edge. However, they’ve evenly split their 28 playoff games. Their latest postseason encounter was in the 2012 Eastern Conference Semifinals, with New Jersey winning in five games.
