The New Jersey Devils have certainly not met their sky-high expectations this season. As it stands, they sit fifth in the Metropolitan Division with a record of 19-13-2 — which, while sturdy in a vacuum, just isn’t cutting it in a stacked division. They sit in the second wild card spot, and with games at hand, they likely find themselves in a comfortable playoff spot soon. Still, the Devils entered 2023-24 as a favorite to win the Stanley Cup, and the team’s record simply does not match those expectations.
While the team has struggled to play up to the level they did last season, there’s an argument to be made that their record is less reflective of their play than it is on the schedule. For example, the Devils have the most back-to-backs in the league this season with 16. While yes, every team has back-to-backs in their schedule, it does seem as though the Devils have gotten the short end of the stick this season.
Vitek playing at a league average level would be a big help. He’s playing a lot worse than he has for most of his career. Don’t know what the answer is.
He got peppered in the 2nd, but you still can’t just give up 4 like that.