The 2024-25 New Jersey Devils: bigger, older, more experienced, and better? One month in, the Devils are 7-4-2, first in the Metropolitan Division, and on a pace to make the playoffs. Read on for an overview of what happened, how well the Devils did, and who was the Devil of the Month.
The first month of the 2024-25 season for the New Jersey Devils began in Prague, ended in Vancouver, and featured a busy schedule of 13 games played with multiple back-to-backs. The results were decidedly mixed as you would expect from a record of 7-4-2. While the Devils enter November in first place from their 16 points earned, everyone else in the Metropolitan Division except for Pittsburgh has at least two games in hand on them. The point percentage of 61.5% is higher than the 55% that the league average tends to fall around. It was positive – but so it was after October last year. Concerns about the Devils still linger and, I think, appropriately so.
Let us go over this past month to understand what happened, how they performed, and who excelled among who did not.
The Games of October 2024
The New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres were selected to represent the NHL as part of this year’s iteration of the Global Series. This meant they both began their season just as most of the league was wrapping up their preseasons. This also meant they began their season outside of the United States. They played each other in a back-to-back set at the O2 Arena in Prague, Czechia. The People Who Matter who saw either game had reason to be excited. Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen both played very well in their first starts. The Devils got goals from newcomers like Paul Cotter and Stefan Noesen. The Devils won the first game 4-1. They followed it up with a dominant 3-1 win the very next day. The Devils went 2-0-0 to start and returned to New Jersey with their heads held high.
Unfortunately, they were taken down a peg in their home opener on October 10. Against Toronto, the Devils surrendered three goals in the first period. Their defensive awareness was spotty and zone exits were a problem. Markstrom did not always bail them out. The Devils were in deep and while they made an effort, they fell short in a 2-4 loss. The loss was notable as the issues in that game would reappear in October. Not that it happened right away. The team did bounce back two days later with a 5-3 win in Washington. A sloppy start was redeemed and, again, the team’s depth showed up on the scoresheet to make it a win. The winning ways continued on Columbus Day against Utah. Utah came into the game hot with a 2-0-1 record and 18 goals in their first three games. The Devils kept them to 20 shots and zero goals in a 3-0 victory. After the Utah game, the Devils went to Raleigh to play Carolina. The Hurricanes were known for their high-pressure, two-man forecheck and relentless pursuit of the puck. The Devils had no answer and eventually Markstrom would be beaten. The Devils did make a game of it late, but the 2-4 loss showed how far away the Devils were from the Canes based on on-ice performance alone. The Devils did respond well to that loss with a 3-1 win in Ottawa, which was also leaned on Markstrom for the win. All seemed fine going into a rematch against Washington in Newark on October 19.
This one went pear-shaped early on. The Devils managed to be out of sorts in their own end. They got a gift goal from Erik Haula to open the scoring but fell behind to 1-3 due to their own errors and one bad bounce. Nico Hischier went into all-star mode and dragged the game back to 3-3 before defensive miscues and errors made it 3-5. Hischier again was instrumental in another comeback, capped by a Dougie Hamilton bomb to make it 5-5. Alas, a bad line change from Hischier that was followed by a Tom Wilson goal in OT for the 5-6 loss. This game was notable as head coach Sheldon Keefe noted that the effort on defense was not good enough. It got worse in their next game on October 22 against Tampa Bay. The Devils were hammered by the Lightning in the run of play in the first period. Jake Allen did what he could but he was breached and then lit up in the second period for five goals. The Devils would claw back a bit but one heinous call and one terrible bounce off the boards ended it at 5-8. It was as if the Devils forgot how defense worked in that one. No, Erik Cernak hitting Jesper Bratt with a legal bodycheck did not make them forget. The struggles continued in Detroit two days later. Markstrom was not good and Cam Talbot, Detroit’s goaltender, was very good. The Devils had to battle back from deficits to tie it up, which they did. Only for a rock-stupid cross-checking penalty by Dawson Mercer to give Detroit a power play for a late go-ahead goal in the third period. They lost to the Red Wings 3-5 after an empty netter. The winless run reached four on the next night. The Islanders went up within 90 seconds of the first period on a tip-in and Allen was beaten straight up later on. The Devils, again, would battle back. Jesper Bratt roofed a loose puck with the extra skater to force overtime. Overtime that they lost as Allen was beaten five-hole by Bo Horvat in the 3-4 loss. Something had to give.
It finally did on Sunday, October 27. The start was poor, common in those four winless games. Markstrom gave up a bad goal to Brock McGinn to put the Devils down. But New Jersey rose to the challenge from the second period onward. They kept attacking and never let up. It paid off. Jack Hughes, Paul Cotter, and a Stefan Noesen brace made it 4-1 in the second period. Nico Hischier and Erik Haula added goals in the third for what would be a 6-2 win. The winless streak was over! The month ended with the start of the Western Canadian road trip. A trip that will conclude within the first few days of November. On October 30, the Devils visited Vancouver. It did not take long for New Jersey to rush them down. Specifically, a Dawson Mercer-led and Nico Hischier-finished 2-on-1 rush within the first minute. The Devils dominated the game. Jacob Markstrom was perfect, the team allowed only 20 shots, and they scored in all situations in a 6-0 victory. A vaunted 60-minute victory to end the month, start the trip, and secure first place in the division.
By the Numbers
All stats come from Natural Stat Trick and NHL.com where mentioned. Data was pulled after Wednesday’s games so the ranks may shift a bit after last night’s games. They should not matter much; one game will not suddenly make a bad team look real good or a good team look real bad. Stats in the top ten are colored in green; stats in the bottom ten of the league (23rd to 32nd) are colored in red. Ties in rank are rounded up to the highest rank.
5-on-5 Play: With a new head coach behind the bench in Sheldon Keefe and a clear direction to not rush zone exits, how did the Devils do in 5-on-5 play? Quite well, actually.
Natural Stat Trick
The Devils were either a top-ten team or not far from it in the various on-ice team stats recorded at Natural Stat Trick. While the defense has had some horrid times, they were quite good overall. Especially in defending the dangerous areas. The offense may not be as rush-heavy as they were under Lindy Ruff, but they still generated a potent amount of attempts, shots, and chances in 5-on-5 play. Venue and score adjustments were favorable for the Devils. Generally, this team did quite well in the run of play. The individual on-ice rates have more players in the positive (led by Johnathan Kovacevic, Timo Meier, and Jack Hughes in xGF) than in the negative with the depth players plus Ondrej Palat dragging behind everyone else. That is a plus for Keefe’s new ways on top of the record.
It also helped a lot that the Devils’ sticks were quite warm. Plenty of teams opened their first month of the season shooting above 10% so by rank the Devils seem not so impressive. But it really was high as evident by the 30 goals scored in 5-on-5 play. While the Devils did have the advantage of playing 13 games to score goals, they did light it up. What is more is that the goals came throughout the lineup. Nico Hischier and Paul Cotter led the way with five each and eleven other players added at least one from Timo Meier (4) to Ondrej Palat (1). Eventually, you would expect Jesper Bratt and Dougie Hamilton to get one given how much they shoot the puck. In Bratt’s case, he set up five of them so it is not that e’s not trying. The point is that the production is a result of the team effort just like the on-ice rates.
The one downside here: goaltending. I will get to that in a bit. First, special teams.
Power Play Situations: In a word: fantastic.
NHL.com and Natural Stat Trick
The one new hire on the bench was Jeremy Colliton. He was placed in charge of the power play in place of Travis Green. This hire has hit big as the Devils power play has been a big asset in their games. My biggest complaint under Green (and Mark Recchi) was how the players remained still on the power play. Not the case in October 2024. More players were in motion other than Jack Hughes on the puck. This has forced opposition penalty killers to respect the Devils power play more and not go so aggressive at the edges to force turnovers. This also opened up more opportunities for other players to shoot and make reads. When Stefan Noesen was placed in a net-front role on the primary unit, they just clicked. Well done, Mr. Colliton!
The sheer amount of green demonstrates that the power play was not just effective at scoring goals but generating offense. PPGs are not guaranteed. Forcing the shorthanded team to defend can be done more frequently and the Devils absolutely did this in October 2024. This is something the team can control if/when they get fouled – which did happen quite a bit. The team did shoot on the higher side and that led to scoring at least one power play goal in 9 of their 13 games. Again, that may not last, but generating shots and keeping the opposition on their heels can.
In terms of who did the damage, Hischier led the way with four of the team’s 13 PPGs in the month. The remainder was spread around between Seamus Casey (2), Noesen (2), and one each for Bratt, Meier, Erik Haula, The Big Deal, and Dougie Hamilton. The latter tying up that wild 5-6 OT loss against Washington. As evidence of the units not being stationary to get everyone more involved, eight players had at least four shots on net in power play situations and none more than Hischier’s 13. Keep this up!
Penalty Kill Situations: The Devils penalty kill was also positive for the month.
NHL.com and Natural Stat Trick
The Devils ended up in the bottom ten in terms of number of situations and ice time, which was really more of a function of playing more games than everyone else. In terms of actually killing calls, the Devils were great in the run of play when down a man and allowed just seven goals. Being tied for 19th does not appear that great until I tell you that allowing just five PPGs would have been enough for a top-ten amount. The Devils did start off hot on the PK with three straight games without a PPGA. They did have a cold streak during their four-game winless streak with no kills out of two against Tampa Bay, two kills out of four against Detroit including the game deciding goal in that one, and three out of four kills against the Isles. Since then, the Devils ended October with six straight kills over the last two games.
Similar to the power play, not allowing PPGAs may not be guaranteed. The other team can put together plays that are nigh-impossible to stop. But the on-ice rates show that the team can absolutely handle a lot of business when down a man. That can continue and that does bode well going forward. It also supports that the team can defend when they are not making questionable giveaways or mistakes. Admittedly, something all teams can be guilty of at times.
Goaltending: Tom Fitzgerald made a point of it to get Jacob Markstrom. With Jake Allen, it is a veteran tandem. They have performed below expectations.
Natural Stat Trick
The ask from Markstrom and Allen is that they provide decent goaltending. Is being below the median of 55 goalies who have played at least 121 minutes in October decent? While breaking down goaltending by month can lead to some huge swings, the reality is that they could have been better overall. Yes, Markstrom and Allen have had some great games. Each has a shutout. Each have had periods or stretches where they bailed out the Devils. Each have also had brutal nights too: Tampa Bay for Allen, Toronto and Detroit for Markstrom.
This is a sticking point because General Manager Tom Fitzgerald has been aggressive at addressing this position. He traded for Allen at last year’s deadline and traded for Markstrom in the offseason. While the deals themselves may have not been so costly, the message remains: the position is addressed and it needs to be better. Markstrom rocking a 77.2% high danger save percentage after a month of being told by MSG broadcasts how great he was at high danger save percentage is sobering. Seeing both goalies give up close to two goals above expected over the month is also sobering. I can absolutely say that this is better than some of what the Devils had last season in net. They are not in the bottom third of the league in terms of team save percentage. But the expectation was for the goaltending to be decent – not just better than last season. So far, I am not sure I can call this decent. It did not kneecap the month, at least.
This is also another reason why I have brought up goaltending coach Dave Rogalski. The logic is that surely two veterans like Allen or Markstrom cannot be coached down. One month in and Markstrom is barely above 90% overall and Allen is owning a hideous 87.6%. The one common thread for the Devils’ goaltending woes is now Rogalski. At this point, I would argue to change the goalie coach and see for ourselves if either is becoming washed before our eyes or if the coaching is dragging them down. I understand Rogalski may have a big ally named Martin Brodeur in the front office. It is time for someone to put the facts before feelings unless the front office wants to bet on this fixing itself somehow. Which it might.
But, more seriously, this was the biggest issue of the past month both statistically and observationally.
Additions and Subtractions
The Devils started off the season with multiple names on the injury list. Defenseman Luke Hughes was announced to have a left shoulder injury right before training camp in September. Defenseman Brett Pesce was still recovering from a fractured fibula and missed all of practice. Defenseman Santeri Hatakka was injured in a preseason game against Montreal and has remained on IR since. Defenseman Topias Vilen started the season on the season opening IR, another injury from preseason. Needless to say, there were spots to earn on the blueline.
Those spots were earned by Johnathan Kovacevic and Seamus Casey. Kovacevic had a fantastic start to his season with a goal and assist in the season opening win over Buffalo. Commonly paired with Jonas Siegenthaler, he has averaged over 20 minutes per game in October. While he has had some rough times (the second game against Washington), he has been relatively steady in his own end. Casey dazzled with a sick move on Alex Tuch for his first NHL goal in the second game against Buffalo. He seemingly “got it” in the Utah game. However, his minutes have been understandably limited as his eight games with the Devils were his first eight professional games ever.
The good news for the Devils is that both Luke Hughes and Brett Pesce returned to the ice for the game in Carolina. Luke returned a bit earlier than anticipated and Pesce’s recovery would end. This led to the Devils demoting Casey for him to play games in Utica. Kovacevic’s spot remained, though. Poor games from Simon Nemec have resulted in being scratched towards the end of October. How did Luke Hughes and Pesce do? Luke Hughes’ return was rough with giveaway, poor reads on defense, and getting back up to speed. He would play better as the month went on. He really needed minutes. As for Pesce, it was as if he never missed any time. The veteran defenseman, placed next to Luke Hughes, has done very well in his own end in making plays on and off the puck. In terms of depth, Vilen has been activated and demoted to Utica, leaving Hatakka as the lone defenseman on IR.
The not so good news is that the Devils are down a center. Curtis Lazar left the ice in the win over Anaheim after Radko Gudas hit his leg in a sandwich-type hit with Gudas’ partner. Where was Kurtis MacDermid, whose presence apparently would prevent such things, you ask? He got hit by Gudas after and that was pretty much the end of that. No ounces of flesh were extracted; no prevention by presence. Lazar was out for the game either way.
He will be out for a while. On Halloween, the team announced that Lazar underwent a left knee procedure and is out indefinitely. While they did not say what exactly was wrong, it was apparently addressed and it definitely came in the Ducks game. Lazar did respond on X stating that he will see us later this season, so we can presume it is not a season-ending injury. His replacement will be Justin Dowling, who was called up ahead of the game in Vancouver. As he is a center, the call up fit the position gap. He picked up a secondary assist on Tatar’s goal against the Canucks. Good for him. We shall see how long his stay in New Jersey will be. It could be a long one.
In terms of other scratches, it has mostly been Kurtis MacDermid for the month as he has been kept to three appearances. Within the last two weeks of the month, Nemec was also scratched as he struggled on the ice. He has played in nine games in October but none since the loss to Tampa Bay on October 22. Keeping a 20-year old defender inactive is not ideal; but it is not Keefe’s job to develop players. It is to win games and they have done that without Nemec. Hopefully he gets back into action and gets the chance to sort out his game in November. Nathan Bastian was pulled out of the lineup for MacDermid. While Bastian is just a fourth-line winger, he has been an effective penalty killer and has two goals and five points to his name. Far more value than anything MacDermid did, which was nothing of consequence. Bastian did return to the lineup for the game in Vancouver.
For the most part, it has been a relatively positive month on this front. The Devils did get healthier in terms of the number of players out. Only the Nemec scratching sticks out like a sore thumb, even if he did play not that well alongside Casey in his nine games. A bigger addition would be in some supreme performances from a couple of Devils.
Devil of the Month
Fitzgerald was active in this past offseason and one of his signings was Stefan Noesen. Among the signings so far, Noesen has made the most positive impact. His on-ice rates in 5-on-5 play have been uneven but more on the positive side. He ended October with a 48% CF%, which is not that good; a 49.6% xGF%, which could be a bit better but is far from the worst; and surprisingly high 56% SF%, which is very good. More visible than that, Noesen has been quite productive in 5-on-5 play. Noesen leads the Devils – yes, the whole team – with eight 5-on-5 points. While three goals on eleven shots may not be sustainable, five primary assists is very encouraging for the player to add more points as he goes forward. While Noesen is frequently around the net and crashing his body, taking just one (1) minor penalty in the month is another plus. Where Noesen has really stood out is on the power play. When Keefe and Colliton moved him to team’s main power play unit as a net-front player, the unit has been hot. Even with just three power play points, he takes up space and knows how to function in-tight to help open pockets for Bratt, Hischier, and Jack Hughes to work. A third-line winger with 12 points in a month and also unlocked a power play unit for success is more than enough to be the honorable mention for the Devil of the Month. (Aside: Jonas Siegenthaler is a valid option for this too.)
It took something special to unseat Noesen as Devil of the Month. That something special was Nico Hischier. Yes, Hischer is on a heater. Being on a heater to lead the NHL in goals as of October 31 is exceptional. The month ends with Hischier still being a top goal scorer in the league with 10 goals. He is the first to get to double-digits. Hischier accomplished this while putting up awesome 5-on-5 on-ice rates: 54.7% CF%, 57% SF%, 55.3% xGF% and even a 64.2% GF% as per Natural Stat Trick. Which means that when he’s on the ice, the Devils are generally doing very well. He is a big part of that. Hischier accomplished this while playing in all situations. Hischier accomplished this while leading the NHL in faceoffs taken (324!! Well ahead of second place taker, Sidney Crosby) and winning 54.6% of them. Hischier has been a stud in man advantage situations with four power play goals and 13 power play shots to lead the team. Without Hischier, the Devils absolutely do not get to OT against Washington or the Islanders. Without Hischier, the Devils do not get results or keep the team in games when things have not gone well. The captain has been exceptional in this past month. It is appropriate to consider Nico Hischier as the All About the Jersey Devil of the Month of October 2024.
Concluding Thoughts & Your Take
The data shows that the Devils had a good October. The record shows that the Devils had a good October. Yes, they had a four-game slide but they have followed it with two wins where they scored six goals each and conceded a combined two goals. The team’s point percentage of 61.5% is a playoff position pace. Given how much I think the Devils have to absolutely make the playoffs this season, this is good.
Yet, my enthusiasm and hope are not where it could be. Mostly because I remember this happened last season. The Devils ended October 2023 at 5-2-1 with two straight wins. The 5-on-5 numbers were greener in some regards, although worse in the net. The power play was hot. The penalty kill, not so much. I can agree that the performances in 2024 are better overall even with a worse record in terms of point percentage. But November 2023 showed all kinds of issues on the ice and with injuries that ultimately led to a season unsure about whether the Devils were good.
While the Devils finished this past month positively, there are still questions about whether Markstrom-Allen can be a decent goaltending pairing to take the Devils were they want to go. There are still questions about whether the effort is going to be there on the defensive end. Sure, the data shows that the changes on defense have been good; but no system is going to overcome players coughing up the puck or not putting in the work. The special teams have been hot as has been Hischier, Noesen, and Cotter. Will the team suffer when the PP is not converting around every third man advantage? When the points cool off, we know Hischier will still provide value. Will Noesen and Cotter? And will others heat up? Which makes for a tantalizing possibility since the People Who Matter claim Jesper Bratt, Timo Meier, and The Big Deal aren’t despite having 13, 12, and 12 points respectively in 13 games. The depth has not killed the Devils but the team really could use better performances than getting rolled. And it sure would be nice to have a NHL player in whoever is wearing Ondrej Palat’s jersey instead of whom we have seen. It would also be nice to not get rolled in general at home; a 2-2-2 record in Newark is auspicious.
I understand that is an overly concerned take about the team. Please understand that I know this team can be real good. There have been great signs of it in October. Again, Noesen and Cotter have hit the ground running. The team’s highest paid forwards outside of Palat are all double-digits in points already, led by Hischier. Brett Pesce has fit the team like a glove. Johnathan Kovacevic has been solid. Jonas Siegenthaler not only appears to have returned to his 2022-23 self and arguably has been even better than that Luke Hughes after the rust looks like a two-way threat again. The power play may cool off but the underlying numbers show a squad that can attack to punish opponents. The penalty kill can frustrate opponents. There is a lot of reason to believe that the 2024-25 Devils can be more than a playoff team, but a really good team in the NHL.
I just need to see it carry into a second straight month. I do not think I am alone in that. It was a good October from the New Jersey Devils. I need to see more to be more of a believer.
Now that you know what I think about this past month, I want to know what you think of this past month. Are you positive about the Devils after this past month? Are you like me and need to see more results in November to believe in this team’s direction? Are you more pessimistic and, if so, how? Would you agree that Nico Hischier is the Devil of the Month? If not, who would you pick and why? Please leave your answers and other thoughts about the past month of Devils hockey in the comments. Thank you for reading.