Another couple weeks of New Jersey Devils hockey has come and gone as the death march to game 82 continues. Since our last edition of Stock Up/Stock Down, the Devils showed life for a brief moment. A 3-1 stretch put them yet again within striking distance of a playoff spot. Wins over the Winnipeg Jets, New York Islanders and Toronto Maple Leafs had the Devils sitting five points out of the playoffs, but with a chance to cut it to three with a win. In typical Devils fashion, they went on to blow a 2-0 lead and fall 5-2 to the Buffalo Sabres.
The calendar flip to April hasn’t been kind to them either. On the front half of a back-to-back, they let in five third-period goals to lose 6-3 to the Pittsburgh Penguins. The next night a 1o man brawl to start the game couldn’t help them as they again blew a lead and lost 4-3 to the New York Rangers. They’ve gone from a potential three points out, to blowing three third-period leads in a row. The final nail has begun to be put into the Devils 2023-24 season.
New Jersey Devils Stock Up/Stock Down
Stock Up
Jesper Bratt
One of the major reasons the Devils have struggled all season is a lack of consistency, particularly from its star players. Well, check Bratt off that list because he has been as consistent as possible given the state of the team. Bratt set a new career-high in points against the Penguins and now sits at 76 and counting. He put up back-to-back 73-point seasons, yet despite lackluster play around him, Bratt has been an ever-present source of offence. During this last stretch, Bratt has scored nine points in six games and is currently on a six-game point streak. He should be able to hit the 80-point mark in what has been an awesome season following his big contract extension in the summer.
Imagine the fear setting in as you stare down a Bratter breakaway. pic.twitter.com/mIC5QESf1o
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) April 3, 2024
Stock Down
Travis Green
It also felt like Green would have to do the spectacular to get the full-time head coaching job, but after recent performances that can be put to rest. The Devils have been plagued by the same issues all season letting in the first goal, not competing for all 60 minutes, and now blowing third-period leads regularly. Green has yet to show any signs that he is capable of being the main guy, and is even back to reverting to the old ways of Lindy Ruff. Benching Alex Holtz for periods, the overuse of Brendan Smith, and an inability to use his challenges correctly have further left a sour taste in all Devils fans’ mouths. Luckily, the Travis Green era will be over in just a few weeks. But hey, at least we got to see him well at Peter Laviolette.
Peter Laviolette and Travis Green get into it on the bench pic.twitter.com/ovDqBvFdQH
— Rangers Videos (@SNYRangers) April 3, 2024
Stock Up
Old School Hockey
This is what the Devils season has come to. There’s so little to be positive about, that a 10-man fight to start the game is the highlight for this team. The Devils vs Rangers game is now in the national spotlight after all 10 players on the ice fought milliseconds after the opening puck drop. The incident resulted in viral videos, eight players tossed from the game, and over 160 penalty minutes. The fight stems from multiple incidents in which Matt Rempe headshot Devils players and refused to fight in response. Well, tensions finally boiled over and this is what we got. It was a sight to see, but not the first between these two. Back in 2012, there was a line brawl to start the game between both teams.
A full 5v5 fight breaks out to start the Rangers vs Devils game! #NYR
Chaos at MSG!!!pic.twitter.com/PxFzJbviOW
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) April 3, 2024
Stock Down
The Playoff Hopes
No matter how hard they tried to take themselves out of the playoff hunt, they kept finding themselves in it. There have been over half a dozen times this season where fans could realistically say that they were out of playoff contention. However, none of the other teams around them seemed as though they wanted a spot either. And while yes, they are only six points out of a spot, the runway has all but disappeared. They no longer have games in hand on the teams they are chasing and have five teams to jump. This was not how this season was supposed to go. Regression was expected after a 112-point season last year, but the nosedive this team has taken is startling. The Devils need to just ride out these last few games injury-free and hit a major reset in the summer.
Main photo by: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
