FanPost

NJ Devils Mid-Season Report


With 41 games played the Devils are officially halfway through their regular season.

Below is a link-dump of sorts to look at where they stand in the League in various categories.

The Devils currently have 48 points, which has them seeded 6th in the East and 12th in the League. This puts them on pace for 96 points which, historically, should be enough to get them into the playoffs.

They have 15 ROWs, which puts them into a 3-way tie with Tampa Bay and Montreal ahead of only Carolina and the Islanders in the East.

Their -3 Goal Differential is currently the best of those in the East with negatives, but far behind the League's best team in differential: Boston at +68. Interestingly, there are only 6 teams in the East with positive GDs right now and, oddly, one of them (Washington) is currently sitting outside of the playoff bubble. This means that three of the top 8 teams that would make the playoffs if they started today would have negative GDs. Since the lockout only three teams in the League have made the playoffs with a negative GD (MTL 05-06, TB 06-07, MTL 09-10--curiously, all in the East) and one has made it with an even GD (STL 08-09). All of those four teams were the 8th seed.

The Devils are 21st in the League with a 11-7-1 Home Record, and 5th in the League with a 12-9-1 Road Record.

They also still hold the dubious distinction of having won more shootouts than any other team has even been involved in with their 8-1 record, but not by as large a margin as it once was as Colorado is right behind them, currently 7-0 in SOs.

NJ is 20th in the League in Goals Per Game with 2.58, and 17th in the League in Goals Against Per Game with 2.83. On the low side of middle of the pack and definitely still an area of contention.

Their 70 5-on-5 goals is 21st in the League. Their 15 5-on-4 goals is dead last. Their 4 5-on-3 goals has them tied for tops in the League. Their 4 4-on-4 goals is good for 12th best. Zero 4-on-3 goals puts them into a tie for last with 11 other teams. 7 4-on-5 goals is best in the League. They also have 4 ENGs (5 way tie for 4th place, but technically 14th ranked), and 2 Penalty Shot Goals (tied for 1st with four other teams).

Their dreadful PP is 24th in the League at 14.1%, but their PK is tops in the League at 91.2%. Unsurprisingly and perhaps fittingly, they lead the League in both SHG allowed (12) and scored (9). Their total of 21 SHG events means that there has been, on average, a SHG scored by or against the Devils in half their games this year so far.

Earlier in the year there was concern about the Devils' inability to draw calls, but that seems to have been remedied a bit as they currently sit at 20th in the League in total PP opportunities with 142--66 at home (27th ranked) and 76 on the road (11th ranked). On the flip side, they're 13th in the League in Times Shorthanded with 147--70 at home (16th ranked) and 77 on the road (16th ranked).

The team is 26th ranked in Shots Per Game with 27.6 and 4th ranked in Shots Against Per Game with 28.1.

Their winning percentage when scoring first in a game is .636 (18th) 14-6-2 record, .474 (5th) 9-10-0 record when trailing first; a dismal .600 (26th) when leading after one period; and a not so sterling .867 (13th) when leading after two periods.

Their winning percentage when out shooting their opponents is a laudable .632 (5th), and their W% when being out shot is a middle of the pack .444 (18th).

Aside from the PP, the one area they could really stand to improve in is their Face Off win percentage, as they currently rank 29th in the League with a paltry 46.8.

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