It can be said that the New Jersey Devils had a successful month of March. In their busiest schedule of the season, the Devils went 10-5-2. More importantly, in their last game, they clinched a playoff spot. That alone makes 2011-12 a success considering they missed the postseason completely last season. It wasn't as if the Devils limped into a playoff berth. In the four full weeks within March, the Devils earned at least half of all possible points. They didn't have a big streak like in prior months; they just got points consistently. It's what good teams do.

Of course, it wasn't always easy getting those points. The offense metaphorically slowed to a crawl as there were some games where shots on net, much less goals scored, were hard to come by. There were a few games where the defense - be it the defensemen themselves or backchecking forwards - just made errors all over the place that hurt the team. There were a few games where puck movement was so bad that the other team just kept coming in waves. The only consistency throughout the month was the goaltender performance - not results, performance - and the Devils' penalty kill. I will admit that during this month, some of the team's performances - win or lose - some brought doubt as to whether this team could succeed.

However, we must look in the bigger picture. The Devils played a heavy schedule and came out ahead. The offense most definitely showed up on some nights and at the end of the month. That alone should allay some of the concerns of the Devils faithful. The defense has remained stingy overall, helping both Martin Brodeur and Johan Hedberg earn a few shutouts. The team even got healthier as Travis Zajac returned to action near the end of the month and has contributed right away. A 10-5-2 record after all of this is good. So is clinching a playoff spot.

Let's appreciate it before the regular season ends and the all-important postseason play begins by going over what the Devils did in March and name the best players out of the month after the jump.

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The month of February is always a key one for most hockey teams. No, it's not as important as March, where the schedule gets crammed with games and playoff dreams are realized or dashed. It is, however, the final month for teams to understand what their team is all about. It's usually the final month before the trade deadline, where teams can make late moves to either improve their current roster or start thinking about next season. How the team performs, who gets injured, what area becomes a point of strength or weakness, and so forth stand out in February and decisions get made accordingly.

The Devils had a great February. It ended poorly with three straight losses. Even with that, the team finished 8-4-1. They started off the month hot with five straight wins. After that was broken, they racked up three more. They took on two of the best teams in the Western Conference and while they only got one point between them, the Devils measured up well in terms of performance. The only real downer has to be the final two games. Even so, the Devils rose above the playoff bubble (save for Ottawa) and have been battling directly with Pittsburgh and Philadelphia for position. For a team that didn't make the playoffs last season and has been behind the Pennsylvania teams for most of this season, fighting for second in the division speaks to the quality of this season's team.

We shall see if this month was their apex. With 17 games in 31 days coming up next, we'll see if the quality lasts after a grinder of a schedule. For now, let's take this leap year date to look back at what the team did in February and who were the top Devils players of the month.

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The New Jersey Devils had an up-and-down month of January. I like that phrase "up-and-down." It perfectly describes how the Devils did in the past month. They had dips in performances and deservedly lost. They rebounded with better performances that earned victories. Most importantly, it allows one to call something average without using the word. The Devils finished January with a record of 6-4-2. Alternatively, the Devils won half of the games they played. They began the month sitting in sixth in the East by a small margin and they ended it in seventh, with several games in hand on the sixth place team. To be fair, that's an average run of results. How they achieved them demonstrates the up-and-down nature of how they played.

Further stats lend more credence to their spot around the middle of the NHL. According to the league's site, the team is currently eighteenth in the NHL in goals per game with 2.53 and seventeenth in goals allowed per game with 2.80. The team penalty kill ranks among the best in the league; but they took a step back from being brilliant to just being great. The team power play did have enough shining moments for improvement. According to Behind the Net, the Devils can boast being twelfth in close-score Fenwick%; but the actual percentage is closer to just being average at 50.73%. The team still does an excellent job in preventing shots in 5-on-5 play, but they're still struggling to generate shots on net in those same 5-on-5 situations. The defense remains prone to some real frustrating errors; goaltending still stands at 90% in 5-on-5; but at least the offense is shooting at 8% - the sixteenth best mark in the NHL per Behind the Net.

Perhaps we shouldn't be so surprised. They played a relatively difficult group of opponents, with only three games against teams sitting well outside of the playoffs at the time of the game. More important than that, way back in September we collectively felt that the team would be around where they are - fighting for a playoff spot in the lower half of the East. That's where they are and what will likely be their situation through February and March. To that end, the 6-4-2 month didn't hurt; the Devils are still firmly on the playoff bubble. Yet, it reduces the room for error going forward.

Was it a horrible month? Not really, though there were some horrible moments. Can the Devils improve from this past month? Certainly, they did display their quality on a number of occasions in this past month. Will they do better? We'll see. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let's take a look back at the month of January as well as identify as to who was the best Devil of the last month.

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While it's not exactly halfway through the season, with 37 games played it's becoming clear that the New Jersey Devils are a good team, but not a great team. As with a good team, they can be competitive with any team in the league. They can catch some fire and go on a streak or two. Yet, they have serious flaws that prevent them from being great. These are flaws that make games more difficult to succeed regardless of whether they got the result or not.

The New Jersey Devils demonstrated this concept throughout December 2011. The monthly record was pretty good at 9-5. Ending the calendar year of 2011 in sixth in the Eastern Conference is pretty good. Being atop the bubble of teams placed sixth through eleventh is pretty good. Having 7 different players with at least 10 goals is pretty good. The highest point would have to be their four-win streak in the middle of the month, as they won two straight back-to-back sets. Their lowest would have to be how they started the month: two straight road losses followed by two post-regulation wins and a home loss. The winning streak helped salvage the month, which looked like a repeat of November. Yet, even in that winning streak, it wasn't easy.

Third period performances continued to be an issue for this team, as they were out-scored 12-17 and gave up at least one goal in each third period except for three games within this month. The Devils power play only converted 8 out of 51 opportunities; while they also allowed 5 shorthanded goals. The fourth line remains terrible, like most of them in the NHL. These issues will continue to hold the Devils back unless they show improvement in that regard soon.

By the same token, the Devils got their offense going with their top two lines. The Devils only went beyond regulation in four out of the fourteen games played in December and won each of them: three in the shootout and one in overtime. The Devils penalty killers remain strong with only 6 power play goals allowed in 47 shorthanded situations and 4 shorthanded goals scored. The Devils remain a positive possession team with some good trends heading upwards such as team save percentage hitting 90% at evens.

The New Jersey Devils in December 2011 proved to me that they're solid. They're not going to put the NHL on notice and become a powerhouse in 2012 short of some massive gains or a ridiculous hot streak. Given that the goal of this season is to make the playoffs, they don't have to be a powerhouse; they just need to keep up the good work they've done. Basically: more of this would be just fine with me - along with some improvement in third periods and the power play (I hope that goes without saying)

For further details on how this month went for the Devils as well as my selection for Devil of the Month, please continue on after the jump.

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The New Jersey Devils started the month of November with a bad loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The New Jersey Devils ended the month of November with an even worse loss to the Colorado Avalanche. The month was bookended not just by defeats, but ones that make fans bitter. That could be said for most of the six losses the Devils suffered this month. Just poor performances that include issues with puck control, defensive breakdowns, getting caught on rushes, the third period in general, and the power play being miserly (the occasional PPGF at best, the just-as-occasional SHGA at worst) amid other problems.

Of course, the month wasn't as bad as those six losses. The Devils did win 8 games too. They weren't the most decisive wins ever. Four required play beyond regulation, with one ending in overtime and three ending with shootouts. Still, at this juncture of the regular season, getting two points at all is more important than whether or not they get a result in sixty minutes. Besides, that's not really the problem. The Devils won eight games in spite of the problems seen night after night.

The ugly loss in Colorado following the tough loss against the Islanders will understandably make some fans feel down about the team. After all, those were the recent games and those games demonstrated the frustrations with this team. That's fine, but it paints an incomplete picture. The truth of the matter is that all falls in line with an 8-6 record. 8-6 isn't a bad record and all of the "could have lost" or "should have losts" isn't going to change that. There were ups, downs, and they evened out slightly in New Jersey's favor.

Yet, at the same time, 8-6 feels unfulfilling - it's not where we'd like the team to finish after a month. Is it something to get seriously worried over? I don't know. Before this season, most of the predictions on this site held that the Devils will make the playoffs but end up as one of the lower seeds. They're certainly on pace to do just that and with 59 games left, it's certainly possible. Unlike last season, the Devils are in the mix in the standings. Should they want to move ahead and get more victories, it would be in their best interest to address the issues displayed in November very soon.

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The New Jersey Devils ended the month of October with a record of 4-4-1.  In terms of points percentage, they are right at 50% with 9 points earned out of a potential 18.  In terms of winning percentage, they are just below average.  The trend in earning points has been downward.   In the middle of the month, they got three straight wins, and then proceeded to just win one in the following five games.

In just 9 games, it's fair to say that this version of the New Jersey Devils are better than last season's team.   The team isn't blowing games in the second period, they have only been shut out once, and there haven't been too many performances outside of opening night that were 60 minutes of awfulness.  At a minimum, we can say that Peter DeBoer is better than John MacLean, having Zach Parise has helped, Johan Hedberg has been fantastic in place of Martin Brodeur, and that while the loss of Travis Zajac has hurt, it isn't fatal to the team's chances at competing.  This is a step forward.

However, there's reason to be concerned.  The defense has been leaking quite a few shots on net, averaging 31 per game.  The offense hasn't scored a lot of goals either, averaging only 2 per game. The Devils remain dead last in the league for power play opportunities (29) and tied for last for power play goals (3).  Ilya Kovalchuk, among other Devils forwards, hasn't "gotten going" yet on the scoresheet in recent games and he remains second on the team in scoring.  It's early enough in the season to think that they'll improve over time, but it's something to watch for.   Giving up plenty of shots, not scoring enough goals, and a woeful power play only makes it harder to stay in games over time, much less win them.

Still, I wouldn't get to crazy over this past month.  This quote by the head coach in this post by Tom Gulitti at Fire & Ice refers to the team's recent road trip, but I believe it can apply for all of October.

"I think the best way I can evaluate it is I like what we’re doing, I don’t like the results right now. So, I have to stick with the belief that if we keep doing the right things, we’re going to get rewarded for it. That’s the best way I can put it."

There is some truth to that, and some of the underlying work the Devils put in the last 9 games are encouraging enough to believe that better times may be ahead.  After the jump, I'll review the past month in games and give you my selections for Devil of the Month.

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The month of April saw another end to another New Jersey Devils season. However, it ended far sooner in this month than in prior months, as the Devils did not make the playoffs for the first time since the 1995-1996 season.  Their fate was practically sealed in March and they were mathematically eliminated from the post season on April 2. 

Overall, it wasn't a bad month. The Devils went 3-3. Within these six games, they had their good moments, some bad moments, one total stinker of a game, and a last game they generally controlled.   I've long accepted that this day would come, yet it still doesn't feel good to know that the Devils are done already.  However, it is what it is.  The next few months will be focused on a new head coach, free agency, the draft, and further analysis of what happened this season and what they should do in the next one. Funny how change can seem like such a constant.     For now, after the jump, let's review the final month of the 2010-11 season.

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For most, March marks the end of what was a highly improbable playoff push by the New Jersey Devils.  They continued their hot form from February early on, but a lack of help from the rest of the Eastern Conference combined with a slump in the second half of the month essentially ended said push.  The Devils are not mathematically eliminated from postseason contention, but are on the brink as of right now.

Other than that, March wasn't a bad month at all. The Devils didn't fall completely backwards after a wildly successful February. It may seem that way with how it ended. The goal scoring dropped, the power play often lacked it, and the Devils learned the hard way that one-goal games were not always going to break in their favor. Still, the Devils came out ahead by going 8-5-1, and even in the 6 non-wins they were largely competitive.  

That may not mean so much, but do recall this is the same team that won 9 games by Christmas.  The past month continued the quest for respectability even as playoff dreams ended.    Let's review the past month of games for the Devils and identify who was the best player in March.

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