The New Jersey Devils have been one of the NHL’s surprise teams this season, entering Thursday night squarely in the mix for one of the final playoff positions in the Eastern Conference.
A new GM in Ray Shero, a new head coach in John Hynes, a new system, structure and a handful of new players – the Devils had plenty of built-in excuses to label this a “retooling” year, but that has hardly been the case in Newark. The Devils are, to the surprise of no one, getting excellent goaltending from Cory Schneider, playing solid defensively and getting contributions up and down their lineup.