It's been a long six years since the Devils last qualified for the postseason. Only defenseman Andy Greene and center Travis Zajac remain from the 2011-12 squad that reached the Stanley Cup Final.
Though they sunk to the bottom of the Eastern Conference last season, the Devils have surprisingly torpedoed into playoff contention this year. A southern sweep on their back-to-back in Florida on Thursday and Carolina on Friday would be huge for their mission.
Riding high on a two-game winning streak following Tuesday's 3-2 nailbiter in Pittsburgh, the Devils moved to a nine-point lead over the Hurricanes, with both teams scheduled to play 19 more games. Though the Islanders are tied with the Canes in points, they are in a bit of a freefall and are less of a concern at the moment.
The Panthers, on the other hand, are one of the NHL's hottest teams. A 10-3 stretch has them 10 points behind the Devils with three games in hand. Their last three contests have been one-goal victories at home over Washington, Pittsburgh and Toronto. Not too shabby.
Fortunately, New Jersey has won four straight one-goal affairs on the road after its 6-1 debacle in Columbus on Feb. 10. The Devils' victims prior to the revitalized Pens were the Hurricanes, Lightning and Flyers. Again, no tankers there.
Devils coach John Hynes' lineup decisions for these two games will be scrutinized. No. 1 goaltender Cory Schneider will be activated off injured reserve after he came away unscathed from his performance Tuesday for AHL Binghamton on a one-game conditioning stint. Though he is winless in his last seven starts, Schneider was announced as the starter for the Panthers game, with Keith Kinkaid, who boasts a 6-1 career mark (including 2-0 this season) versus Carolina, likely in net Friday night.
In addition, winger Patrick Maroon will make his Devils debut Thursday following Monday's trade from Edmonton minutes before deadline. He is a left-handed shot, but New Jersey is loaded on left wing, with three of the league's fastest skaters in Taylor Hall, Miles Wood and recently acquired Michael Grabner. Blake Coleman has been a bundle of energy recently, leading the charge on the penalty kill and sacrificing his body to block shots.
Both Grabner and Maroon have experience on the right side, but Hynes mentioned that Grabner stated a preference for left wing in their first meeting following Friday's trade from the Rangers. That means Maroon should be the one to shift to his off wing.
While the Devils do not need to clear a roster spot for Maroon (John Quenneville was sent down to Binghamton on Sunday), someone besides Jimmy Hayes needs to be a healthy scratch up front.
Hynes, who has pushed the right buttons most of the season, should have given winger Jesper Bratt the rest of the week off. The 19-year-old rookie, who came out of nowhere as a sixth-round pick in the 2016 draft from a Swedish B-league to earn a roster spot in training camp, has seen his ice time diminish throughout February. Once a spark in all situations, Bratt has barely been used on either of the specialty teams in his last four games.
Sitting young players is a standard Hynes maneuver. Only No. 1 overall draft pick Nico Hischier has played all 63 games. Players such as Pavel Zacha and Will Butcher have come back from short-term benchings with a better grasp of what Hynes wants out of them. Wood responded from a scratch on opening night to score 16 goals, the second most on the team behind Hart Trophy candidate Hall's 27.
Instead, veteran right wing Drew Stafford, who hasn't produced at a satisfactory level (eight goals four assists in 51 games) appeared to be the odd man out at the Devils' morning skate.
While the bottom-six configuration makes for interesting debates, the Devils will need their best players to continue driving the ship. Hall has been an absolute terror, with points in 22 consecutive "appearances" (the NHL refuses to acknowledge his three-game absence with a thumb injury, officially making it a Devils-record 15-game point streak). Kyle Palmieri has scored three goals in two games after supplanting Bratt on the top line with Hall and Hischier.
General manager Ray Shero did his job to fortify the roster, and Hynes has been dogged in his insistence that the roster play a certain way. It's on the players to execute, particularly in their own zone, a trouble spot all season.
While every game down the stretch is important when you're in a contested race, these next two for the Devils have an even higher magnitude. The opportunity to put significant distance from their closest chasers is right in front of them.
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