Devils Daily

Devils Daily: Playoff Position Within Reach; Jacob Markstrom

Published

3 months ago

February 13, 2024

(AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

The roller coaster season for the New Jersey Devils continues to seesaw. More recently, the Devils are on a high collecting five of a possible eight points since returning from the All-Star break. Even more encouraging, the Devils’ play over the last couple of games has been reminiscent of their 2022-23 selves.

After Monday night’s victory, the Devils gained some ground on the Eastern Conference Wild Card. As a result of collecting two points, they sit just four points behind the Detroit Red Wings.

According to MoneyPuck, the Devils increased their playoff odds from 17% to 19% last night. A win tonight will bring them closer to a quarter percent. That sounds less optimistic than it actually is. The Devils have games in hand on some, not all, of their in-division rivals. They’ll have to continue playing the way they have over the last couple of days with the hopes that their goaltending holds up the way it’s been.

In the links, the reason the Calgary Flames-Devils trade came to a halt. Last night’s takeaways from the 3-1 victory over the Seattle Kraken.

Elsewhere, are Flames lacking an element of toughness? Is Connor Bedard’s return imminent? And will Erik Karlsson be the difference maker for Pittsburgh down the stretch like they’d hoped when they acquired him?

Let’s do that hockey.

Devils News

New Jersey Hockey Now: A Flames-Devils trade for Jacob Markstrom was halted after some grinding negotiations. Here’s what killed the potential deal.

More NJHN: In back-to-back games, the Devils have received adequate goaltending. It didn’t quite work out for them over the weekend, but after they filled the net thrice on Monday, New Jersey is back in the win column.

Even More: The Devils had an EBUG on the ice at yesterday’s morning skate in the absence of Vitek Vanecek. Plus, a defenseman is “really close” to returning.

New Jersey Hockey Now +

Subscribe to NJHN+ here⤵️ and use code James10 for 10% off (yearly subscriptions) at checkout.

Subscribe to NJHN+

Here’s what you get with a + subscription:

All content ad free!
Exclusive #NJDevils stories!
Access to all paywall sites on the NHN Network, some are even in today’s links below!

NHL Trade Talk, News, & National Hockey Now

The Athletic ($): Dom Luszczysyn analyzes the value of who is left on the NHL Trade Board.

Sportsnet: Ryan Reaves chimed in on the incident between Toronto Maple Leafs teammate Morgan Riley and Ottawa Senators forward Ridley Greig. “There’s got to be a message sent.”

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Much like the Devils, the Pittsburgh Penguins are vying for playoff position. The Pens are pushing for their summer acquisition, Erik Karlsson, to be the difference-maker he was acquired to be down the stretch of the regular season.

San Jose Hockey Now: Yesterday was a tough day for the San Jose Sharks. Center Logan Couture suffered a setback and is going to miss some time, while All-Star Tomas Hertl had knee surgery and will be out even longer.

Buffalo Hockey Now: Buffalo Sabres defenseman Owen Power left practice Monday in some discomfort after participating in a drill. Here’s the latest on the Sabres defenseman.

San Jose Hockey Now: Mackenzie Blackwood and Kaapo Kahkonen are having stellar seasons on a defensively inept San Jose Sharks team. Here are the analytics behind their year thus far. (+)

Colorado Hockey Now: A little over halfway through the season, the Colorado Avalanche now know who their summer additions are. So, how are their newbies, such as former Devil Miles Wood, fitting in? (+)

Calgary Hockey Now: Do the Calgary Flames have a toughness problem?

Chicago Hockey Now: The Chicago Blackhawks are hoping to have Connor Bedard back next week. According to head coach Luke Richardson, there are still some final checks that have to be done–which is to be expected–before the 2023 first-overall pick is cleared to be back on the ice in game action.