There has not been a more significant improvement from the New Jersey Devils than their overall defensive play.
General manager Tom Fitzgerald bolstered his blue line over the summer by bringing in Brenden Dillon, Johnathan Kovacevic, and Brett Pesce. He solved his goaltending woes by acquiring Jacob Markstrom to solidify his tandem with Jake Allen.
Additionally, there is a buy-in from the forward group and offensive powerhouses like Jack Hughes and Dougie Hamilton.
That defensive buy-in from head coach Sheldon Keefe’s group had led to the Devils setting an NHL record Monday afternoon after they earned a 5-0 victory over the New York Rangers.
After limiting their opponent to 12 shots on goal, the Devils became the first team since the NHL tracked shots in 1959 that logged seven consecutive games without allowing more than 20 shots against.
The streak began on Dec. 10 against Keefe’s former team, the Toronto Maple Leafs, where the Devils limited the opposition to 17 shots.
What followed was limiting the Los Angeles Kings to 14 shots, the Chicago Blackhawks to 17, the St. Louis Blues to 20, the Columbus Blue Jackets to 20, the Pittsburgh Penguins to 12, and the New York Rangers to 12.
“They played as close to a perfect game as you can ask for from a coaching perspective,” Keefe said after Monday’s 5-0 victory. “I thought we just didn’t give them an inch. Whatever the game required, whether it was being physical and standing nose-to-nose, face-to-face, whatever you want to call it. I thought the guys were great in all regards […] it’s just a great, complete effort here today. Couldn’t be a better way to go into the break.”
In that span, the Devils earned a 5-1-1 record, with Markstrom earning back-to-back 12-save shutouts in his last two starts.
The team has defensively come a long way, as Fitzgerald acknowledged earlier this month.
“Where we are at right now, I love where we are at,” Fitzgerald said. “The way we are playing without the puck. Defending first. Limiting teams, especially coming through the neutral zone. In the past, it felt like we were Swiss cheese. Allowing teams to come through and gain entry. Now, we are very demanding of playing the right way in the neutral zone.”
The Devils entered the NHL’s holiday break as the top team in the Eastern Conference and third team in the league with 49 points.
“Whether it is having the puck, managing it well, or closing space where we don’t have it, just really tremendous buy-in and commitment from our guys,” Keefe said. “Couldn’t ask for more of them.”
New Jersey will return to action on Friday night when the club hosts the Carolina Hurricanes at Prudential Center.
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