Devils Horn Their Way Into the Stanley Cup Playoffs

I am very excited that we are so very close to the end of the regular season, and the Stanley Cup Playoffs that come with it. Entering the final nine days of the regular season, five overall playoff spots remain open: two in the East, three in the West. Three teams entered this day with a chance to clinch spots, but two of them faced each other. The other team, well, they were off on this day. That team was the New Jersey Devils.

New Jersey had an easy chance to get in on the night before. All they needed was one point, just get to overtime against a dead Boston Bruins team. Instead, Boston flattened them. So with the Devils idle on this day, they had to watch the New York Rangers game against the Philadelphia Flyers. They needed the Rangers to lose one more point, or that game heading to a shootout, because a Rangers shootout win would not affect the Regulation Wins or the ROW (Regulation/Overtime Wins) column at all. In addition, while Detroit could actually end up finishing with more points than the Devils, NJ needed the Rangers to lose a point because if that occurred, the Devils would clinch 3rd place, which is a playoff spot.

The game was wild and actually gained attention due to the fact that TNT had Sam Rosen and John Davidson on call. Rosen, a legendary name in sports broadcasting, had been the play-by-play voice of the Rangers for 40 years, and 20 of them were with John Davidson. Plus, Rosen has done his share of work for Turner Sports before, usually working NBA games. The game was a wild one, but even wilder for the Flyers. The Rangers had a third period lead, but Philly made it rain with goals. The Flyers won 8-5 over the Rangers, with Philly scoring six of the goals in the third period. Yikes.

So that beatdown locked the Devils into the Metropolitan Division's Top 3, and placed them in the playoffs for the second time in three years. The playoff appearances have been few and far in between since the Devils reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2012. While this is their second appearance in three years, this is only their third overall playoff appearance since falling two wins short of their fourth Stanley Cup in 2012.

It seems like yesterday that the Devils won the Jack Hughes sweepstakes (I still can't believe the Avs actually had a chance at getting him). This season is Jack Hughes' sixth in the league, and he's part of a hockey family. He has two brothers in the league; big brother Quinn Hughes is tearing it up with the Vancouver Canucks (and is the reigning Norris Trophy winner), while younger brother Luke Hughes is playing alongside Jack in New Jersey. It's been a tough go-around for the Devils, as Jack Hughes is out for the season; has been for over a month. In 62 games, Hughes has 70 points (27 G/43 A).

The Devils have also been playing without top defenseman Dougie Hamilton, though the team has hopes that Hamilton will be back for the playoffs. Hamilton has 40 points (9 G/31 A) in 63 games, a number that has been surpassed by the aforementioned Luke Hughes, who has 42 points (7 G/35 A). The scoring leaders have been Jesper Bratt with 88 points (21 G/67 A), and Nico Hischier is leading the team in goals with 35.

For better or worse, the Devils are playoff bound, but many say that the team is a first round exit waiting to happen. With the Washington Capitals locked in as champions of the Metropolitan Division, we have our first official series sealed up: the Devils will face the Carolina Hurricanes, and it looks like Game One will be in Raleigh. However, the Devils did not get to the playoffs by accident. Yes, Jack Hughes is out, and it's not known if Dougie Hamilton will be a help or a hindrance if he returns for Round 1. In any event, the Devils still have quite a strong team, and we will see if they can stand strong in the opening round.