The New Jersey Devils are making the Prudential Center their own. After their 2-1 shootout win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday afternoon, the Devils improved to 7-0-0 on home ice to begin the season.
New Jersey Devils Must Find A Way To Win at Prudential Center
There has been emphasis not only from the coaching staff but also from the players themselves to make the Prudential Center a tough building for opposing teams to come into. Devils goaltender Jake Allen was asked about the team’s impressive home record to start post-game and stated that while it takes time, word will travel around the NHL that Prudential Center is a tough place to play.
“Yeah, no, you’re right. Every team in the League would say the same thing. They want their home building to be a place that you’re comfortable in, and other teams aren’t. Word travels around the League quick through players and through things like that. I remember playing in St. Louis, and other teams hated coming into our building. And that was just talked about throughout the League. And you sort of want to try to get that mindset in the opposing team. It’s not easy, but it takes time. But we want to take pride on our home ice and play well in front of our fans first and foremost. And then make it hard on others.”
Over the last couple of seasons, the Devils have struggled at home. They finished last year with a record of 19-17-5, a .890 save percentage, and a goal differential of plus +6. That is an improvement from the 2023-24 season, when the Devils posted a 17-21-3 record, an .827 save percentage, and a goal differential of -20.
But it is also a confidence thing. The Devils lost two home games early in the season last year, which set the tone for how the season would go on home ice. You got the sense the Devils want to give their fans a show while winning the game. However, that led to sloppy play and mistakes. Head coach Sheldon Keefe last year emphasized just playing the right way to win games.
New Jersey Devils Continue to Deal with the Injury Bug
This year, you can see the players are giving their fans something to cheer about because of the maturity they have in their game. The New Jersey Devils are letting the game come to them. And even when they don’t have their best, they are finding ways to win games that they lost last year.
Take, for example, the home games against the San Jose Sharks, Montreal Canadiens, Colorado Avalanche, and the Penguins game on Saturday. All four of these games the Devils lost last year. The players got frustrated because things weren’t going their way, whether that was bounces, calls, or shots not going in. Instead, the Devils persevered and showed resiliency.
“Yeah, we’re gonna feel like those games maybe last year we ended up losing and didn’t find a way to get even a point out of it,” Brenden Dillon said.
Three of the last four games have gone to the extra session, with the Penguins game heading to the shootout. Even though the New Jersey Devils were outplayed for most of the game, the players stuck to their system of keeping the Penguins’ top guys to the outside and allowing Jake Allen to see the puck.
The Devils stuck with their system on home ice and were satisfied not to take risks in the third period and play for at least one point and snuck away with two thanks to Jesper Bratt and Paul Cotter in the shootout.
New Jersey Devils Finding Different Ways to Win
Outside of the wins, it is the save percentage on home ice (.927) and the goal differential (+11). They have scored 24 goals and given up 13. Again, playing the right way is essential. Confidence is so tremendous for a team looking to take the next step.
“You want to win games at home. I think last year we had some real struggles getting our game going and finding consistency in this building. So it’s something that we talked about throughout last season, something we talked about in training camp and preseason, all of that,” Keefe said. “So it’s great, especially, I thought, in the third period, when we needed a little more juice. I thought the fans were created today, that was helpful in kind of a sleepy game for them to bring a little extra in the third was nice. Obviously, want that trend to continue.”
So far this season, the Devils have won seven consecutive games on home ice. They look to tie a franchise record of eight straight home victories to start a season. The last time the New Jersey Devils started 8-0 on home ice was 1987-88 season. That was the year the Devils made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.
It will not be easy, but if they stick to the game plan, who says this team can’t make Prudential Center a house of horrors for opponents?
