On Saturday, the New Jersey Devils fought back from a 4-2 deficit in the third period to notch a 5-4 overtime victory over the New York Islanders. This was a watershed moment for this club for a couple of reasons. First of all, the Islanders specifically have become one of the Devils’ boogeymen over the last few seasons. New York won all four meetings with New Jersey a season ago, including the lowest point of the 2025-26 campaign: The 9-0 loss on Long Island on January 6. They also beat the Devils,
6-0, in game number two of this season, meaning in their last two games on the island leading up to this one, New Jersey was getting outscored a bewildering 15-0 by the Isles. The last time the Devils actually won a game against the Islanders was exactly two years ago today: November 9, 2024.
Second, in addition to the Islanders specifically, the entire Metropolitan Division as a whole was a titanic roadblock for the Devils last season. New Jersey went a pathetic 7-17-2 against divisional foes in 2025-26. Those struggles were one of the biggest reasons why they failed to qualify for the postseason.
It’s still early, but the good news is that the Devils have experienced better results against the Metro this year. After Saturday’s win, New Jersey is now 3-2-0 in intra-division games in 2026-27. That’s not amazing, but clearly it’s worlds better than the mark they posted last year. And looking past the results, the Devils’ process has been much, much better against Metro competition as well. As we look for reasons why this season’s hot start is different from past seasons’ hot starts, this improved play against the Metropolitan Division should take a prominent role in our collective analyses.
The Results So Far
Here’s a quick rundown of New Jersey’s Metropolitan Division tilts thus far:
October 1 vs. PHI: 3-2 OTW
October 3 @ NYI: 6-0 L
October 15 vs. NYR: 7-1 W
October 17 @ WSH: 4-2 L
October 7 @ NYI: 5-4 OTW
They haven’t been able to string two wins against Metro squads together yet. They’ll have a chance to do so on Thursday when they host the Capitals in a big early-season matchup (with, presumably, Connor Hellebuyuck well-rested for that one!).
The two outliers there are obviously the first Islanders game, and the Rangers game. That October 3 game thankfully has been the only true disaster against the Metro so far. And the Devils certainly made up for that trainwreck by throttling the Rangers in their very next in-division contest. That loss against the Capitals was disappointing, but it’s hard to be too angry about a .600 points percentage.
The Other Points Percentage
But the Devils’ points percentage isn’t the only one that matters. It’s great that the Devils found a way to squeak out a pair of overtime wins against the Flyers and Islanders, but the flip side of that coin is that New Jersey has allowed two teams to collect loser points against them. While the Devils are 3-2-0 for a .600 points percentage, their opponents are 2-1-2 for…a .600 points percentage. New Jersey has one regulation win in five games against the Metro, which is very bad.
It’s great that New Jersey is above .500 in their Metropolitan Division games this year, but they’re not netting any points against their rivals, allowing the exact same number of points that they’ve collected. The Devils have proven themselves to be an unstoppable machine in 3-on-3 overtime (and they even have a shootout win this year), but winning in overtime is only negligible against Western Conference teams. Giving out loser points against the West doesn’t matter, giving them out against the Atlantic Division is annoying but not awful, but giving them out against Metro sides is immensely frustrating.
Again, it’s hard to get too upset that New Jersey is winning more games than not against Metropolitan teams. Especially after the abject failure of the 2025-26 squad. But all those loser points add up, and if the Devils want to give themselves as much cushion as possible to make the postseason, they need to stop giving out participation trophies in 40% of their Metropolitan games.
The Process Caveat
That being said, there is a reasonable way to excuse New Jersey giving away points to the Flyers and Islanders: luck. Or, put another way, the opposing goalie standing on their head.
In the season opener against the Flyers, the Devils dominated. New Jersey outshot Philadelphia by a whopping 44-25 margin. According to Natural Stat Trick, the Devils won the 5-on-5 Expected Goals battle by a total of 2.5-1.07, good for an xG% of 69.98. In all situations, the Devils’ xG margin grew to 4.05-1.67. In other words, Flyers goalie Joseph Woll stood on his head and was the only reason the Flyers walked away with a point.
As for the Islanders game over the weekend, it was more of the same. New Jersey outshot New York by a preposterous 50-23. Per NST, the Devils out-xG’d the Isles at 5-on-5, 4.77-3.32 (58.92 xG%). In all situations, the Devils generated a ludicrous 6.13 Expected Goals. Ilya Sorokin, who has emerged as a true Devils killer, dragged his team across the 60-minute mark to collect the loser point.
Now, I’m not going to say that New Jersey played perfect hockey in these two contests. And I do acknowledge the limits of public hockey analytics models, something that general manager Sunny Mehta acknowledged recently (while referencing the other Islanders game). That being said, the shot clock, the underlying metrics, and the eye test all tell me that the Devils controlled play in these two games, and deserved a regulation win for their efforts. They didn’t get one, mostly due to the other teams’ goalies. Although to be fair, the Devils’ lack of finishing talent may have played a role here too, even though their shooting has been much, much better lately. It also can’t be ignored that New Jersey got far inferior goaltending themselves in those matchups.
All that being said, I look at these two games, and while I’m annoyed that New Jersey gave away two points, I can’t be too upset at their efforts on either night. Again, they didn’t play perfectly, but they played well enough to win in 60 minutes. They deserve blame for not being able to finish their own shots or stop the other teams’, but the other guys get paid too. Woll and Sorokin were each marvelous against the Devils, and it’s a little hard to fault New Jersey too much for that.
Final Thoughts And Your Take
Through five games against Metropolitan Division teams, the Devils are much improved from last season’s results. The pair of loser points they’ve leaked are frustrating, but given how much New Jersey dominated each of those games, I don’t think this is a repeatable trend for the Devils’ opponents. If New Jersey keeps playing like they did against the Flyers and in the second game against the Isles, they won’t be handing out too many freebies for long.
But again, there is room for improvement. There has to be when the team is breaking exactly even in points against Metro foes. The sterling process is great, but they also have two clunkers in there against the Islanders and against the Capitals.
And speaking of the Capitals, this week’s matchup with Washington looms large. The Caps should be one of the teams that will challenge New Jersey the most for a postseason berth this year. The Devils already have a regulation loss on their ledger against Washington this season, so the Devils have a chance to make a serious statement with a regulation win of their own later this week. And I haven’t even mentioned the Carolina Hurricanes until now. Primarily because I think they’ll win the division going away so New Jersey shouldn’t have to worry too much about battling them for a postseason spot when theirs is already locked up. But also because the Devils don’t play the Canes until late February, if you can believe it. We all know about New Jersey’s incredible struggles against Carolina over the past half decade or so. They represent the final boss of the Metropolitan Division. It goes without saying that, while it will be tough, the Devils will need to bring their best efforts against the Canes when they finally start playing them in February. If for no other reason besides clearing that mental hurdle, which I’m sure weighs on some Devils who have been around for a lot of the losing to Carolina over the years.
If the Devils want to make their road to the postseason a lot easier, they’ll need to build on their early-season play against the Metropolitan Division and keep the other team out of the loser-point column.
What do you think of the Devils’ results against the Metropolitan Division this season? Are you encouraged by what you’ve seen? How much room for improvement do you think there is? As always, thanks for reading!
