The New Jersey Devils are the class of the Metropolitan Division after dismissing the Arizona Coyotes 4-2 on Saturday.
The victory was New Jersey’s ninth straight win, giving them a five standings point lead over second-place Carolina.
What's good, Jersey? pic.twitter.com/kDBfdsfAG1
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) November 13, 2022
The win streak is the third longest in franchise history.
Make it nine in a row for the @NJDevils. 😈
New Jersey's nine-game run matched Vegas for the longest winning streak by a club this season (VGK can extend to 10 GP tonight). #NHLStats: https://t.co/ireZFyPyNm pic.twitter.com/nYTr9Iei6S
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) November 13, 2022
New Jersey got goals from Tomas Tatar, Jach Hughes, Jesper Boqvist, and Dougie Hamilton while reserve goaltender Akira Schmid stopped 16 of 18 shots.
New Jersey, a young team with a lot of maturing talent, has taken their game to the next level this season due to their offense. They have the most 5v5 shot attempts (824) and 5v5 goals (40) in the league. Their 59.8 5v5 shot-attempts percentage is second-best in the league, trailing only Carolina (62.1%). The team also has a good PK (seventh in the NHL), one of the best young defensemen in the league (Jonas Siegenthaler), and is getting good enough goaltending, surrendering 38 goals – good for a four-way tie for the fewest in the Metropolitan Division.
The winning streak comes after fans were very salty with Devils’ head coach Lindy Ruff early in the season. After beginning the year with consecutive losses against lowly Philadelphia and Detroit, fans chanted “Fire Lindy” at Prudential Center.
He was also booed by home fans while being announced to the crowd.
Lindy Ruff seemed a bit surprised by the boos from the crowd tonight 😅 pic.twitter.com/YSlUgSbLRJ
— Devils Red Alert (@DevilsRedAlert) October 15, 2022
“We have passionate fans here and they are used to winning,” Ruff said of the booing. “That is part of my business and part of my job. There is a great history here. The fans want Ws up on the board it is simple as that.”
Fast forward a month later, Devils fans have changed their tune and atoned for their mistake. During the Coyotes game, they started a “Sorry, Lindy” chant.
Wow. “Sorry Lindy” chants at Prudential Center right now.#NJDevils pic.twitter.com/W1LUP0ERnI
— Ryan Novozinsky (@ryannovo62) November 13, 2022
The Devils will try to extend their winning streak to 10 when they go north of the border to play Montreal on Tuesday.
What the Rock feels like when the @NJDevils are 12-3-0! #PruCenter pic.twitter.com/WbvwT4zpFR
— Prudential Center (@PruCenter) November 13, 2022
