Believe it or not, the New Jersey Devils have been a far better defensive team in 5-on-5 play than you may realize.
If you’ve read my month in review in January, I highlighted how well the team’s rate stats looked in what was a bad month for results but a good month in the run of play:
The for and against rates that lead to these percentages are worth looking at if you want to feel good about the team’s 5-on-5 play. As in, the Devils’ shot attempts against rate per 60 minutes was the second lowest in the whole NHL in January.