As Brock Nelson’s fifth-round shootout goal whizzed past Cory Schneider, the New Jersey Devils entered their bye week on a five-game losing streak. The club captured three out of a possible 10 points on this stretch and that obviously won’t cut it, especially with the way the schedule is set up the rest of the way.
They are 22-11-8 exactly halfway through the season. This seemed like a pipe dream before the season, but here we are. The expectations have gone from a bubble team that probably won’t make the playoffs all the way to a team that can host Game 1 of a playoff series in 2018.