Devils' Next 5 Games Will Teach Us About This Team

The New Jersey Devils' next 5 games come against stiff competition and could define their 2024-25 season.

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Aside from the 1-0 loss to the San Jose Sharks on Sunday evening, last week went well for the New Jersey Devils. They recorded their first three-game winning streak of the season and wrapped up their Western Canada trip with a 3-0 shutout of the Edmonton Oilers.

But now, things will get much more difficult. The Devils' next five games are against some of the best teams, starting tonight with a weird two-game series against the Florida Panthers. They'll follow that up with tilts against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals.

The Devils are an improved team, so this shouldn't be the death knell it's been in previous seasons. Still, we should learn plenty about this team over the next five games.

Overview of Devils' Next 5 Opponents

The Florida Panthers are coming into this scheduling quirk hot, riding a seven-game winning streak. Perhaps that means they're due to lose, but they look like a legit Stanley Cup contender again.

Though they're not as deep as they were a season ago when they won the Cup, the Panthers are still an impressive five-on-five team. They have an expected goals share (xG%) of 52.53 percent and are averaging 2.64 expected goals per 60 minutes while allowing 2.40 per 60.

If there's one flaw with the Panthers, their goaltending hasn't been great to start this season. Sergei Bobrovsky has an .895 save percentage and has given up 0.7 goals above expected, while Spencer Knight has a .902 SV% and has saved what’s expected of him.

Given the weird scheduling, the Devils could see both goalies, so perhaps they can take advantage of some shaky goaltending.

The Lightning may have beaten the Devils 8-5 a few weeks ago, but this isn't the same scary Lightning team that went to multiple Stanley Cup Finals. They have a 49.77 xG% and are creating just 2.35 expected goals per 60.

Nikita Kucherov is still a menace, while Brandon Hagel and Jake Guentzel are off to great starts. Andrei Vasilevskiy seems to have gotten it together, too, as his SV% sits at .910, but this is a beatable Lightning team.

The Devils will thankfully get a four-day layoff between the Lightning and Hurricanes games, something they haven't had much of to start 2024-25. It'll come at a good time, as the Hurricanes look like a wagon despite losing so many key players this offseason.

I still believe they're Corsi and xG spammers, but a 60.2 xG% is a 60.2 xG%. The Devils have had trouble with the Hurricanes, so that'll be a good measuring stick.