Is the Devils' Schedule Easier or Harder After the All-Star Break?

While the New Jersey Devils have technically passed the halfway point of their season already, considering that they have played 46 games, many people consider the all-star break to be the ceremonial midway point of the season.  Suffice to say, the Devils did not have a good first half.  In fact, it was so bad that pretty much no one but the players and coaches believe that the team has a shot to make the playoffs.  And while the players and coaches should absolutely continue to believe, as they are the ones playing, as fans we have a right to feel disheartened.

Nonetheless, this does not mean that we should stop analyzing the team and how it is doing, because doing this keeps us knowledgeable about what direction they are headed in, as well as what to expect for the future.  In this vein, I wanted to compare what the schedule looks like after the all-star break as compared to how it looked before it.  Do the Devils have an easier second half slate, or does the intensity only ramp up?  This is also a relevant question to people that want the team to tank.  A harder schedule means more losses, which would likely mean a better draft pick come the offseason.

The Schedule Before the All-Star Break

To make this as readable as possible, I have decided to break the schedule down by month.  In each month, I will track the number of games and the number of back-to-back sets, as well as the combined point percentage of the teams they played.  This is the only area that is not ideal, as I will be using teams' current records, as opposed to what they had at that point.  And even if I did use time-appropriate records, it still would not indicate when a team was hot and when it was cold.  Nonetheless, I feel like using current records still has an advantage, as using a team's record in, for example, October does not make too much sense.  I mean come on, the Devils were 3-0-0 at one point.

The information on the Devils' schedule will come from the team's main website, and information on point percentages of opponents will come from NHL.com.  And FYI, before Friday night's games, the average point percentage in the NHL was .564, and the Devils' point percentage was .444.

So every month so far, the Devils have played teams that have a higher combined point percentage than the league average.  While it boded well for New Jersey in October after that fast start, over November and December the team simply crumbled.  November was truly a bear of a month with 5 back to back sets in 14 games, and the results were not good with a 4-8-2 record.  While December only had 2 back to back sets, the results were just as bad with a 4-8-3 record.  January has seen a nice improvement back to winning hockey (barring a loss in Anaheim...if so then .500 hockey), but it clearly still is not looking good.  The two months of November and December effectively ended the Devils' season barring any real unforeseen turnaround.

The other issue with this part of the schedule was the amount of road games the Devils played.  Out of 47 games, the Devils only played 20 home games.  That is much less than half.  And the road part of the schedule also saw the team take the Western Canadian road trip as well as the California road trip, both of which are extremely difficult regardless of how well those teams are doing.

I must say that I am by no means justifying the Devils' poor performance.  Regardless of who you have to face, you need to play well if you want to make a playoff push and New Jersey simply did not do that.  Good teams find ways to beat good teams often, and the Devils did not do that.  Nonetheless, it was certainly a difficult schedule up until this point, at least so it says from the numbers I pulled.

The Schedule After the All-Star Break

The schedule to come sees ups and downs.  Most importantly, however, in the months with the most games, February and March, the Devils are playing opponents with significantly lower combined point percentages.  February is an especially soft month with a combined opponents' point percentage of .524.  That is over a half point lower than any month we have seen so far.  And this is despite the fact that the Devils play 13 games that month.  March is also soft, as the Devils will see a combined opponents' point percentage of .544 despite there being 14 games on the schedule that month.

What is also beneficial in the upcoming schedule is that the Devils will spend a lot more time in Newark, and will have less back to back sets.  While the Devils do have 4 back to back sets in February, they also play 9 of 13 games in the Rock, which is good news.  In March the Devils play half of their games at home and only have 2 back to back sets.  This is also a sign of potential good things to come. (Of course, April is incredibly hard with games against Montreal, Tampa Bay, Florida, and a home and home against the Rangers.  But let's not discuss that)

Conclusion

In the end, I would not say at this point that a push for the playoffs is on the horizon.  The Devils have not shown me that they can play at a consistently high level over a long stretch of time, and that is what would be required for there to even be a slight chance of making the dance.  What I am saying, however, is that it seems that the schedule for New Jersey after the all-star break is easier than it was before it.  They play more games at home, play less back to back sets, and play teams with a lower combined point percentage.  So while I may not be claiming that a playoff push is coming, what I may be saying is that the team's chances to effectively tank may be diminished given the upcoming schedule.

Your Take

What is your take looking at the schedule for the New Jersey Devils after the all-star break?  How do you see their chances to either do well or not do so well in the coming months?  Please leave your comments in the section below, and thanks for reading.