Garden State of Hockey- Episode 81: Surprises and Disappointments

This week’s episode covers the contests between our New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers, New York Islanders, and Tuesday’s game against the Philadelphia Flyers. We discuss the roster, early surprises and letdowns among the skaters, and some general positives and negatives from the first full week of this young but rapidly aging season. The Devils still await the returns of Nico Hischier, Jesper Bratt, Sami Vatanen, and MacKenzie Blackwood so what adjustments do they have to make to hold the fort until these key players return? We discuss that and the miserable special teams situation while praising the effort levels and competitiveness of these new-look Devils.

As announced in the podcast, in an effort to keep up with the slate of games and any breaking news, we’ll be moving to two shorter episodes on Mondays and Fridays to act as game recaps and news update spaces. If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions for the podcast, please be sure to let us know in the comments section.

Let’s see how the Devils respond against the Flyers tomorrow. Enjoy the weekend back-to-back matinees as well!