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Metro Division Comparison Part 5: Islanders/Devils

August 6, 2019, 4:33 PM ET [40 Comments]
Ben Shelley
New York Islanders Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
This article will be part five of a series of posts looking at how the New York Islanders stack up against each Metropolitan Division team next season (done in no particular order). Today’s look: how the Islanders measure against the New Jersey Devils.


FORWARDS

The New Jersey Devils may be the most improved team going into the 2019-20 season. Up front, they added first-overall pick Jack Hughes along with KHL star Nikita Gusev, while also signing Wayne Simmonds in free agency. The Devils still have Taylor Hall for at least the season, unless it’s clear he won’t be re-signing, in which case New Jersey may opt to move him. Nico Hischier was on pace for about 55 points per 82 games last season as well and could be poised for a breakout year. Kyle Palmieri is consistently good for about 55 points per year, while Travis Zajac is coming off a year where he averaged 47 points per 82. At just 20 years old, Jesper Bratt averaged a pace of 53 points per 82, while Blake Coleman, Miles Wood and Pavel Zacha all provide excellent depth. A year ago, the Islanders offense, though fairly weak, would’ve ranked higher than New Jersey’s. But between the cast of Hall, Hischier, Hughes and Gusev, not to mention Palmieri, Simmonds and Zajac, the Devils have managed to majorly bulk up their forward group.



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DEFENSE

The Devils made a huge splash, acquiring P.K. Subban this summer. Despite Subban having a bit of an off year last season, he’s a massive addition to New Jersey’s defense corps. Will Butcher and Damon Severson are also just 24 years old and provide an offensive punch to New Jersey’s blue line, while Sami Vatanen logged big minutes last year. If the Devils use 36-year-old Andy Greene for almost 21 minutes a game like they did last year, the group won’t be as strong as it could be though. While Nick Leddy, Ryan Pulock and Devon Toews make up for a good group, the Islanders are arguably missing a piece compared to where the Devils are at.

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GOALTENDING

Goaltending is a huge point of uncertainty for the Devils. Cory Schneider is nowhere near the goalie he was about three years ago and while Mackenzie Blackwood posted a .918 save percentage in 23 games last year, it’s a small sample size to go off of and his AHL stats across the last three years don’t necessarily point to him becoming a star. He could develop well but between Semyon Varlamov and Thomas Greiss, the Islanders have more stability in net.

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New Jersey’s big offseason puts them in a much better spot than last year. Their team is now much deeper up front and is led by four very capable forwards in Hall, Hischier, Hughes and Gusev, while their defense looks much better with P.K. Subban as well. Where the Islanders have an edge is their goaltending, which is much more solid than New Jersey’s duo of Schneider and Blackwood. Like many teams in the metropolitan division, the Devils and Islanders are probably both going to be in the cluster of Metropolitan teams fighting for playoff spots along with the Flyers and Rangers. If we’re looking just at skaters, the Devils have an advantage but once goaltending becomes a factor, the teams look quite a bit more even.


OTHER METRO COMPARISON ARTICLES

Part 1: Islanders/Rangers

Part 2: Islanders/Blue Jackets

Part 3: Islanders/Penguins

Part 4: Islanders/Flyers


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