Devils getting taste of playoff-esque hockey in stretch run of season

The Devils will make their first postseason appearance in five years once the regular season comes to an end. Who they’ll play is still a bit of a mystery, but Monday’s loss to the Islanders was a small taste of what could be awaiting them in the playoffs.

The Islanders could be the team the Devils face in the postseason — New Jersey would have to leapfrog the Carolina Hurricanes in the Metropolitan Division — but Monday’s game is a good appetizer for the style of hockey that they’ll see against whoever they face. The Devils faced a physical Islanders team that knocked them around and outhit New Jersey 24-13 through the 60 minutes on Long Island.

It was the second time in the last four games that the Devils faced a physical brand of hockey that got the better of them.

“All of this is good for us. It’s good we’re playing good teams,” Erik Haula said. “It’s good we’re playing desperate teams. It’s a chance for us to, you know, prepare and, and get ready for when the playoffs start. And it’s important that we find consistency. we find our thing and bring it every night because then that’s what it’s gonna end up being.”

The Devils are down to their final eight games of the regular season and it’s clear the skillset that the team possesses, playing their game for a full 60 minutes will become key in the postseason. If the Devils remain in their current spot, they’d face the rival Rangers.

As head coach Lindy Ruff noted on Monday night, the Devils had been playing elements of their game, but some of the finer points weren’t there.

“I thought tonight we had patches of periods where we really started playing quick,” Ruff said. “But some of our puck movement wasn’t as accurate as it should be. You know, so you face that grinding style and a lot of teams. We faced that with Calgary, faced it with LA, there’s teams that you face that style and we’ve passed that test.”

The Devils coach also pointed to another possible reason for why New Jersey let Monday night’s game get away from them.

“We clinched a (playoff) spot,” Ruff said. “I don’t know if our group dealt with that. It’s a learning experience. You know, you’re excited about where you got to, but you got to put it away in a hurry. And, you know, I didn’t think we quite put it away in a hurry.”

The Devils are a young team still as they get set for the postseason and there will be a bit of a learning curve that comes with that. New Jersey has been one of the best teams in the NHL for most of the year, but the physicality will only ramp up further down the stretch and once they’re in the playoffs.

A meeting with the rival Rangers on Thursday is sure to ramp that up as well.

“Yeah, this time of the year game are gonna get more physical and there’s going to be less time out there,” Timo Meier said. “You got to make sure your physical too and get in some guys’ way. Get some bumps in and give your D time so they can break out the pucks. I think we can do a better job in that being more physical, making it tougher on there defensemen breaking it out.

“It’s just part of it, growing as a team and adding that piece and getting ready for the big time here.”