5 under the radar teams poised to make a run at the Stanley Cup
New Jersey Devils
Coming into this season, the Devils were projected to finish last in the league by plenty of experts and projection models. The Devils proved everybody wrong right from the get-go and jumped out to the lead in the Metropolitan Division, a spot they would hold until the end of December when they were overtaken by the Capitals. Currently, they sit in the first wild card spot with 80 points, just one point ahead of the Columbus Blue Jackets and five points ahead of the Florida Panthers.
The Devils have what a lot of the teams on this list have in common — four decent offensive lines and balance. The addition of No. 1 overall draft pick Nico Hischier was far from the only improvement this team made from last season, and as result the Devils have never fallen out of a playoff spot this season since game one. New Jersey has been missing the services of starting goaltender Cory Schneider for the last few weeks, and now that he’s starting to get reacclimatized, the Devils could return to their dangerous midseason form, especially with the additions of Michael Grabner and Patrick Maroon at the deadline.
The Devils have many likely first round opponents, and if they can’t crack the Metro top three they’ll likely play one of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Pittsburgh Penguins or Washington Capitals. Tampa would obviously be a tough series, and it doesn’t seem as though anybody will be stopping the Lightning anytime soon. The best hope for New Jersey to go on a Cup run this season is to avoid the second wild card spot at all costs and at least score the first wild card. Pittsburgh has won eight straight playoff series, but the Penguins have got to lose at some point, right? Washington’s postseason struggles are well-documented, and a young, fast, hungry team could bring their dream for a Cup to a screeching halt.
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Even if the Devils cannot go on a run this year, they won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. This young team is on the up and up, and we don’t know what their ceiling is just yet. Their performance in these playoffs could give us an idea.