The Devils finished 32-36-14 last year and failed to make the playoffs for the third consecutive season. Combining that with a regime change, a new system, and a lot of new players, nobody expected New Jersey to be playing as well as they are this late in the season. With the all-star break and the trade deadline fast approaching, the Devils are 25-19-5 and sit in the 8th and final playoff spot. With 55 points, they sit only 1 point back of the Islanders and 2 points back of the Hudson River rival Rangers.

That rivalry will be put to the test in February as the two teams are slated to meet 3 times during the month. Of those, 2 of them will be in Madison Square Garden. It’s been over 3 months since the last match and both teams have gone through some rough patches. The Ranger have been playing almost .500 hockey this month, save for their current 2 game win streak. The Devils are riding a 4 game streak after having a few bad weeks due to injuries and poor play. The recent play is due in large part to the return of points leader Mike Cammalleri (38pts) from injury and the line combination of Blandisi-Zajac-Palmieri who have exploded over the last 3 games for 5 goals and a total of 13 points between them. The most recent chapter in the rivalry saw the Devils win in overtime when former Ranger Lee Stempniak buried a pass from assistant captain Adam Henrique. This was after captain Andy Greene saved a trickling shot from crossing the line at the other end. It was the Devils first win of the season and the first game where the offense really looked like it was clicking.

some highlights from that nail-biter

Aside from the Rangers, Jersey will play the Penguins next, the Flyers twice, and the Islanders once in February. Not to mention 3 games against the division leading Capitals. Every game next month will be a test and could ultimately make or break this team’s playoff chances. The only reason the Flyers games matter is because they have 4 games in hand right now and that could potentially come back and bite the Devils at the end of the season.

Tuesday’s matchup with Pittsburgh will be pivotal. Right now, they are 2 points behind the Devils and will play at Washington today. After a slow start to the season and not a lot of production from star player, Sidney Crosby, they have yet to put together a solid month and will need more production to contend down the stretch. It will be the second game back for Bobby (Wild Thing) Farnham, 26, who recently served a 4 game suspension for an egregious hit against the St. Louis Blues back on Jan. 12. It will also be his second game against the team that drafted him. During his time there he scored no goals and had no assists. In half a season with New Jersey, Wild Thing has 7 goals and 1 assist on the fourth line.