What New Jersey Can Learn from Their Five Postseason Games

The 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs have sadly come to an end for New Jersey. With the Carolina Hurricanes eliminating New Jersey in double overtime in Game Five, New Jersey goes into the offseason. An unfortunate series loss, many saw coming, no doubt, but there’s no need to be too negative. Hockey in New Jersey returns in September, and with a lineup that will at last be healthy, fans should be looking forward to the future. Though only five games were played this postseason, New Jersey's roster has gained some much-needed experience against a formidable playoff team. If all remain healthy next season, this Devils team should have no issue returning to the postseason once again. With the lessons learned, this team will be better than ever, but what are those lessons exactly from their short time in the playoffs?

Need to Have Depth

Depth is always important when a team is fighting for the Stanley Cup, and the Devils just didn’t seem to have it in this series. Players like Nico Hischier, Timo Meier, and Dawson Mercer did their jobs well, though the bottom six were incredibly invisible. Combined, the bottom six had just one goal and two assists all series, while Carolina’s bottom six completely outscored them all; now, there is the depth New Jersey needs. Looking at it with the man advantage does it some justice, but when looked at while evened up, it’s no wonder this team just couldn’t keep up. Players like Paul Cotter, Nathan Bastian, and Stefan Noesen were just the players out there, nothing more. It's the postseason, every player's performance matters, but when even just one player's performance is invisible, everything goes unbalanced, and it showed for New Jersey. Having a consistent bottom six will give the Devils the quality depth it needs to compete. Fans can only hope they work on that next season.

Play Like You’ve Been Here Before

This Devils team may have some new players compared to the 2023 team, but the players with playoff experience are still there. Plenty of Devils gained the experience from 2023, but it would seem none of them learned a thing from how this series went. Mistakes happen to every team, and injuries can obviously complicate things, but the team just didn’t look focused at all. They were pushed around, outshot; it looked like 2023 just didn’t happen at all. Being the underdogs of the series made it obvious they’d lose, but this team showed indeed why they were eliminated in only five games once again.

Need to Score More

When transitioning to the postseason, the true test begins for the players when it comes to scoring. Goaltending must be at its finest, meaning any goal scored can win the series. If New Jersey had just one advantage, it was goaltending. Jacob Markström is one of the only players not to blame for this series loss. Carolina goaltender Frederik Andersen no doubt played a strong game as well, but when injured and replaced with Pyotr Kochetkov, it really exposed goaltending as their biggest weakness. Though even with goaltending not at its strongest, Carolina continued to beat Markström and move on, showing how vital the goal scorers are in the postseason. With Jack Hughes and Luke Hughes returning next season, and both hoping to remain healthy for next postseason, scoring will definitely improve at its finest.

What to Expect Next Season

A shame the injuries made this loss sooner than expected, but fans should be excited for the future to come. New Jersey was unlucky to face Carolina first, but these lessons will do nothing but better this team better as they grow. With some moves in the offseason and a fully healthy roster to start the season, New Jersey can soon be on the same level as Carolina. A first-round matchup with the Hurricanes is very possible in the next few years, and fans can only see if the Devils are learning. The Hughes brothers will continue to skate all over, Markström will continue to be an absolute wall, and defense will grow from here; this team will grow, and more teams will soon fear. Fans have waited long enough for a team like this, and their patience will soon pay off for years to come.