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With their first two months of the season in the books, New Jersey currently brandishes a surprising 14-6-4 record, and sit third in the Metropolitan Division. Most of the hockey world (Devils fans included) are still having trouble coming to grips with the team’s explosive start. It’s worth remembering the Devils are in perhaps the league’s toughest division, and just one point out of first place (which they previously occupied for a lengthy stretch of time).

The biggest question on everyone’s mind is how long the Devils can maintain this level of play, and how likely it is they find themselves in (dare I say it) a playoff position this spring. With nearly 60 games remaining, a lot can happen between now and April. Having said that, we may still get some insight on the Devils current playoff odds by looking back at NHL standings going into December of previous seasons, along with where those teams finished by April.

The charts below compare the eight teams in playoff positions going into December of the last four seasons in the Eastern Conference, along with the teams who wound up making the playoffs in that same year.

 

Italics– Wildcard team

Bold– Division Leader

2013-2014

December Standings	Points	Final Standings	Points
Boston	38	Boston	117
Detroit	35	Tampa Bay	101
Montreal	33	Montreal	100
Pittsburgh	37	Pittsburgh	109
Washington	30	NY Rangers	96
NY Rangers	28	Philadelphia	94
Tampa Bay	33	Columbus	93
Toronto	31	Detroit	93

2014-2015

December Standings	Points	Final Standings	Points
Tampa Bay	36	Montreal	110
Montreal	36	Tampa Bay	108
Detroit	33	Detroit	100
Pittsburgh	34	NY Rangers	113
NY Islanders	34	Washington	101
NY Rangers	26	NY Islanders	101
Boston	29	Ottawa	99
Toronto	27	Pittsburgh	98

2015-2016

December Standings	Points	Final Standings	Points
Montreal	41	Florida	103
Detroit	30	Tampa Bay	97
Ottawa	29	Detroit	93
NY Rangers	36	Washington	120
Washington	35	Pittsburgh	104
Pittsburgh	30	NY Rangers	101
NY Islanders	30	NY Islanders	100
Boston	27	Philadelphia	96

2016-2017

December Standings	Points	Final Standings	Points
Montreal	34	Montreal	103
Ottawa	30	Ottawa	98
Boston	27	Boston	95
NY Rangers	33	Washington	118
Pittsburgh	31	Pittsburgh	111
Columbus	30	Columbus	108
Washington	28	NY Rangers	102
Tampa Bay	27	Toronto	95

At first glance, the biggest takeaway is how many teams in a playoff spot going into December made the postseason in each of the last four years. Since 2013-2014 (first year of the current division alignments and playoff format), 24 out of 32 teams (75 percent) occupying a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference around December went on to make the postseason. Seven of eight teams occupied playoff positions in both December and April last season, five out of eight achieved this same feat in 2015-2016, while six out of eight did so in 2013-2014 and 2014-2015.

What’s even more astounding is how teams in their divisions first through third slots around December wound up faring. Since 2013-2014, 21 out of 24 teams (87.5 percent) occupying a top-three spot in their respective divisions come December went on to make the postseason that same year. As mentioned earlier, the Devils currently sit third in the Metropolitan Division, are just one point out of first place, and very likely to remain no lower than third between now and their next game.

With their elevated play continuing through the season’s first two months and the team slowly getting healthier, there certainly is reason for fans to (slightly) start raising their expectations. While the charts above don’t necessarily indicate anything of the Devils quality of play, the mere fact they’re falling in such favorable odds should start giving this team and fan base a type of hope that’s usually begun to wither by now in recent seasons.