from Adam Vingan at Sportsnet,

The pitchforks were out in New Jersey.

Devils fans came to the team’s home opener on Oct. 15 eager to voice their displeasure with the on-ice product. They booed coach Lindy Ruff during pre-game introductions, then chanted “Fire Lindy” as the Devils fell to 0-2-0 to start the season.

What a difference a few weeks make.

The Devils are 9-1-0 since then, having won six consecutive games for the first time in more than 10 years and leading the Metropolitan Division. It had been even longer — December 1996 — since the Devils swept the Canucks, Oilers and Flames on the same road trip before doing so last week.

It begs the question: Are the Devils for real this time? They’ve seemingly been on the verge of breaking out for years, but haven’t made the playoffs since 2018. Based on their underlying metrics so far this season, though, the Devils could finally be reaching their potential.

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