The NHL’s 2026-27 season schedule was released two months ago. For many hockey fans, it’s Christmas in July, a good time to look forward to the season and (for a select few) plan travel, weekends, and other key dates. For others, it’s a good time to look at the key stretches in the hockey season, specifically for the New Jersey Devils. 

Sure, a lot is up in the air, and an important stretch now can look meaningless in a few months. The Devils, like every team, are adjusting to an 84-game season. With the extra games, there are more homestands, road trips, and weeks that will define the season ahead and whether the Devils are a playoff team with a chance at a Cup run or a fraudulent bunch in need of hitting the reset button. 

The first month of the season isn’t worth reading into. There’s a cliché in sports that a team can’t win a championship in the first month, but they can certainly lose one. For the Devils, unless they look awful after October, there isn’t a big takeaway. 

That said, their first real test of the season comes at the end of October, right before the clocks and weather change. They have a back-to-back on Oct. 27 and 28 against the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche, then they wrap up the month on Oct. 30 against the Vegas Golden Knights. 

In four nights, they face the two teams that had the two best records in the Western Conference last season, followed by a matchup against the defending Western Conference champs. It’s a measuring-stick week and can say a lot about how good this team is. 

Another hockey cliché is that if a team is out of playoff position by American Thanksgiving, they won’t make the playoffs by the end of the season. The numbers back that idea, but last season’s Buffalo Sabres make many second-guess it. The Devils play four pivotal games that week. 

The first two are home-and-home against the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Metropolitan Division opponent will either be fighting for position in the standings or the Devils can put them away with two statement wins. 

Then, there’s an afternoon game on Black Friday against the Calgary Flames followed by a game the next night against the Winnipeg Jets. A plus is that both games are at home. Another plus is that both teams are expected to be bottom-feeders whom the Devils can defeat and do themselves a huge favor. Plus, there's a chance Connor Hellebuyck is still on the Jets when this game rolls around, in which case it's a good time for the Devils to showcase what a fine team and organization they have. 

The caveat to this road trip is that the All-Star Break cuts the trip in half. The Devils play four games, then have 10 days off before facing the Philadelphia Flyers, Nashville Predators, and Florida Panthers. 

The first half of this road trip, however, is the daunting West Coast swing every Eastern Conference team dreads. The Edmonton Oilers, followed by the Flames and Seattle Kraken on back-to-back nights, and wrapped up with a matchup against the Vancouver Canucks can throw the Devils off. Sure, these aren’t the toughest games but it’s easy for any team to get tripped up by them. 

So, the Devils powering through the Pacific Division teams can go a long way. Likewise, coming away from this road trip with a winning record or points in four of the seven games will keep them competitive in the playoff picture. 

The Devils' biggest home stand comes at the end of the season. Yes, they play four games in a row at home in December. However, they finish the season with four consecutive home games and six of their final seven at Prudential Center.

The big finish is also against some tough competition. The Devils host the Carolina Hurricanes and Minnesota Wild before traveling to Raleigh for their final meeting against the Hurricanes (speaking of the Wild, the Devils also face them a week before the trade deadline, a potentially important date for those on Quinn Hughes watch). Then they wrap up against the Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Islanders, and Pittsburgh Penguins. 

The Devils can control their destiny or define their season in the home stretch. Running the table or coming close to it will put them in the playoffs and might leave them at the top of the Metropolitan Division. Likewise, falling apart down the stretch will leave them on the outside looking in. 

Which stretch in the schedule are you looking out for? Comment below!