The Devils did not need a perfect opener to make an early statement, but they got one anyway: a 3-2 overtime win over the Philadelphia Flyers, sealed by Jack Hughes. That matters because New Jersey now heads to Long Island for its first road game of the 2026-27 campaign, and the Devils Vs Islanders matchup arrives with a little more weight than most early-season meetings.
The reason is simple. Last season, the Devils went 7-17-2 against the Metropolitan Division, and they lost all four matchups with the Islanders. They also were swept by the Flyers in a three-game season series, which is a strong reminder that divisional games were a problem across the board, not just against one opponent. So even after opening the year with a win, New Jersey still has something to prove inside its own division.
What the opener showed
The final score was close, but the Devils’ performance was closer to control than chaos. The numbers from Thursday point to a near-total team effort: 44-25 in shots, 69.98% of the Deserve To Win O'Meter, and 83% in the same overall possession of the game’s momentum. They also finished with 24 of 26 shots and 41 of 44 shots in the relevant control markers listed, which supports the idea that this was not a fluky win built on one moment alone. It was a game New Jersey largely drove.
That is why Jack Hughes’ overtime winner should be seen as more than a highlight. It finished a game the Devils had already spent most of the night shaping in their favor. Jesper Bratt, Dougie Hamilton and Luke Hughes gave New Jersey the kind of structure and puck movement that can make a team look composed even when the score stays tight. The opener did not solve every issue, but it did show what the Devils can look like when they are dictating play.
Why Long Island matters next
The Islanders are coming off a 2-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Wednesday, so both teams enter this matchup with a familiar early-season question: which opener was more revealing? For New Jersey, the answer is likely more positive than the scoreboard suggests. For New York, the home setting offers a chance to reset quickly after a narrow defeat.
Still, the bigger storyline is New Jersey’s division record. A 7-17-2 mark against Metropolitan Division opponents is hard to ignore, especially when it came with four losses to the Islanders. That is the backdrop for this trip to Long Island. The Devils do not need to reinvent themselves in one night, but they do need to show that the opener was the start of something sturdier than last year’s divisional form.
In that sense, Devils Vs Islanders is less about one Thursday win and more about whether New Jersey can start closing the gap where it mattered most. Early in the season, that is often the difference between a promising result and a meaningful one.
