Down to a Dozen | 10 TAKEAWAYS

It feels good that at this time of year, the mentality is about gearing up, instead of winding down toward the end of the regular season. There are only 12 games left in the regular season and there's no going through the motions that can seep in when the end of the season is near and you know that's when your season ends.
Not this year.
There's a lot of work to do in the final 12 games, but I'm really excited to see what the playoff experience is going to be like for this group. It is a more talented group all around, than the one that made the post-season in 2018. That five-game series with Tampa was like a lightning bolt - no pun intended - in time. It was here and then it wasn't. Just barely getting a taste. I don't know what this group will end up accomplishing when it's all said and done, but the ride to get to this point has been so much fun. So much progress has been made on multiple levels, both individually and as a team. Gearing up instead of winding down is so much more appealing!
In this week's 10 Takeaways I chatted with Erik Haula about playing with Jack Hughes, chatted with Steven Stamkos about Hughes and heard a story about the day Nico Hischier was named captain that I hadn't before... so with that in mind, lets get started with this week's 10 Takeaways, presented by Ticketmaster!

2.

Curtis Lazar told me a great story this week. He was playing for the Buffalo Sabres during the 2021 NHL season - the Covid season - and was getting ready to take to the ice at Prudential Center for warmups. On the other side of the arena, in the home locker room, the Devils were receiving some news: Nico Hischier was being named captain, right then and there. Of course in the visitor's locker room, they had no idea.
Lazar told me that when they came out for warmups, the news started to spread around the ice. Lazar said 'we were like, hey I think they just named Nico captain.' As players caught glimpse of the newly minted C on the 13- Hischier jersey.
I liked that story.

3.

Before I worked at the Devils I worked for external hockey media back home in Canada. I didn't really know what I was getting into when I first moved here six seasons ago but I quickly learned the intricacies of the inner workings of a sports franchise that we think we know on the outside, but when you're in it, it all feels and looks so different... an interaction this week got me thinking about it. When we arrived in Florida on Friday early afternoon we were greeted at the hotel by a woman named Gwyn. Such a sweet lady.
And then, standing in the lobby, I saw her and Dano having a lengthy conversation, very much like old friends do. It was then that I realized they \were\ old friends because Gwyn has been with the hotel since Dano's playing days. It's these characters along the way that you meet that give players and staff a
I got to talking with Gwyn a little bit and she was telling me how she has known Dano for ages, how she's seen and been here for years taking care of players' and staff's needs, welcoming each team no matter how early or late they arrive. Year after year the same faces roll through the hotel and you build these relationships with people you only see once or twice a year and they're meaningful.
It was just really lovely to see. And a reminder of how many people make the NHL - and other sports leagues - go around. It's not just the internal staff, it's those we deal with regularly on our travels too.

4.

Just last game Erik Haula was reunited on a line with Jack Hughes. Throughout the season, I do see the online comments about Haula and Hughes as a duo, and the varying opinions. So I decided to ask Haula about what it's like to play with Jack and what type of role he sees on that line. Hughes is the center as the line is listed, but I think we tend to get too hung up on how a line is listed versus how the game actually plays out and the types of responsibilities each player takes on a line.
"I don't even consider us as one a center really, we just read and react," Haula said, "When I play with him I try to do some of the stuff that he necessarily doesn't want to do or isn't yet as comfortable with, or isn't his strength yet. So I try to bring that and take some responsibility on the defensive side of the puck. But also knowing his game a bit and learning how to play with him, be in position of being able to help him out."
"I think he likes that part, I think that's why he likes playing with me," he continued, "And offensively, the stretches that we've been together, he's had a lot of success, so if I get points or don't get points it doesn't really matter. If he does his thing and we don't get scored on and we win the hockey game, that's ultimately what matters. And that's all people should look at."

5.

The Ondrej Palat tribute in Tampa was probably the best player tribute video I've seen in a long time - if not, ever - the emotion was palpable. From the second the fans at Amalie Arena realized the video on the scoreboard was the tribute video, absolutely everyone in the arena was on their feet cheering. There was a hush in the crowd too when everyone was really paying attention to what players and coaches in the video were saying about Palat. Everyone hanging on to every last word.

I don't know if it was caught on the broadcast, but every single player - on both benches - was also watching attentively. It really drove home how important Ondrej Palat was (and is) to the Tampa franchise. I had always known he was a big-game player (one year, I think it was 2020, he single-handedly helped me win my playoff pool) but to see how valued he was really set in how important he is going to be to the next phase of this Devils franchise. Palat is quiet - Victor Hedman called him a bit shy - but when it counts, he's the one you're going to follow. Just seeing the love he received from the Tampa fan base really hammered home what type of player is now with the Devils roster.

To see the Lightning and Devils players also give him his own moment on the ice after the video tribute played was fantastic. Alone, in the spotlight, Palat skated near center ice, applauding and thanking the fan base for the outpouring of support.
"What a presentation. I'd like to see it again. I'd even like the players to see it again. It's such a great feeling for a player, I mean he's such a great playoff performer, when you look at Ondrej, he's a great person too. He's a great person to be around. He's a heck of a competitor and I thought that was one of the best presentations I've seen of a player going back to a building."
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6.

This hat is everything.

I think it made its way back to New Jersey.

7.

Ninety-seven points are the number of points the Devils have with another 12 games to go this season. That's good for a franchise record of most points through 70 games in a season. There are many reasons why the team has gotten themselves to this point, including this big one: the team hasn't gone two consecutive games without at least a point since two regulation losses back-to-back on Dec 23-28, with the holiday break in between.

8.

When you break down the stats to total face-off win percentage in the league, Michael McLeod is right there at the top of the list.
For players who have played 50-plus games and taken over 800 face-offs this season - McLeod has taken 849 - the Devils forward ranks tied for first in the league with Patrice Bergeron at 60.7 percent efficiency. First! Bergeron! That's a big deal!

9.

There was nothing quite as sweet as seeing both Nico Hischier and Jesper Bratt reach the 30-goal mark for the first time on the same night. Both of their responses of "we're happy for each other" really tug at the heartstrings.
But a moment like that also reminds me of what I try to really get across when I'm doing radio or TV interviews about the team. They're doing all of this, experiencing all of this \together\. Of course, it was just by chance that both players hit 30 at the same time, but it really speaks to the growth that the team has had as a collective group from the younger core. Hischier and Bratt have grown up in the league together, they were joined by a Jack Hughes and Dawson Mercer who are figuring out the league at the same time too, It's really an abundance of learning together, in the exact same circumstances that have been the coolest thing to see. It's how the best teams are built, with a young core going through the highs and lows together.

10.

Just checking in with the latest Devils Magic Number. It now sits at 6 (103 points) to officially clinch the post-season.