In the Trenches | 10 TAKEAWAYS

It sure has been a week with a see-saw of emotions. Rallying from the loss of Jacob Markstrom for several weeks to a big win in Montreal to the loss of Nico Hischier 'week-to-week'. The Devils have experienced a wide range of emotions in just a few days since we last got together for 10 Takeaways.

The New Jersey Devils are navigating unchartered territory at the moment. They’re without their No. 1 goaltender, Jacob Markstrom, and now without their captain, Nico Hischier.

Every team deals with injuries. And now it’s New Jersey’s turn.

And the mark of a club is truly how they manage being in the trenches, in the latter half of the season and without two key players.

As Nathan Bastian said, "We can come together and show that we can miss our top guys, and we’re still the team that we are."

“Definitely two players that are very important to the team, but that’s how it is," Timo Meier said after the loss of Hischier and acknowledging the loss of Markstrom as well. "During the season, guys sadly get hurt, but that’s the reality. We’ve got to battle through it. Obviously, play hard; everybody’s got to step up their game, especially with guys like that missing. That’s what it comes down to.

With Nico in a suite watching over his team at Prudential Center, the Devils put together a shining performance against the Flyers. From Jake Allen in the first period to the collective team coming together in the second and third, that's the type of performance you want to put together to show the captain, 'We got this. Get healthy, and we're waiting right here for you.'

1.

On the morning it was announced that Nico Hischier had returned from Philadelphia to New Jersey for further evaluation, Sheldon Keefe praised his captain and his undeniable value to the team.

Sheldon Keefe:

“Nico means a great deal to our team. He takes on so much,” Keefe said. “He might have the hardest job in hockey right now in terms of the level of competition he plays against, the faceoffs he has to take in both dots in all three zones. Powerplay, faceoffs, penalty kill, he means a great deal to our team, so you take him out, then there’s opportunities there for others to step up.”

Nathan Bastian:

"That’s a guy we lean on for so much. Whether it’s power play, PK, 4-on-4, end of game, start of game, who to go to for a voice. It’s Nico. When he’s gone, you need a collection of guys to step up, probably everyone, not just a few. Hopefully in times like that we can come together and show that we can miss our top guys and we’re still the team that we are."

2.

It’s difficult to set any record against the Montreal Canadiens, especially given their storied history and the club’s 114-year existence, 106 in the NHL. But the Devils did the thing.

After Jack Hughes’ overtime goal secured the victory against Montreal, New Jersey became the first team in NHL history to win nine consecutive games in Montreal.

3.

Hughes, by the way, moved into the No. 2 spot (tied with Scott Niedermayer) for most overtime goals in franchise history. That one was the eighth of his career.

He's got a ways to go to hit the No. 1 spot, secured by Patrik Elias' 16.

I say he does it!

4.

From sixth-round pick to Top 10 (and counting...).

Jesper Bratt officially took sole possession of No. 10 in career assists for the Devils franchise on Wednesday night. His beautiful give-and-go with Jack Hughes marked his 271^st assist with the franchise (it also happened to be Jack’s 20^th goal of the season and his 60^th point) to claim the 10 spot on the all-time list.

He passed Bobby Holik and, without a doubt, will continue climbing the ranks as the years go on.

5.

Sweep the Deck was another great success! Thursday night was the 4th edition of the big fundraising event for the Devils Youth Foundation and it is so great to see so many fans come out and support a great cause.

Without a doubt, Stefan Noesen was the most efficient of the bartenders, his lines quickly moving along because of the pace he worked with!

Some of my favorite moments include watching fans ask Curtis Lazar to sign Luke Hughes's gear. This rivalry has taken on a life of its very own.

The best one? Lazar being asked to sign a Luke hockey card, hesitating at first, asking 'Do you really want me to?', to which of course the answer was yes.

Lazar signed it at the bottom and drew a heart next to Luke's head.

6.

Being in Montreal last week was a great place to get the ball rolling for Jake Allen as the team's No. 1 goaltender with Jacob Markstrom out. He is intimately familiar with the team and building, having played three and a half seasons with the franchise. And just as we've seen here in New Jersey and how he's taken to this locker room, his former teammates in Montreal were peppered with questions about what Allen meant to them as a team and as individuals and the impact he left on their group as a whole.

He is highly, highly respected and it's clear the Devils are ultra lucky to have him.

Forward Cole Caufield:

Definitely a guy all the younger guys can look up to. He’s so welcoming; he’s got a great family, but he's a great goalie, too. I think everybody thought we had a chance to win when he was in net too. Just the way he carries himself, everybody doesn’t have a bad word to say about that guy. A really special person, we miss him around here.”

Defenseman Kaiden Guhle

Just an all-around good human being. I think a lot of us young guys saw that as an older guy in the league, that’s won the Cup and done all this stuff, still acting like that is pretty cool.

Head Coach Martin St. Louis

When I took the job, I think he was injured, and I remember the first game he played; I can’t remember if we won or if we lost, but I remember at that time, it looked different. You could tell the guy had played in the league for a while, and you could tell he had experience; it looked different. That first game I watched him play, you could tell, that guy was experienced."

7.

Montreal's Cole Caufield spends a lot of time with the Hughes brothers in the summer, so of course, I had to get a little insight into their summer activities together.

They like to spend a lot of their summer out on the lake, and so, in a quick rapid fire question, the answers could only be himself, Jack or Luke. Here's how a couple of them played out:

Who is the best baseball player? "Me, 100 percent," Caufield said of himself.

Who is the best wakeboarder? Jack.

Who would you trust more to drive the boat?

"Probably Jack, too," Caufield laughed. "Luke's pretty good too, but I think everybody's more comfortable when he's not behind the wheel!"

More to come next week from Cole! Stay tuned!

8.

I love tracking the numbers of Jesper Bratt’s career because he was that sixth-round pick.

As I was doing some research on Bratt for the upcoming 4 Nations tournament - which by the way he’s really excited to participate in - it’s pretty incredible to see how he is stacking up to his 2016 draft class.

He was by far and away the steal of the draft, ranked fifth in points for the 2016 class with 417, and it’s a class that includes Auston Matthews (No.1 - 686pts) and Matthew Tkachuk (No. 2 - 626 pts.).

Of the Top 5, the only player drafted higher than Bratt was Alex DeBrincat, drafted by Chicago at 39.

9.

Everything about Luke's goal against the Flyers was... \chef's kiss\.

First of all, we're so lucky to have two talented players like Jack and Luke, but we're even luckier than they're brothers because it just brings out a whole other level of comedy.

“I was just like, Man, just give me a touch in the neutral zone," Jack Hughes smirked on the TNT broadcast, "Do your thing but just give me a touch! He definitely owes me one!”

I think Jack's got a few to spare to his little bro!

"I probably could have given him a touch in the neutral zone. I just saw the shot and I took it," Luke said.

"I love that he looked off his brother and just shot it into the net," smirked Sheldon Keefe.

10.

It may have flown a bit under the radar, but the Devils are headed to Quebec City next preseason. The Ottawa Senators are hosting two games in the Quebec capital in September and New Jersey has been invited as one of the opponents (the other being the Montreal Canadiens).

Quebec City has a rich hockey history and a state-of-the-art arena. It will be fun to take the Devils' show on the road to somewhere we don't usually go and connect with different fans. I also feel we'll see many Newfoundlanders journey to Quebec to support their local boy, Dawson Mercer.

The Devils will be in Quebec City on Sunday, September 28, 2025.