Lucky No. 13 | 10 TAKEAWAYS

Lucky No. 13.

The Devils have played 13 games this season - so far - the most of any NHL club and their No. 13, Nico Hischier is thriving.

What a joy it has been to watch Nico grab the season by the horns and roll with it. He's always cautious about saying he's aware goal-scoring will go through a bit of ups and downs, but he's riding the wave, he says right now. Nearly every puck that Nico has touched has turned into gold in some way or another. Whether it's right in the net or it's his shot that creates the rebound for Dawson Mercer to nail it home... you can bet that Hischier's name is going to show up on the scoresheet nearly every night.

While he'll likely shy away from acknowledging any (well-deserved) praise, we'll give that to him here.

And that's where we start in this week's edition of 10 Takeaways, presented by Ticketmaster.

1.

I loved this little bit of insight from Sheldon Keefe about Nico Hischier. There are plenty of times when television cameras catch a moment or two on an NHL bench, a slight interaction between players and sometimes players and coaches. But there are so many during an actual game it’s almost impossible to really know what's going on behind a bench.

That’s why I appreciated this insight from Sheldon Keefe, offered up after he was asked about Nico last week. It's a story that gives you a bit of a glimpse behind the scenes not only what Hischier is like but also what types of interactions Keefe is having with his players.

"Something the other night in the overtime game (against the Islanders) he wasn’t having a great night in the faceoff circle and he wanted to make sure I knew that and maybe get somebody else to take the faceoff in overtime for us," Keefe shared. "I said, 'No, you’re going to go take this one for us' and he went out and you watch that faceoff, he gave it everything he had. Not only did he win the faceoff, he rips one off the bar and is that close to being the hero. That’s the kind of guy we have as our captain."

2.

This moment in Vancouver was… \chefs kiss\ (no pun intended).

The boos were loud when Erik Haula was shown on the big screen in Vancouver after his fight with fan-favorite Conor Garland. And I mean, they were loud. But in one quick instant, Haula humbled the Vancouver crowd by blowing them a kiss in the most perfect moment.

Typical Haulsy.

3.

Over the past few practices or morning skates, I've noticed that Dougie Hamilton has been spending more and more extra time working on his shot after the formal part of practice ends.

He’s a prideful guy and I wonder if sitting on just one goal might eat at him a little bit. From what I can tell, he’s doing all the extra work possible to change that number. He’s now often out late after practicing working away.

It will come.

4.

Who knew, on the morning of Oct. 31 Nico Hischier would be leading the NHL in goals and was the first to double-digits this year. What I think is the most impressive part of it all is that not once have we had to talk about his offense coming at the sacrifice or expense of any other part of his game that he is so well known for. It's what makes this run he's been on all that more remarkable. His defensive game hasn't slipped and his faceoff numbers have only improved to greater heights. He continues You can still see Hischier being up for a Selke Trophy at season's end, as he was two years ago. It's really a joy to watch him thrive.

5.

I really appreciated this insight from Jesper Bratt about how he helped himself evolve as a penalty killer... by being ultra-observant as a power play player. We know, just from speaking and hearing from Bratt over the years, how analytical he is about the game and how seriously he takes the craft of improving. Over the years, we've seen him evolve into an important part of the penalty kill.

When we saw Jack Hughes get thrown out onto the ice against the Vancouver Canucks while Bratt was in the box serving a double-minor, it made me wonder about what that process is like, how a typically non-PKer can embrace that role, and how they evolve into effective penalty-kill contributors.

Turns out, it's a lot about the experience he has as a power-play player that makes him an effective PKer.

"I know, coming on the power play, I know what’s annoying to play against on their PK. So I try to be that guy when I’m on the ice. Jack did the same way, did it good."

“You’re trying to see what annoys you when you have the puck (on the power play) and players coming at you a certain way and stuff like that. Just trying to learn from that and be that guy to play against.”

6.

A couple of games in now for Brett Pesce and Luke Hughes… I asked Brett how playing with Luke compares to some of the other defensemen he's played with before.

“It’s different than anyone I’ve ever played with… just so much talent, so young. So much room to grow still, it’s really cool. Hopefully I can help him out along the way, just provide a little stability back there for him.”

“Is he a big communicator with you?” I asked.

“Not really! He kind of just does his thing!”

7.

Here's the face he made when answering that question! Right after he said "He kind of just does his thing!"

8.

It's not easy to get players to talk about themselves... but colleague Mike Morrealle finally got the scoop on how the Hughes brothers feel about their EA Sports NHL 25 ratings and whether they feel like everyone is in their rightful spot.

"We know the ratings ... it's in the right order, I'd say."

Quinn owns the highest rating of the three (94), followed by Jack (93) and Luke (86).

"I played one year so the ratings are right where they should be," Luke said. "They've definitely done a lot in this league so far. Quinn had an unbelievable season last year and same with Jack. I'm starting to get my game going and coming into my own here. I got a lot of work to do and got to keep getting better."

9.

Back to Nico. Turns out, reaching 10 goals in 13 games to start a season doesn't come around that often, according to NHL PR. It's another stat where Nico has etched himself into the club history books, with only two other players in franchise history who hit the 10-goal mark in fewer team games than he did. That belongs to Paul Gardner (9 GP in 1977-78) and Pat Verbeek (10 GP in 1986-87 & 12 GP in 1987-88).

10.

Oh what a difference a year can make, right? When Jacob Markstrom put up a shutout victory over the Vancouver Canucks, it was the second shutout victory of the season for the Devils. The first came when Jake Allen became the first goaltender to not only win against the Utah Hockey Club but also pitch a shutout against them.

Why do I bring it up?

Already with two shutouts in the books, the Devils have surpassed their season-total from 2023-24 when on only one occasion did they hold an opponent without a goal.