Peaks and Valleys | 10 TAKEAWAYS

Well, here we are, 41 games into the regular season – the halfway point – already so much behind us but still so much ahead.

No two seasons are ever alike, but it is guaranteed that any team, even the best, will go through peaks and valleys. Yes, the Devils are currently on a three-game losing streak, but at the halfway mark of the season, it is the first time all year they’ve gone three consecutive games without a point.

They have kept themselves in a really good spot as the clock turned to 2025. And that’s mainly because the valleys the team has been in this year have never lasted very long, capable of digging deep, and digging themselves out.

They’ve been really fortunate that way, not by accident. It’s because of the way this team has been reconstructed and built. They have the right mix of wily veterans, superstar players and character guys to all pull together in the same direction when the going gets tough. And a head coach who drives and pushes his team toward being the best they can be.

Really, outside of the game against the Tampa Bay Lightning at home, you’d be hard-pressed, even in the games where the Devils were shutout, to say they were ‘completely out of it’ in keeping the score close and keeping themselves in the game.

And while things might feel heavy on the back of a three-game skid, keeping spirits up is also vitally important. Attitude can be half the battle. And by being around this group, I can tell you that while they are certainly upset that they’ve lost three in a row, they are all determined not to let it fester. They have a real strong belief in themselves.

And because we want to keep spirits up ourselves, I thought I would start this week’s 10 Takeaways with some fun stories I collected during training camp that I haven’t yet shared. These stories are about how and who interacts in the team group chats, what it’s like to be in one, who is the most active, and … what it’s like to move from a team and have to click ‘Leave Group’.

Let’s jump right into it in this week’s 10 Takeaways, presented by Ticketmaster.

1.

Tomas Tatar, who has a bright and vibrant personality, said for him, after leaving the Devils originally never quite left the group chats to begin with... he was such a part of the fabric of the team that he just couldn't bring himself to do it. And I suppose it eventually worked out, rejoining the team this off-season. He didn't need to re-insert himself into the lineup.

“I don’t think I ever left (a group chat) to be honest. I was always still there. I said to myself, I’m not leaving and if someone would kick me out, I would tell them to add me back!”

2.

Brett Pesce shared what the moment is like when you're about to leave a team, the only one you've ever been with, and knowing that you're going to have to leave the team group chat ultimately. I asked him if it was something he thought about, before officially signing with New Jersey and he said, of course. It was something he considered how he was going to approach that.

"It's just weird. I just sent a little message, and then it' s like, weird, pressing that 'Leave Chat', it's like boom. The end of that chapter."

3.

What's Brenden Dillon like in a group chat? He plays the long game:

"I think I got a couple good memes. I have a couple good photos too, that I'll wait for the right time. I'll save one from six years ago. I'm like, 'There's gonna be a time to place I'm gonna need it.'"

4.

Talking to Johnathan Kovacevic, you could tell just how badly the team wants to win for Jake Allen. Allen has had five straight losses, and his teammates feel a degree of responsibility in front of him, almost as if they've let him down.

Jake, from what I gather and what I’ve seen, is just the ultimate teammate. There’s a ton of respect for Allen in every way. He’s a prototypical pro… the way he comes to the rink every day, prepares his body, and understands and embraces his role.

"He was a rock, he was giving us a chance all night, on a night where I felt like we needed it,” Johnathan Kovacevic said of Allen's performance. “We gave up too many odd-man looks, too many clean looks and Jake was awesome for us. It’s disappointing when Jake comes in like that; we want to get him a win, at least some run support, so yeah, it sucks.”

He's a great role model.

5.

Let’s stick with goaltenders… man, oh man, has Jacob Markstrom been the backbone for this team. He was named the NHL’s Third Star of the Month, behind Colorado's Nathan MacKinnon and Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl.

But if we go back even further, let’s say an even 20 games… his stats are incredible. He’s a huge reason why the Devils are where they are.

As the season started, there was certainly an adjustment period. The group as a whole learned a lot, and the team in front of Markstrom was also getting used to a new system and way of doing things, so you knew it would take some time to get into a groove.

Markstrom was 4-3-1 with 24 goals against in his first eight games this season and an .895 save percentage.

Since then, Markstrom has played 20 games, losing just four times, with a 15-4-1 record and 36 goals against.

He's been stone cold.

6.

After Anze Kopitar took a penalty, hauling down Luke Hughes on New Year's Day in L.A., the Kings captain took his first penalty of the season. Those are always impressive numbers for someone who plays as much as Kopitar does and the big minutes he gets.

It was also just one game removed from the Devils captain, Nico Hischier's, impressive penalty - or lack thereof - numbers. Had it not been for that Anaheim game, when Hischier tripled his season penalty minutes in one single game, he'd be sitting atop the ranks too for least penalized players.

Nico Hischier used to be among the least penalized players until that fateful night in Anaheim. He started the night with just two penalty minutes over the season and ended the night with six more for eight.

Only one player in the league remains who has played more than 35 games without a penalty this season. That’s Toronto’s Steven Lorentz, who has stayed out of the box through 39 games.

7.

Against Anaheim, Jack Hughes set a new career high in faceoffs won with 11 of the 17 he took. It's an evolution in Jack's game that has made him an even more complete player as his career moves along. With Nico Hischier taking the bulk of the faceoffs every night, to have Jack as some run support, and being successful at it will go a long way.

8.

It’s down to the final four teams at the World Junior Championship in Ottawa. The United States, Czechia, Finland and Sweden are the four nations remaining vying to be champions.

Swedish-born Herman Traff, who is a 2024 third-round pick by New Jersey, has put on quite a show

Traff, earlier this season at 18 years old, was promoted to the SHL, Sweden’s top league. He scored two goals in six minutes for Sweden against Czechia, all on his 19^th birthday.

9.

Interviewing kids can be tough. At times, you just don't know what you'll get. However, Jack and Luke Hughes absolutely nailed their interviews about hockey in New Jersey.

These are just too cute, too!

10.

In San Jose, a puck flipped over the glass to where I was standing watching the end of practice on Friday. It was Dougie Hamilton's shot that wired off the post and up over the netting. I grabbed the puck off the ground, just to make sure that no one tripped on it. But as I'm picking it up I get a knock from Dougie on the glass, he wants me to set him up with a pass... I'm thinking, ok, this is my big moment, I can forever tell people that I've assisted on a Dougie Hamilton goal.

Guys, let me tell you, I, without a stick, just tossed it to him... thinking this was going to be my big moment... I don't think it even made it close to Dougie, who, the kind gentleman he is, skated toward my terrible pass and shot the puck. It missed the net, which everyone around me said was 100 percent my fault for a bad pass.

Dougie, ever the gentleman, would not have it. It was on him, he said. My pass was perfect. (It was not.).

I'm still out here looking for my first (fake) NHL point, though!